Lucasfilm and Disney+ unveiled the first look at the anime series Star Wars: Visions alongside revealing that all nine episodes will debut on 22 September 2021.
The sneak peek featured a huge range of visual styles and ideas, with shorts that featured, among many other things, a rock opera, a chibi Boba Fett, droids in straw hats, a twin Star Destroyer, and much more. “We really wanted to give these creators a wide creative birth to explore the Star Wars galaxy,” said Lucasfilm executive producer James Waugh. “We wanted this to be as authentic as possible to the studios and the creators. The idea was, this is their vision, riffing off all of the elements of the Star Wars galaxy that inspired them.”
The news was shared during Anime Expo Lite, and it was revealed that this anthology of animated shorts celebrating Star Wars is being created by seven Japanese anime studios that will use “their signature animation and storytelling styles to realize their own visions of the galaxy far, far away.” Lucasfilm made the decision to allow these creators to tell stories that didn’t have to fit in the official Star Wars timeline, even if they wanted to use established characters.
The seven Japanese anime studios behind the nine short films in the series are — Kamikaze Douga, Geno Studio (Twin Engine), Studio Colorido (Twin Engine), Trigger, Kinema Citrus, Science Saru and Production IG.
The shorts announced at the event, and the studios working on them, include:
- The Duel by Kamikaze Douga (Batman Ninja)
- Lop & Ocho by Geno Studio (Golden Kamuy)
- Tatooine Rhapsody by Studio Colorido (A Whisker Away)
- The Twins and The Elder by Trigger (Kill La Kill)
- The Village Bride by Kinema Citrus (Tokyo Magnitude 8.0)
- Akakiri and T0-B1 by Science Saru (Japan Sinks)
- The Ninth Jedi by Production IG (Ghost in the Shell)
“From the beginning, stories told in the Star Wars galaxy have counted Japanese mythology and the films of Akira Kurosawa among their many influences, and these new visions will further explore that cultural heritage through the unique animation style and perspective of each anime studio,” Disney+ stated in a press release.
Visions was first announced last December, and is described as “an original series of animated short films” that “celebrates the Star Wars galaxy through the lens of the world’s best Japanese anime creators.” The anthology will be available on Disney Plus when it premieres on 22 September. Jacqui Lopez, James Waugh, and Josh Rimes of Lucasfilm are executive producing the show along with Qubic Pictures’ Justin Leach. Kanako Shirasaki is producing.
