Star Wars has remembered to truly fear General Grievous again thanks to Tales of the Empire, 19 years after George Lucas’ Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars has finally remembered to truly fear General Grievous 19 years after Revenge of the Sith thanks to Tales of the Empire. Making a horrifying appearance in the new series’ very first episode, Star Wars has recaptured what truly made Grievous such a frightening villain (despite his canonical cowardice). Featuring nods to his very first Star Wars appearance even before Revenge of the Sith, General Grievous is the embodiment of fear for a very important reason.

In celebration of Star Wars Day 2024, Lucasfilm released all six episodes of Tales of the Empire at the same time. While the first three chapters reveal the origins of the Nightsister Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), the latter episodes finally reveal the fate of the rogue Jedi Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger) following the end of The Clone Wars. To that end, General Grievous debuts right at the beginning of the very first episode, setting an incredibly dark tone for the rest of the series with a brutal reminder that he was a major Star Wars villain to be feared.

Star Wars Has Struggled To Remember Why General Grievous Is A Threat

Cowardice Over Intimidation

As seen in 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, General Grievous was introduced by George Lucas as the leader of the Seperatist droid armies. An intimidating cyborg trained in lightsaber combat by Count Dooku, Grievous possessed multiple arms capable of wielding the multiple lightsabers he’d claimed from Jedi he’d slain. However, Grievous was also established as a coward who was quite gifted in the art of retreat, leaving the battlefield the moment the odds were not unequivocally in his favor.

Jumping ahead to 2009’s Clone Wars series, Grievous’ cowardice proved to be a predominant trait of his character, perhaps more than it should have been. While there were moments where the Separatist general was presented as a fearsome rival (such as TheClone Wars season 1’s “Lair of Grievous”), they were few and far between. What made it even worse was his original depiction in Genndy Tartakovsky 2003’s Clone Wars micro-series where he first introduced before Revenge of the Sith.

Having only been shown concept art and told that he was a “capable Jedi-killer”, Tartakovsky’s Grievous was exactly that. The Clone Wars micro-series’ version of General Grievous was an absolutely brutal warrior without cowardice prior to his live-action debut in Revenge of the Sith, taking on five Jedi at once in his first ever on-screen debut. However, Tales of the Empire provides a rare moment where all the cards are in Grievous’ favor, allowing him to enact one of the Star Wars timeline’s most brutal massacres.

Tales Of The Empire Restores The Terror Of General Grievous

The Nightsister Massacre Is Now Even More Horrifying

Revisiting and expanding the Massacre of Dathomir first seen in The Clone Wars season 4, Tales of the Empire episode 1 reveals how Morgan Elsbeth survived to become part of Thrawn’s inner circle during the Dark Times of the Empire. As such, the savage slaughter also features General Grievous’ horrifying murder of Morgan’s mother along with several fellow Nightsisters. Taunting Morgan and telling her to run as his droids force completely overwhelm the witches, Grievous continues to gloat, his laughter echoing through Dathomir’s forests and haunting the young Nightsister as she flees for her life.

Having the numbers and firepower to completely overwhelm the Nightsisters, there was no need for General Grievous to retreat or fear defeat. The odds of his victory were so incredibly high, meaning that he was able to fully display his abilities and lethal training from Count Dooku. As such, seeing Grievous as the fearsome and genuinely evil monster he can truly be is certainly a dynamic way to kick off this new Star Wars series.

Tales Of The Empire Even Has Nods To Classic Clone Wars Grievous

A Brutal Clone Wars Micro-Series Reference

It’s also notable that Grievous also uses one of his classic moves from the 2D Clone Wars micro-series. During his first-ever animated debut, Grievous raises one of his clawed feet to grab and slam one of the Jedi Knights down into the ground, and he does the same thing to Morgan’s mother in Tales of the Empire, slamming her down and pinning her near the end of their savage duel. As such, it’s certainly a key moment that positions Grievous as a truly fearsome villain who once more feels quite terrifying and scary, a feeling that had arguably been lost overtime for Star Wars fans.