6 stories to get you ready for Tales of the Jedi

My animation-loving heart rejoiced when the trailer for Tales of the Jedi dropped at D23 Expo. I always want more animated content in a galaxy far, far away, and this series of shorts looks excellent! All six episodes from creator Dave Filoni will premiere on Disney+ on October 26.

With Tales of the Jedi a little more than a month away, here is a list of books and shows to watch to get you ready for the new adventure with Ahsoka, Count Dooku, Qui-Gon Jinn, and more.

1. Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston

When the show was announced at Celebration, some of the early reports like from Screen Rant described Ahsoka fighting an Imperial Inquisitor. Now that we have the trailer, we see this on screen. There are a handful of times in canon Ahsoka has tangoed with the Inquisitorious. Some of the encounters were featured in Star Wars Rebels. The other was in the Ahsoka novel.

Ahsoka is about Ahsoka Tano in hiding after the events of Order 66. It’s very much an introspective book about her figuring out what her path is now that everyone she loves is gone and the galaxy has changed. She finds a backwater planet, sets up a life, and settles in until her past starts to catch up with her.

As it seems like one of the shorts from Tales of the Jedi is a direct reference to the book, this is definitely one to check out.

2. Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott

Dooku: Jedi Lost tells the story of Asajj Ventress uncovering the past of her master, Count Dooku. The audio drama delves into Dooku’s origin as a man who came from wealth and was shunned when his Force powers emerged. It chronicles his life in the Jedi Order as well as his friendship with Sifo-Dyas, another important figure in the Prequel Era. As Dooku rose through the ranks into the role of Jedi Master and took on a padawan of his own, Qui-Gon Jinn, his struggles with the Dark Side as well as questions about the Jedi Order blossomed as well.

This is a great audio drama, but it’s also available in script form as well if audio isn’t your thing. It’s one of the best looks in the current canon about Dooku’s rise and fall in the Jedi. It also has some fantastic moments for Asajj Ventress too as she struggles to silence the voice of her deceased Jedi Master, Ky Narec.

3. Master and Apprentice by Claudia Grey

One of my personal favorite Star Wars books, Master and Apprentice is about the tumultuous relationship between Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. As Qui-Gon is asked to join the Jedi High Council, he also gets a call from his friend Rael Averross, the first padawan of Count Dooku, to come to the planet of Pijal. All of this adds to the splintering emotions Obi-Wan has towards his master as they must race to save the people of Pijal as well as their relationship as master and padawan.

The big draw for me in terms for Tales of the Jedi is the discussions that Rael and Qui-Gon have about Count Dooku. You can learn a lot about a person from how they pass on knowledge to others. Real and Qui-Gon are both very unconventional Jedi but in very different ways. Both of them were shaped by Dooku to be their own person. Their training came during very different times in Dooku’s life. Plus, Rael is a hoot of a character with some great one-liners and he sees the attachments rules as “guidelines” which leads to some very awkward and funny scenes with Qui-Gon.

Master and Apprentice is a fantastic look at Count Dooku and Qui-Gon Jinn’s relationship which is a great setup for them both in Tales of the Jedi.

4. The High Republic

This might seem like a weird outlier since neither Ahsoka nor Dooku are in this time period, but hear me out.

Cavan Scott and Claudia Gray, who wrote the two Dooku novels on this list, are also two of the authors of Project Luminous. They have been hiding hints for the High Republic in their prior Star Wars novels and vice versa. For example, in Master and Apprentice, there is a lot of discussion about prophecies with Dooku and Qui-Gon. One of the prophecies sounds a lot like what is currently happening in the High Republic era. As more books and comics are coming out, fans have been discovering more connections between all of the authors’ works.

Also, the Tales of the Jedi trailer showed Yaddle and Tera Sinube who are both around as minor characters in The High Republic. It’s fun to see what they’re up to a couple of hundred years prior to the events of Clone Wars.

A bit of a side note: It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to start checking out The High Republic in preparation for The Acolyte as well since the show is set in the final days of that era.

5. Star Wars: Forces of Destiny

To be clear, I don’t think that Forces of Destiny is a must-watch for Tales of the Jedi. But the trailer shot of Ahsoka attending Padme’s funeral made me remember that they have a handful of adventures together in this YouTube series.

It’s nice to see these extra moments between the women. In Clone Wars, the Ahsoka and Padme episodes are some of my favorites like “Heroes on Both Sides” being a standout entry. Forces of Destiny does add some extra context to their relationship, like Ahsoka starting to realize that something is going on between Anakin and Padme.

I would say Forces of Destiny would be good if you have a little one wanting more Ahsoka and Padme stories before Tales of the Jedi. They’re a campy and quick watch, but they’re not trying to change canon or anything.

Though, there is one short called “Teach You, I Will” that does mirror a few scenes from the Tales of the Jedi trailer. That made me raise an eyebrow a bit.

6. The Clone Wars season 7

Of course watching Clone Wars is going to be on this list. Dooku has several episodes focused on him and Qui-Gon Jinn makes an appearance in the Mortis Arc. Mace Windu has his mini-arcs in the series. Ahsoka is one of the main characters, so this feels like a no-brainer.

Based on the Tales of the Jedi trailer, there is a focus on the events of Oder 66 with Ahsoka training with Anakin in the move she would use that would save her life when the clones turned on her. It shows Padme’s funeral, another post Order 66 event. Then, of course, the Inquisitor that ties in with the Ahsoka novel as mentioned at the top. Clone Wars is the main inspiration for all of this.

So if you don’t have time to binge-watch the entire series, season seven specifically appears to be the biggest focus in Tales of the Jedi, especially the Siege of Mandalore arc which are the final four episodes. If anything else, give those ones a rewatch while you still have time.

All episodes of Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi will release on October 26, 2022 exclusively on Disney+.