May 4th is a must-see date for Star Wars fans. In English, this date is pronounced "May the Fourth," a play on the famous phrase "May the Force be with you." That's why Lucasfilm made it the official day dedicated to its iconic fictional universe. Every year, a new series is released on Disney+. In 2025, fans were introduced to the animated series Tales of the Underworld. We've watched all the episodes, and here are four reasons to watch this miniseries.
#1 A series directed by Dave Filoni
While Kathleen Kennedy - president of Lucasfilm Ltd. - saw her popularity plummet following the monumental failure of the postlogy, Dave Filoni's has never stopped growing. Unanimously considered the spiritual son of George Lucas, he developed the animated series The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, before co-directing the Mandoverse alongside Jon Favreau. While he is now involved in all the series related to The Mandalorian, Dave Filoni continues to produce animated series Star Wars that enrich the universe. After the excellent The Bad Batch, he launched the mini-series Tales of the Jedi and then Tales of the Empire. It's now up to Tales of the Empire to expand the lore.
#2 A series centered on two iconic characters
After Ahsoka Tano and the fall of Count Dooku in Tales of the Jedi, then Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee in Tales of the Empire, the new animated series Star Wars focuses on two characters much loved by fans of The Clone Wars: Asajj Ventress and Cad Bane. Each has a three-episode story arc. In the first three, Asajj Ventress—a former Padawan who became Count Dooku's apprentice before sacrificing herself to protect Quinlan Vos—completes her redemption by helping a young Padawan who is searching for the Passageway that will allow the last Jedi to discreetly escape the Galactic Empire. In the following three episodes, Dave Filoni recounts the tormented past of bounty hunter Cad Bane, from his early youth to one of his most unforgivable acts.
#3 A very inspired series
The least we can say is that Tales of the Underworldis a great success. While Asajj Ventress's redemption arc is fairly classic in its narrative, it nevertheless has some nice surprises in store for viewers. We particularly think of Asajj Ventress's continued love for Quinlan Vos, which allowed her to return to life. While the relationship between Count Dooku's former apprentice and her new Jedi friend is supposed to be the emotional heart of the arc, it's Asajj's expressions when her love is mentioned that make it so moving. There are also some very well-done action sequences, including a fight against an Inquisitor at the end of the first episode. The arc devoted to Cad Bane's youth is even more qualitative. The more tragic the last three episodes seem to draw more of their inspiration from Sergio Leone's gangster film Once Upon a Time in America - a wise choice, given that Cad Bane is itself inspired by the Italian director's spaghetti westerns. No Prohibition here, but rather two friends and their rivalries in an urban landscape whose elements evoke Sergio Leone's masterpiece.
#4 Any ideas for the future?
While Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Empire could be criticized for being one-shots with no impact on the rest of the universe, we can conversely suspect Tales of the Underworld of having discreetly laid down a few small pawns for the future. Indeed, while the return of Asajj Ventress in season 3 of The Bad Batch seemed to show her quest for redemption, the completion of this quest in episode 3 of Tales of the Underworld allows Lucasfilm to continue to exploit her in future productions. For example, we can imagine a return of Asajj Ventress in live-action in season 2 of Obi-Wan Kenobi if it is approved. As for Cad Bene, although the character was killed by Boba Fett in the final episode of The Book of Boba Fett, he leaves behind a descendant who could also make a comeback in future Star Wars productions.
And you, what do you think? Don't hesitate to tell us if you enjoyed the series in the comments section. And if this article interested you, here are the 14 most anticipated Star Wars projects!
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