Star Wars' Latest TV Show Just Changed Things For Disney Plus

Summary Disney+ made a unique release choice for Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, dropping the show in every territory at midnight local time.

The release coincided perfectly with Star Wars Day, sparking confusion and speculation about whether it was intentional or a coding error.

While this format may not be used for major shows, it provides Disney+ with a new release option for special occasions like Star Wars Day.

Star Wars: Tales of the Empire's release has completely changed Disney+, in the strangest possible way. May 4 is officially Star Wars Day, and Disney+ has gotten in on the act.Today, Lucasfilm Animation released the six-part TV show Tales of the Empire, exploring the Dark Times of the Empire's reign. These six animated shorts focus in on Diana Lee Inosanto's Morgan Elsbeth and Meredith Salenger's Barriss Offee, characters from Ahsoka and Star Wars: The Clone Wars respectively.

Disney followed the binge release model with Tales of the Empire. But it had one surprising feature; rather than drop concurrently worldwide - say, at midnight ET, as is traditional with Lucasfilm Animation - it released in every territory at midnight local time. This caused quite a lot of confusion on social media, where people from different time-zones interact. What was going on?

Tales of the Empire (2024) Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is an animated follow-up to 2022's Tales of the Jedi. The series focuses on Barriss Offee, a former Jedi, and Morgan Elsbeth as they navigate their separate paths through the Galactic Empire. The series will also see the return of other iconic Star Wars characters such as General Grievous, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Darth Vader. Cast Jason Isaacs , Meredith Salenger , Lars Mikkelsen , Rya Kihlstedt , Diana Lee Inosanto , Matthew Wood , Wing T.Chao Streaming Service(s) Disney+ Writers Dave Filoni

Tales Of The Empire's Release Fitted Well With Star Wars Day

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Disney+ has never followed this kind of release pattern before, which explains the confusion. In truth, though, it was an entirely appropriate choice for Tales of the Empire, because it meant the show dropped in every territory just when Star Wars Day began. It has to be noted that it's unclear whether this was intentional; Disney never made an official announcement of the release time. This could just be a coding error somewhere in the Disney+ database, but it's one that has worked out well.

It's unlikely any upcoming Star Wars TV shows this year will follow the same format, of course. As excellent as Tales of the Empire may be, it's not as high-profile as some of the live-action shows; there's no way Disney and Lucasfilm would consider a similar approach for The Acolyte later this year, for example. But the differentiated release is an approach being followed by some other animations elsewhere, notably My Adventures with Superman season 2, which will release at midnight ET and PT rather than simultaneously across multiple time-zones.

Related Star Wars: Tales Of The Empire Episode Guide Everything you need to know about 2024's Tales of the Empire, including recaps, cast and character lists, Star Wars trivia, and more!

Disney+ Now Has Another Release Option

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Whether this was a mere coding error or not, Disney+ now has another release option - and one that could be used again. It will never be attractive for shows where spoilers and pirating would really damage performance, but it's perfect for moments like Star Wars Day. Star Wars: Tales of the Empire has given the House of Mouse a new trick, one that could be useful.