From its very first moment on the screen, Star Wars has dealt with the past. The stories from the galaxy far, far away all happened a long time ago. And the prequels, which embraced the franchise’s history by showing us how Darth Vader was once a frightened young boy on Tatooine, have led to countless other projects that go back in time. Now Disney+ will do the same for two legendary Jedi, each of whom chose a very different path in life. At this year’s Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm offered a first look at a new animated series coming to Disney+ in the fall. Tales of the Jedi will explore the pasts of Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku.
During a Celebration panel hosted by our very own managing editor Amy Ratcliffe, Dave Filoni introduced the world to Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, a new six-part animated series coming to Disney+ this fall. The show will follow two important characters in the series. Ahsoka and Count Dooku will each get three episodes. The show will follow them during different points in their lives. For Ahsoka, that will include seeing her as a baby. And for Dooku, that will mean meeting him as a young Jedi himself, and when he had a Padawan that all Star Wars fans know, Qui-Gon Jinn.
Liam Neeson (along with his son) will voice the character he played in The Phantom Menace. That’s only fitting since the show will explore the master-student relationship that ultimately impacted the entire galaxy far, far away.
Janina Gavankar, who played Iden Versio in Star Wars Battlefront II, will also return to the franchise. She’ll voice Ahsoka’s mother, Pav-ti. As cute as the concept art is for Pav-ti’s baby, don’t expect the series to be nothing but twin sunshine and space lollipops. Filoni says some of the episodes are “dark.” They’ll also have minimal speaking. Filoni calls the shows “tone poems” whose stories are told primarily through visuals.
That minimalistic approach is inspired by Hayao Miyazaki and George Lucas. This, of course, makes a lot of sense. Star Wars has always looked to the past to tell its stories.