Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld Review

Tales of the Underworld debuts connected Disney+ successful afloat with six episodes connected May 4, 2025.

Theoretically, Lucasfilm Animation’s Tales anthology is an absorbing method of expanding the stories of characters introduced successful the Star Wars prequels, their animated spin-offs, and live-action Disney+ follow-ups – figures similar Ahsoka Tano, Count Dooku, oregon Asajj Ventress, who’ve go arsenic indispensable to this fictional beingness arsenic immoderate Skywalker. In practice, though, Tales of the Jedi, Tales of the Empire, and present Tales of the Underworld person proven uneven and inconsistent. Tales of the Underworld exemplifies this much than either of its predecessors, with 1 storyline that mostly succeeds and 1 that mostly fails to bring new, meaningful dimensions to its protagonist.

This circular of Tales erstwhile again focuses 3 of its bite-sized, astir 15-minute-long episodes connected 1 character, and 3 connected another: First erstwhile Separatist assassin Asajj Ventress, past infamous bounty huntsman Cad Bane. Both arcs connection bountiful treasures for your eyes and ears; Lucasfilm Animation is showing disconnected astatine this point, having perfected their painterly creation style. Tales of the Underworld looks adjacent amended than The Bad Batch and the different Tales series, with perfectly stunning textures, lighting, and h2o physics. The euphony besides stands out: It’s not conventionally Star Wars, but it’s a invited displacement that makes Tales of the Underworld consciousness caller and distinct.

It whitethorn besides acceptable a caller modular for Tales dependable acting, too. Corey Burton and Nika Futterman person 2 of the astir iconic voices successful the business, and they proceed to marque the astir of their depictions of Bane and Ventress. (To the grade that it astir makes Bane’s storyline a spot confusing – much connected that below.) As a instrumentality of FX’s Reservation Dogs – and specifically Lane Factor’s show successful it – I was amazed and pleased to perceive Factor making his voice-acting debut successful Tales of the Underworld, bringing his endearing and honorable vigor to Ventress’ caller person Lyco.

Beyond its presentation, though, Tales of the Underworld under-delivers connected the committedness of its title. In the archetypal 3 episodes centered astir Ventress, we get nary of that consciousness of seedy underbelly that’s been a quintessential constituent of Star Wars since Obi-Wan, Luke, C-3PO, and R2-D2 archetypal took a locomotion connected Mos Eisley’s chaotic side. Instead of plunging into the acheronian corners of the galaxy, Tales of the Underworld takes Ventress connected a mostly lighthearted romp that teaches her an age-old acquisition astir the worth of friendship. There is immoderate bully stuff: Inquisitorial action, a amusive heist, and immoderate dense worldly involving veterans who are incapable to fto spell of their wars. It’s not an unimportant communicative to tell, but it’s besides 1 that’s already been told by The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Bad Batch. There’s small crushed to bring Ventress backmost from the dormant conscionable to archer it again.

That’s the different disappointment with her story: It already ended once. A canon publication called Dark Disciple sees Ventress and the Jedi Quinlan Vos connected a way to revenge against Count Dooku. The communicative was conceived for The Clone Wars, but was turned into a publication aft the show’s archetypal cancellation. At the extremity of Dark Disciple, Ventress dies, sacrificing herself to prevention Vos, whom she (spoiler alert for a 10-year-old book) falls successful emotion with. Tales of the Underworld teases that story, giving america a glimpse of its ending – but it’s successful a mode that explains however Ventress was astir instantly resurrected, clearing the way for her appearances present and connected The Bad Batch. Ultimately it conscionable feels similar an unnecessary epilogue successful a travel that already felt complete, a long-winded mode to support her connected the roster of progressive Star Wars players without adding each that overmuch to the character.

Bane’s episodes decidedly unrecorded up to the Underworld name, though, with the scum and villainy connected afloat display. His communicative is simply a classical occidental successful 3 acts acceptable astatine 3 successive points successful his life. It’s a communicative of diverging paths and what comes down to a person breakup, and each the play that entails. Its melodrama is reminiscent of a telenovela, and it’s honestly amended for it. Bane has ever been astir the play and theatrics, truthful it fits his quality well.

It’s besides a communicative of people and poorness and the impressions they tin permission connected a young mind. It’s comparatively unexplored territory for Star Wars, and it’s absorbing to spot a communicative similar that done the franchise’s lens. I stake George Lucas would emotion these episodes, fixed the mode they rhyme with Anakin’s travel successful the prequels. Anakin turned to the Dark Side, but Bane was calved successful it, and this compelling root communicative shows america however helium embraced it from the start.

But it excessively feels a spot underdeveloped. Tales of the Underworld simply doesn’t person the clip to afloat soma retired the communicative it’s trying to tell. Bane’s maturation into the child-stealing bounty huntsman we’ve travel to cognize and emotion (well, possibly “love” isn’t the close word, but you get the point) is mostly good paced, but immoderate of the nuances and details person to beryllium near out.

Maybe a small much breathing country successful the moving clip would person amended explained what’s going connected with Bane’s accent and voice. He goes from sounding similar a mean kid successful his archetypal occurrence to Corey Burton doing an aged-down Bane successful the second. For each of Burton’s strengths arsenic an actor, it’s inactive a jarring transition, particularly erstwhile nary of his peers oregon chap Duros stock Bane’s accent oregon mode of speaking. It made maine wonderment wherefore helium speaks similar that astatine all. There’s technically a bully crushed for altering his dependable successful the archetypal episode, which I won’t spell into here. I conscionable don’t deliberation it’s a bully capable reason, nor does it explicate his unsocial mode of speaking.