Star Wars has just announced the upcoming series of shorts called Tales of the Empire, which won’t feature Ahsoka Tano but is still about her. Tales of the Empire will be replacing Tales of the Jedi season 2, and will tell the stories of Diana Lee Inosanto’s Lady Morgan Elsbeth and Meredith Salenger’s Barriss Offee in six shorts. Much of Lucasfilm’s animation has revolved around Tano in the past, with her being one of the main characters of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and her triumphant return in Star Wars Rebels.
Tales of the Jedi season 1 had three episodes dedicated to telling more of Ahsoka Tano’s story, further enriching a character who has now appeared in animation, live-action, and even a novel revealing what happened after she survived Order 66. Ahsoka Tano was originally created by George Lucas’ protégé and current Lucasfilm CCO Dave Filoni. Ahsoka started off as the young Padawan to Anakin Skywalker, and evolved into a fan-favorite whose tales are even told in live-action. While Ahsoka likely isn’t appearing in Tales of the Empire, somehow the story still revolves around her.
The two characters who will be focused on in Tales of the Empire are Lady Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee. Portrayed by Diana Lee Inosanto, Lady Morgan was initially introduced in The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5 “Chapter 13: The Jedi” – unveiled as an Imperial loyalist who sought to bring back Grand Admiral Thrawn. The episode concluded with Morgan captured by Ahsoka Tano and being brought to the New Republic for trial. Ahsoka season 1 begins with Morgan being freed from custody, and .
Lady Morgan seems to be a Nightsister of Dathomir, one of the few survivors when Count Dooku and General Grievous massacred the witches. This appears to be where one of Elsbeth’s episodes will focus as trailer footage shows other Nightsisters as well as General Grievous, who led the massacre. Tales of the Empire will also feature the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, who is being set up to be the next heir to the Empire and will likely be the antagonist for Ahsoka season 2 as well as Dave Filoni’s still-untitled film.
The other character Tales of the Empire will be focusing on is Barriss Offee, the former Jedi Padawan of Master Luminara Unduli. Barriss and Ahsoka Tano became fast friends as they were both learning the ropes of being a Jedi together. When Ahsoka Tano was accused of bombing the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Barriss was one of the few people who offered to help her. However, it was later revealed that Barriss was disillusioned by the Jedi; she was responsible for bombing the Jedi Temple and framing Ahsoka.
For a long time, it was a mystery what happened to Barriss following the fall of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire. It was unclear if she had survived Order 66 and what she was doing. However, Tales of the Empire‘s trailer confirms Barriss Offee will be train to become an Imperial Inquisitor under Jason Isaac’s Grand Inquisitor. The trailer also shows a glimpse of Marrok, an Inquisitor whose resurrected corpse served as a villain in Ahsoka.
Because Dave Filoni created the character of Ahsoka Tano, he has always had an affinity for writing and continuing her story. He was the one who established what kind of Jedi she was, and who made sure her story continued in Star Wars Rebels. Not only was Ahsoka’s appearance in Rebels a shock but it also set up Ahsoka’s trajectory for after the Empire’s defeat and through to when she’s seen in The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.
With Dave Filoni taking on a larger role at Lucasfilm, it’s no wonder he committed to making Tales of the Empire surround two of Ahsoka’s biggest adversaries. Even though she likely won’t be physically present in these stories, these shorts wouldn’t have happened without continued investment in Ahsoka Tano’s story. If nothing else, Tales of the Empire proves that even though Ahsoka Tano made the jump to live-action, her legacy in Star Wars animation is unparalleled.