Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is an upcoming Disney+ animated anthology series set in the Star Wars universe and a sequel to the 2022 Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi.
Whereas Tales of the Jedi focused on the stories of Jedi Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku, Tales of the Empire tells two stories: the tale of how one of the last survivors of the Separatist massacre of Dathomir, Morgan Elsbeth, joined the Empire to avenge her people; and the tale of how fallen Jedi Barriss Offee became a trainee of the Empire's Inquisitorious program.
Diana Lee Inosanto and Meredith Salenger reprise their roles as Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee, as do franchise veterans Lars Mikkelsen as the future Grand Admiral Thrawn, Jason Isaacs as the Grand Inquisitor, Rya Kihlstedt as the Fourth Sister, Matthew Wood as General Grievous, and Wing T. Chao as Wing.
Tropes known thus far in this series:
- Art Evolution:
- Both the Grand Inquisitor and Thrawn, who made their debuts in Star Wars Rebels, have notably less stylized designs here in the style of late-Clone Wars onward animation.
- Grievous received an updated model only briefly glimpsed in the opening moments of Season 7. It’s finally put to good use here as the trailer shows him with it, and it looks even more enhanced than ever.
- Ascended Extra: The Fourth Sister had a minor role in her debut in Obi-Wan Kenobi, basically just being the other Inquisitor in the room with only a few lines. The trailer shows she has a much larger, critical role in Barriss's storyline, inviting her to join the Inquisitorious and helping oversee her training. The trailer also shows her with her lightsaber in action whereas she never drew her lightsaber in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
- The Bus Came Back:
- The trailer shows Barriss Offee making her return for the first time since "The Wrong Jedi", which premiered eleven years prior to this series's release.
- The final shot of said trailer shows Darth Vader himself ominously marching into the room.
- Call-Forward:
- Barriss is subjected to a harsh training regiment by the Grand Inquisitor, which Iskat Akaris/Thirteenth Sister would also endure.
- One of the prospective Inquisitors is a Caphex, a species that Seossra Thwisp is a part of.
- The trailer shows Elsbeth and Wing on the forest moon of Corvus, where the former will later be shown ruling as a tyrant until Ahsoka overthrows her in "The Jedi".
- Continuity Nod:
- General Grievous' massacre of the Nightsisters of Dathomir depicted in "Massacre" is shown once again in the trailer.
- The trailer shows that Barriss was evidently turned over to the Inquisitorious following Order 66, after she had been in Republic custody following her arrest in "The Wrong Jedi". It’s also interesting to note that the trailer shows the Grand Inquisitor helping personally train Barriss, since he was one of the Temple Guards who apprehended her with Anakin and later escorted her to Ahsoka’s trial, the experience helping disillusion him with the Jedi.
- The trailer has a clone guard that she's lucky she's not a Jedi anymore. In "Victory and Death", Rex tried to buy time and convince Jesse that Ahsoka may not actually qualify for termination under Order 66 since she left the Jedi Order; however, Jesse refused since Rex stated himself that Ahsoka had been specifically marked for termination. Evidently, Barriss was not added to the list by Palpatine given she's still a prisoner after Order 66 and the clones don't shoot her on sight.
- Among the Inquisitors shown bowing in the trailer are Marrok, and the unidentified Inquisitor who went after Ahsoka in Tales of the Jedi.
- Cruel Mercy: In the trailer, Barriss is told by a Clone Guard she's lucky she's not considered a Jedi anymore, otherwise she'd be shot on sight per Order 66. Instead, she is taken to the Inquisitorius where she'll receive Training from Hell to become a cruel, merciless Inquisitor hunting down Jedi for an evil Empire.
- Deadly Graduation: The final test to become an Inquisitor has Barriss and another in a pit surrounded by lava... and only one lightsaber.
- Evil Mentor: The trailer shows the Fourth Sister as well as the Grand Inquisitor training Barriss for potential induction into the Inquisitorious.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Barriss, who had once ranted of how the Jedi and the Republic have become corrupted by the Dark Side during the Clone Wars, is shown here in the trailer to have been trained as a member of the Inquisitors, a group of fallen Jedi who serves the evil Empire, the official successor to the Republic.
- Irony: After Barriss Offee's Face–Heel Turn, the Grand Inquisitor (at the time, a Temple Guard of the Jedi Order) was the one who arrested and imprisoned her after she was brought to justice. The trailer for this series shows that he's overseeing her training to become an Inquisitor, meaning Barriss is following the teachings of a person who she inspired to turn to the Dark Side in the first place.
- Kneel Before Zod: The trailer ends with the Inquisitors and Barriss kneeling as Darth Vader arrives in the room.
- Mythology Gag:
- Elsbeth is shown in the trailer quoting the Sith code verbatim.
- The trailer quotes Yoda's famous line from The Phantom Menace ("fear", "anger", "hate", "suffering").
- Protagonist Journey to Villain: The press summary establishes that the focus is on two protagonists, Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee, and how they went from somewhat noble individuals to ruthless, hate-driven agents for the Empire in their respective journeys.
- Trading Bars for Stripes: The trailer shows the Fourth Sister offering the incarcerated Barriss a chance to join the Inquisitorius program.
