Warning: SPOILERS for Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld are ahead!
Until last year, Asajj Ventress was assumed to be dead considering that she, well, died at the end of the novel Dark Disciple, which adapted an eight-episode arc from Star Wars: The Clone Wars that was never made. And yet, Ventress was seen alive and well in the Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 episode “The Harbinger,” though no explanation was given for how this was possible. Well, now we finally have that answer thanks to Disney+’s Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, which just premiered on the 2025 TV schedule, and Nika Futterman, Ventress’ voice actress, shared with me how she feels about that major moment.
The first of Ventress’ Tales of the Underworld episodes, “A Way Forward,” picks up exactly where Dark Disciple left off, with Quinlan Vos and Obi-Wan Kenobi laying her to rest in a dark pool on Dathomir, her homeworld. However, after the two Jedi left, the spirit of Mother Talzin, who once led the Nightsisters, gave Ventress’ spirit the offer to be resurrected, and she accepted. Here’s what Futterman told me when I asked her how she reacted when she learned this was how her Star Wars characters was being brought back to life:
Well of course, I was really bummed out [by] what happened during the book. But I understood because who wouldn’t do what she did for love? But I was still bummed out, so when they told me that she was coming back anyway, I thought, ‘Ok, well, this is delightful!’ Because in the world of Star Wars, and especially in the witchy world of Asajj Ventress and the planet of Dathomir, where magic can happen and we can bring a chick back, let’s say, I thought, ‘This is perfect. This is a perfect way.’
Asajj Ventress was last seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars during Season 5’s final story arc, where she helped Anakin Skywalker discover that Barriss Offee (one of the subjects of Tales of the Empire) had framed Ahsoka Tano for the bombing on Coruscant. So for anyone who’d watched that show, but never heard of Dark Disciple, it probably wasn’t weird to see her return in The Bad Batch. But Dark Disciple is official canon, so Ventress’ resurrection was a loose end that needed tying up. Not only was Nika Futterman pleased that she got to return to the character after so long away, she also approved of how it was handled.
Although the Star Wars franchise has always dabbled in the supernatural with the Force, The Clone Wars took it a step further with the Nightsisters’ magick. Resurrection was one of the many abilities afforded to them, and even from beyond the grave, Talzin was able to give Asajj Ventress a second chance at life. However, as Nika Futterman pointed out, exactly what
Now we don’t know exactly yet how it happened. But, I thought, ‘Well, why can’t we make it happen? [Dave] Filoni can do anything. He’s got the power. He can say the yes.’ And I guess he loved her as much as we do. And he said, ‘All right, let’s bring the chick back, and then we’ll tell everybody how it happened.’ It’s magic!
It’s true that we didn’t see exactly what transpired between Ventress’ spirit agreeing to be revived and when she awoke on Dathomir, and maybe that will never be shown. What we do know is that in order to come to life, Ventress had to agree to never be with Quinlan Vos again. The two of them fell in love during Dark Disciple, so her to agree to that stipulation was surely agonizing.
Asajj Ventress did come close to reuniting with Quinlan Vos during Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld. She learned from Lyco Strata, her new Jedi companion, that Vos was running the “The Path,” which sheltered Order 66 survivors from the Empire. Upon getting confirmation of this herself, she oped to stay away, comforted by the knowledge that Vos was ok.
Fortunately for her, she didn’t have to continue living a life of solitude, as Lyco also forwent The Path and decided to keep traveling with Asajj Ventress. So now we wait to see if these two will return in any of the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows. Ventress has a new lease on life, and I’d welcome hearing Nika Futterman voice her in more stories.
