Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld

Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld

Two Outlaws. Two Paths.

Overview: Two outlaws must navigate the galaxy’s dangerous underworld as they chart their destinies.

Star Wars anthology tradition continues its May 4th streak with Tales of the Underworld, a six-part animated series released on Disney+ as part of the growing “Tales of” collection. While the first entry, Tales of the Jedi, premiered back in October 2022, its successors—Tales of the Empire in 2024 and now Underworld in 2025—have embraced the symbolic Star Wars Day as their official launch.

Like the previous “Tales” entries, Underworld consists of six episodes, each running around 13 minutes. These compact, character-driven stories offer fans a deeper look into supporting figures from the galaxy far, far away—not necessarily adding anything groundbreaking to canon, but delivering about 90 minutes of thoughtful, satisfying character study.

This time, the spotlight falls on two fan-favorites with morally complicated pasts: the resurrected former Sith assassin Asajj Ventress and the legendary bounty hunter Cad Bane. The show does its best to stay respectful to canon, though that’s becoming an increasingly tricky task as the universe stretches across novels, shows, and comics. In Ventress’s case, that leads to a soft retcon—she’s brought back to life after her canonical death in Dark Disciple. It may slightly undercut the weight of that story, but for most viewers not steeped in extended lore, it likely won’t be a dealbreaker.

Taken on its own terms, it’s rewarding to see how Underworld draws a parallel between Ventress and Bane, exploring how each copes with the tragedies that shaped them. Both were pushed into darkness early on, but while Ventress developed a surprising moral compass after years of loyalty to the wrong cause, Bane hardened into someone guided purely by self-interest. Ventress’s arc, though occasionally bogged down by a familiar “do this for me, and I’ll help you” side-quest structure (reminiscent of The Mandalorian or The Bad Batch), ends on a touching and well-earned note. Bane’s story, meanwhile, is a grim tale of vengeance and consequence—one where, in the end, he’s the most deeply affected by his own choices.

The season explores mature themes and builds solid suspense. Once again, the main frustration is just how short these episodes are, often holding the series back from achieving true greatness. The emotional beats and ideas here could easily fill a full Clone Wars arc—three or four 22-minute episodes. The rapid start-stop pacing makes it feel a bit choppy, undercutting some of its strongest moments. That said, the animation continues to evolve impressively with each new installment, and the score—once again by Kevin Kiner—is consistent with his solid past work. Personally, I’d love to see this animation style become the norm for stories like Ahsoka or Skeleton Crew, where the live-action versions often feel more limited.

In the end, Tales of the Underworld is right on par with the anthology’s previous entries: beautifully animated, emotionally engaging, and focused on characters wrestling with compelling moral dilemmas. It’s held back a bit by its short format—especially when compared to the best arcs from The Clone Wars or The Bad Batch—but for what it is, it’s another solid addition to the galaxy.