I forgot Andor was on last night, so I’m still catching up on the episodes, but a few days ago, a new Star Wars series launched on Disney Plus. And so far, it’s got perfect reviews.
Disney just released this as a binge drop on Star Wars day, May the Fourth, six episodes of Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, the origin story of the famed Cad Bane and the reappearance of Asajj Ventress, told in Clone Wars/Rebels-style animation.
Cad Bane was unceremoniously murdered at the end of The Book of Boba Fett by Boba Fett himself after a brief appearance, something many long-time fans of the character did not much appreciate, but now we’re in a period well before that and this appears like it may be a longer-tale story with this advertised already as just being season 1, with more likely to follow. Here’s the synopsis:
“Asajj Ventress, a former assassin, flees with a new ally, while Cad Bane confronts his past when meeting an old friend turned Marshal.”
It’s a cool concept, though I can’t help but wish this was a live action series as I am just so over Clone Wars-style animation at this point. It’s my own opinion but it genuinely may be my least-favorite animation style of all time to the point where it prevented me from enjoying those series. I know, I know, I’m a bad Star Wars fan. But yes, after seeing Corey Burton (Bane’s voice actor) play him in real life in Disney’s worst Star Wars show, this could have been cool.
But this show? Apparently pretty cool. It has a perfect 100% score from critics right now, albeit with not that many reviews in, and like most other animated Star Wars projects is receiving a lot of praise. What can I say, those series do really well, and a lot of those characters have made it to live action in some form or another at this point (mainly through Ahsoka). Here’s some of the praise for Tales of the Underworld:
- FandomWire – “The six-episode show should be an easy recommendation for anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Clone Wars. Even a layman will find each story interesting, with Westerns and adventures carved through a short runtime.”
- RIOTUS – “Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld doesn’t have shocking reveals or new characters but gives the audience good stories with cool characters perfect for May the Fourth.”
This “Tales” series has incredibly short episodes, barely 15 minutes apiece, so six episodes is a ninety minute movie, an exceptionally breezy watch compared to most animated Star Wars projects. Check it out today.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
