Dave Filoni wears many hats within the wonderful world of Star Wars. He’s a director, screenwriter, producer, and showrunner. He’s also an Executive Vice President at Lucasfilm and just last year was promoted to Chief Creative Officer. A former understudy of sorts of the legendary George Lucas, Filoni has his hand in nearly every Star Wars project from the many television series to his own upcoming feature film.

Filoni made a name for himself at LucasFilm in animation, overseeing the terrific shows “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars: Rebels”. Even with his promotions, Filoni hasn’t left that first-love as evident by “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” which is currently wrapping up its final season. But there’s also his “Star Wars: Tales” – an anthology series consisting of six animated short films focused on different characters in the Star Wars universe. The terrific “Tales of the Jedi” released in 2022. Now we get “Tales of the Empire”, an equally satisfying experience custom-made for the Star Wars faithful.

“Tales of the Empire” hones in on two specific characters, Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee. As we’ve come to expect from Filoni and LucasFilm, the animation is outstanding and the voice work is impeccable. Fans will recognize countless connections to various people, places, and events across the Star Wars timeline yet the shorts are more than simple fan service. Filoni always looks for the humanity in his characters and it’s no different here.

The first three shorts focus on Morgan Elsbeth who first appeared in the second season of “The Mandalorian” and had a significant role the Ahsoka series. Morgan was a Force-sensitive Nightsister from the planet Dathomir. She become a devoted follower of Grand Admiral Thrawn and would serve as an oppressive Imperial Magistrate on the planet Corvus. “Tales” makes three life-altering early stops on her timeline, adding some captivating depth to this fascinating character. The great Diana Lee Inosanto is back to voice Elsbeth.

The final three shorts do the same with Barriss Offee who is voiced by the returning Meredith Salenger. Barriss was a Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars and developed a close friendship with Ahsoka Tano. But Barriss grew disillusioned with the Jedi and turned to the dark side of the Force, going as far as bombing the Jedi Temple and letting Ahsoka take the fall. “Tales” adds some interesting complexity to her story, tapping into some of the conflict that drove her to follow the various paths she did.

Unlike the other Star Wars animated projects, the “Tales of the Empire” seasons are very much anthologies. The shorts may be connected by their focus on certain characters, but there’s nothing resembling a flowing episodic narrative. That may sound obvious since it’s baked into the very definition of an anthology. But I remember reading those very criticisms about its predecessor. So knowing what the show is obviously helps.

Also, it’s worth stressing again that “Tales of the Empire” is for fans first and foremost. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But newcomers should know that this isn’t where you want to begin your Star Wars journey. All six shorts demand some knowledge about the characters and their story arcs. Without it you can still admire the exquisite animation which employs the same art style as “The Clone Wars” and “The Bad Batch”. But the series is made with the intent of adding to what we already know about these characters, filling in and expanding upon what we’ve already seen. As a Star Wars diehard, I loved it. Those not well versed may struggle.

Each short runs approximately 15 minutes long and are written exceptionally well. The lone exception is the final episode which doesn’t wrap things up as strongly as possible. Still, for Star Wars fans there are so many nuggets to chew on and savor. Filoni knows how to handle his characters and his team of directors and animators vividly bring these short stories to the screen. I’m not sure where the “Tales” series goes next, but the quality of what we’ve been given so far makes me hungry for more. “Star Wars: Tales of the Empire” premieres May 4th exclusively on Disney+.

VERDICT – 4 STARS