Tales Of The Empire Will Finally Wrap Up A 4-Year-Old Mandalorian Mystery

Summary Tales of the Empire will delve into Morgan Elsbeth's backstory, solidifying her as a significant Star Wars villain.

The series will explore Morgan's alliance with Grand Admiral Thrawn and shed light on her loyalty to him.

Expect to see familiar faces on Calodan, such as Wing; and maybe even an animated Din Djarin and Grogu.

Star Wars’ latest animated entry, Tales of the Empire, is set to finally explain one of the biggest mysteries in The Mandalorian. Rather than push for Tales of the Jedi season 2, Disney has opted to expand its “Tales of” spinoffs by showcasing some of the franchise’s darker stories. Like Tales of the Jedi, Tales of the Empire will only focus on two Star Wars characters, Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee. The series will jump around in the timeline in order to paint the clearest picture of the struggles these characters face while dealing with the Empire.

In Tales of the Jedi, Count Dooku and Ahsoka’s stories were as different as night and day. Dooku found himself falling away from the Jedi Order, while Ahsoka Tano found herself returning to the Force to fight in the Rebellion. Similarly, Tales of the Empire sets up two drastically different characters. On the one hand, Barriss Offee’s story in Canon has yet to be written, meaning no one has any clue what could happen to her after she was captured in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. But on the other hand, Morgan Elsbeth’s ending has been revealed in Ahsoka.

All episodes of Tales of the Empire release on May 4th, 2024.

Tales Of The Empire Will Reveal Morgan Elsbeth's Backstory

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Tales of the Empire finally promises to go back and flesh out Morgan Elsbeth’s backstory. She first appeared 4 years ago in The Mandalorian season 2 as the tyrannical Magistrate of Calodan. In the series, she was little more than a roadblock for Din Djarin and Ahsoka to overcome. Nevertheless, Morgan's return in Ahsoka proved just how important her character is in the Star Wars galaxy. By going back to fill in the gaps of Morgan’s story, Tales of the Empire cements her as a Star Wars villain to be remembered.

Hailing from the planet Dathomir, Morgan Elsbeth's people were almost wiped out during the Clone Wars after their leader, Mother Talzin, became a rival to Darth Sidious himself. Morgan swore loyalty to the Empire, and became a close associate of Grand Admiral Thrawn himself. When Thrawn was stranded in a distant galaxy, she spearheaded efforts to retrieve him, prompted by visions cast by the Great Mothers of Peridea. She was sacrificed by Thrawn to buy him time to escape Peridea, with Ahsoka and her allies stranded there. Cast Diana Lee Inosanto First Appearance The Mandalorian Died Ahsoka Alliance Empire/Dathomiri Race Dathomiri

Based on the Tales of the Empire trailer, one or more of the episodes looks to be dedicated to the Massacre of the Nightsisters. This tragic event was first seen in The Clone Wars, where General Grievous led his droid army in a mass genocide of Mother Talzin and her Witches of Dathomir. Only a handful of Nightsisters, such as Asajj Ventress and Merrin, managed to evade the carnage. Now, Tales of the Empire will show a new angle to the battle while explaining exactly how Morgan survived.

This Show Will Explain Morgan's & Thrawn's Alliance

image via Disney+

Not only does Tales of the Empire promise to lead up to Morgan’s appearance in The Mandalorian, but it also sets up her alliance with Grand Admiral Thrawn seen in Ahsoka. Sometime after the massacre of her people, Morgan either finds—or is captured by—Thrawn and his Imperial forces. Instead of standing idly by and allowing the Empire to bulldoze over her, Morgan offers her anger to Thrawn and the Empire. Her sorrow and rage drive her to become a servant to the Empire, while also becoming a tool for Thrawn.

Related Star Wars: Tales of the Empire - Every Character & Cameo (& Who Plays Them) Star Wars’ latest animated series, Tales of the Empire, is dedicated to bringing back original voice actors for almost all its characters and cameos.

One of the biggest mysteries still surrounding Morgan Elsbeth is why she is so loyal to Thrawn in The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. While Tales of the Empire shows Morgan pledging her loyalty to the Empire, time will prove that she’s actually more loyal to Thrawn. Even after the Empire is toppled in Return of the Jedi, Morgan goes to extreme lengths in The Mandalorian and Ahsoka to find a way to return Thrawn to the main Star Wars galaxy. Tales of the Empire will likely show exactly what Thrawn did for Morgan to inspire so much devotion in her.

Could Any Familiar Mandalorian Faces Appear On Corvus?

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In addition to showing Morgan’s backstory with the Nightsisters and her first meeting with Thrawn, Tales of the Empire is also returning to the same planet Morgan was first seen on in The Mandalorian. One character—a lowly servant on Calodan named Wing—has already been confirmed as a returning character from The Mandalorian. But because the series returns to Corvus, its likely Disney plans to unveil other familiar faces as well; Morgan’s story may even end with an animated Din Djarin and Grogu showing up at Calodan.

Another popular character that could appear in Tales of the Empire is Baylan Skoll, given Star Wars has yet to explain when and where Morgan and Baylan became a team. There’s a high likelihood Morgan met Baylan before or during her residence on Calodan, and before her appearance in The Mandalorian season 2. Shortly after she’s captured by Ahsoka and the New Republic, Baylan and Shin Hati break her out in the first episode of Ahsoka. In any case, Tales of the Empire will dispel the mystery of Morgan Elsbeth’s origin in Star Wars.