I am not a Star Wars superfan I've seen all the movies, and I've played (and enjoyed) many of the video games set in this beloved sci-fi world But when Star Wars content doesn't appeal to me, I'm perfectly fine with skipping it And in the last few years, the Disney Plus original shows set in a galaxy far, far away have (almost) all grabbed me and wouldn't let go

"Ahsoka," "The Book of Boba Fett," "Andor," and "Bad Batch" have all passed me by, and "The Mandalorian" felt so lackluster that I stopped after the second season So far, the only Star Wars show I've seen all the way through is "Obi-Wan Kenobi," but I honestly think I probably should have seen that show as well It certainly doesn't justify taking up a few hours of my limited viewing time

But the streaming service, which has been (at best) ambivalent about the many Star Wars additions to Disney Plus, finally offered a show that caught my eye In honor of Star Wars Day 2024 (Saturday, May 4), a new collection of animated shorts known as Tales of the Empire has appeared on Disney Plus

"Tales of the Empire" is technically the 2022 successor to "Tales of the Jedi," but since it is set in a different time period and features different characters, it can be considered a spiritual follow-up rather than a "Tales of the Jedi" season two

The animated show is divided into six episodes, each expected to be about 15 minutes long As its name suggests, the show attempts to explore the inner workings of the ruthless Galactic Empire, and it does this by following the perspectives of two characters

The first is Morgan Elspeth (voiced by Diana Lee), a Force-sensitive nystar witch who joins the Imperial Army in a quest for revenge The second is Baris Offi (Meredith Salenger), a former Jedi who must become desperate to survive in the harsh new world Elsbeth first appeared in "Ahsoka" and Offy in "The Clone Wars" However, this new short film delves deeper into both of them and fills in some of the blanks that have been left [It is unclear whether "Tales of the Empire" will devote three episodes to each character, or whether one will appear longer than the other; there may be a crossover episode in which the two main characters meet However, according to the official synopsis, that seems a bit unlikely, since the two storylines are "set in different eras"

My excitement for "Tales of the Empire" lies purely in the setting, which explores Star Wars from a fresh perspective - the villain's point of view

I've had enough of morally righteous Jedi and so-called villains who secretly have a heart of gold I am eager to see the bad guys get the spotlight and gain a new perspective on the Star Wars universe Furthermore, I like morally gray or downright dark stories in general, so "Tales of Empire" is a perfect fit for me

Also compelling is the short story nature of the "Tales of" anthology series One of the reasons I criticized "The Mandalorian" was its poor pacing, with episodes of villains changing from week to week, which made the show feel like it was spinning out of control In "Tales of Empire," the story needs to be told succinctly in six short episodes And at least if the show is bad, it won't take particularly long to finish!

All six episodes of "Tales of Empire" will be available on Disney Plus on May 4, which is just the beginning of the Star Wars Day celebrations And for those who want to dive into more Star Wars content over the weekend, we have a guide to the best Star Wars shows to watch and those to skip