Tales of the Underworld: Cad’s Tale

Deeply out of chronological order, we’re venturing five or six decades before the Battle of Yavin to watch Cad Bane grow up in “Tale of the Underworld.” We examine how, and why, Star Wars chose to tell a police drama, a spaghetti Western, and a Mafia crime ascendancy in the same story. We parse the fantasy of the “good cop,” wonder about Cad and Niro’s legacy, and discuss the critical reception of this very lovely piece of animation.