Created by Dave Filoni, written by Matt Michnovetz, and directed by a slate of Star Wars animation veterans, Tales of the Underworld is a hanging new anthology sequence that shifts the highlight away from Jedi temples and Sith legacies to discover the galaxy’s grimiest corners.
Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld shifts the focus to the cracks in the galaxy, to the individuals who aren’t typically remembered in legends. Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman) and Cad Bane (Corey Burton) aren’t simply relics of the Clone Wars, they’re case research in survival, adaptation, and consequence. The sequence brings nuance to characters as soon as seen as villains and as an alternative lets their experiences carry the weight of ethical ambiguity, grief, and resilience.
By way of Ventress, we hint the scars of betrayal and the sluggish rebuild towards one thing resembling function. By way of Bane, we witness the value of staying on a path solid by violence and satisfaction. These aren’t simply character research; they’re reflections of a galaxy that was by no means as black and white as the Jedi wished to imagine. Regardless of having little or no live-action presence, each characters supply a lens that makes the galaxy really feel extra alive and extra harmful.
What makes Tales of the Underworld so highly effective is how clearly it understands one of Star Wars’ oldest truths: it’s all about the path you select. Asajj Ventress and Cad Bane used to stroll the similar path, as survivors and troopers for rent, navigating a galaxy at conflict. However now, they’ve splintered. Ventress is pulled towards one thing lighter. Her time with Quinlan Vos and the reminiscence of the love she as soon as shared along with her Nightsister household push her towards redemption, even when it’s messy and hard-earned. She’s not the similar murderer from the Clone Wars. She’s somebody studying to stay once more.
Tales of the Underworld is a reminder that you just’re solely pretty much as good as your final alternative.
Bane’s story, on the different hand, appears like a grim folktale. Two children develop up in the similar world, and one turns towards hope whereas the different digs deeper into violence. The Cad Bane we see right here isn’t only a product of a damaged system. He’s somebody who retains selecting the darker path, even when he’s proven one other manner. His story continues to be tragic, however it’s additionally a warning. The decisions we make outline us. And when these previous paths intersect once more, it turns into painfully clear who’s keen to alter and who isn’t.
Each characters are reminders: you’re solely pretty much as good as your final alternative. That concept echoes by way of each scene and each flip. In Tales of the Underworld, these decisions come to outline not simply the folks we thought we knew, however the galaxy round them.
Visually, Tales of the Underworld is the greatest canon animation Star Wars has ever produced. The crew clearly pushed themselves to maintain tempo with the experimental magnificence we’ve seen in Star Wars: Visions, and it exhibits. The texture virtually feels clay-like at instances, so grounded and wealthy that you could’t assist however surprise how Industrial Mild & Magic pulled it off. This isn’t simply good for an anthology; it’s beautiful. It makes a powerful case for why we’d like one other full-length animated sequence in canon.
In fact, Kevin Kiner continues his reign as the soundscape architect of animated Star Wars. Their rating blends the galaxy’s lived-in grit with echoes of John Williams in a manner that feels each recent and acquainted. Truthfully, Kevin Kiner’s music deserves to be talked about in the similar breath as the greats as a result of he and his crew completely crush it as soon as once more.
Tales of the Underworld opens up many doable futures.
Popping out of Tales of the Underworld, there’s an actual sense of hope for these characters, and for Star Wars storytelling as a complete. For Ventress, nonetheless alive put up–The Unhealthy Batch, the door is large open. A future reference to Ahsoka appears doable, perhaps even inevitable, particularly given her deep ties to the Nightsisters. Her journey feels unfinished in the greatest manner.
For Bane, whose finish has already been written, there’s nonetheless a galaxy of tales to discover. His previous with Jango Fett, his work with Darth Maul, his function in the legal underworld, there’s room for complete arcs between the dots we already know. Anthologies like Tales of the Underworld are the excellent place to fill in these blanks.
If Tales of the Underworld proves something, it’s that Star Wars animation, particularly when it’s constructed by creators like Dave Filoni, Matt Michnovetz, and a voice forged together with Nika Futterman and Corey Burton, is simply as very important, wealthy, and resonant as something in live-action. Generally it’s even higher.
Tales of the Underworld doesn’t simply revisit the tales of Asajj Ventress and Cade Bane. It completes them after which opens the door for much more.
Tales of the Underworld is streaming now on Disney+.
