Star Wars: Visions

• 1. Introduction

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  Star Wars: Visions debuted on Disney+ on the 22nd of September, 2021, with nine animated short films made by seven Japanese studios. Each studio had been given a directive that rarely accompanies a tightly managed franchise: remake it as you see fit. The stories could ignore the established timeline. The visual approach was entirely open. The first volume earned a 96% approval rating from critics. Whip Media calculated that Visions was the fifth most-streamed original series in the United States during the week of the 26th of September 2021. What drew the Japanese animation industry into a universe built from American and Japanese cinema? And what does a franchise reveal about itself when creators from entirely different traditions are invited to remake it from scratch?

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• 2. A Pitch in Early 2020

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  James Waugh, Lucasfilm's vice president of franchise content, brought the idea to Kathleen Kennedy at the beginning of 2020. The project required bridging American executives and Japanese animation studios across the Pacific. To manage that distance, Lucasfilm partnered with independent producer Justin Leach and his company Qubic Pictures. Qubic Pictures was tasked with facilitating discussions between the two sides. That role became vital when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of all planned in-person collaborative meetings. Production continued in Japan throughout 2020 and 2021.

  On the 10th of December, 2020, the project was publicly announced as an anime anthology of ten short films set in the Star Wars universe. By July 2021, producer Kanako Shirasaki and the executive producers previewed the series at Anime Expo Lite; by then, the episode count had changed. "The Ninth Jedi" had begun development as two separate episodes before being combined into one, reducing the total from ten to nine. The seven animation studios for Volume 1 were Kamikaze Douga, Studio Colorido, Geno Studio, Trigger, Kinema Citrus, Production I.G, and Science Saru. Trigger and Science Saru each produced two shorts. "The Village Bride" received a theatrical run at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. The screening ran from the 21st of September through the 27th, alongside the theatre's regular programme.

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• 3. Beyond the Timeline

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  "The Duel," one of the nine Volume 1 shorts, was billed by Lucasfilm as "an alternate history pulled from Japanese lore." Other stories chose specific positions in the saga's own timeline. "Lop and Ocho" is set during the reign of the Galactic Empire, between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. "The Elder" is set "sometime before" The Phantom Menace. "The Twins" involves "remnants of the Imperial Army" after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. "The Ninth Jedi" explores what became of the Jedi Knights following those same events.

  Kenji Kamiyama, directing "The Ninth Jedi," was particularly focused on using "the original lightsaber sounds" known to children throughout the world. Abel Gongora, directing "T0-B1," drew parallels between Japanese anime and manga of the 1960s and American cinema of the late 1970s. Eunyoung Choi, directing "Akakiri," described her core challenge as blending Star Wars' fairy tale sensibility with its universe of advanced technology. By November 2021, Lucasfilm had submitted the anthology for consideration for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

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• 4. Scores from Seven Studios

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  In July 2021, Lucasfilm announced the nine composers who would score Volume 1's short films. Kevin Penkin scored "The Village Bride." Michiru Oshima composed music for "The Twins" and "The Elder." Yoshiaka Dewa handled "Lop and Ocho" and "Tatooine Rhapsody." Keiji Inai scored "The Duel." A-bee and Keiichiro Shibuya composed "T0-B1" together. U-zhaan scored "Akakiri." Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi shared the scoring of "The Ninth Jedi." All nine soundtracks were released digitally on the 15th of October, 2021.

  In May 2023, the Volume 2 composers were announced alongside the volume's release. Dan Levy scored "Sith." Leo Pearson composed "Screecher's Reach." Andres Walker and Patricio Portius scored "In the Stars." Jean-Marc Petsas handled "I Am Your Mother." Jang Young Gyu and Lee Byung-Hoon scored "Journey to the Dark Head." Olivier Deriviere composed "The Spy Dancer." Sneha Khanwalkar scored "The Bandits of Golak." Daniel Lopatin handled "The Pit." Markus Wormstorm, Nadia Darries, and Dineo du Toit collaborated on the score for "Aau's Song." All nine Volume 2 soundtracks were released digitally on the 4th of May, 2023. Wormstorm, Darries, and du Toit later received an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Television Production.

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• 5. Critical Voices

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  Rotten Tomatoes registered an average score of 8.2 out of 10 for Volume 1, drawn from 53 individual reviews. Metacritic gave Volume 1 a weighted score of 79 out of 100 from 15 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter praised the series for its depth of love for the source material. She highlighted "The Duel" and "T0-B1" as the anthology's standout films. Tyler Hersko of IndieWire hailed Visions as one of the finest titles produced by the franchise under Disney's ownership. He called it "beautifully animated and smartly written," with "phenomenal" action scenes. Brian Lowry of CNN called the shorts "striking" and noted ample room for experimentation within the Star Wars universe.

  Mike Hale of The New York Times found the films "play like auditions for continuing series rather than organic wholes." He praised their "handcrafted beauty" and "visual variety." Jake Kleinman of Inverse called the series "a revelation" and "Lucasfilm's best new story since the original trilogy." He identified "The Twins" as the project's best film. Jordan Woods of The Harvard Crimson described the anthology as "Star Wars at its best: bold, ambitious, creative, and, most importantly, innovative." Amon Warmann of Empire gave Volume 1 four out of five stars. He wrote that the galaxy far, far away had never looked more stunning in animation at the project's best. Paste Magazine, TheWrap, Polygon, Collider, Gizmodo, Anime News Network, and Rotten Tomatoes each named Visions among the best animated projects of 2021. Volume 1 began streaming on a second platform, Hulu, on the 4th of May, 2024.

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• 6. A World of Animators

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  James Waugh described the second volume as "a celebration of the incredible animation happening all around the globe." The announcement came at Star Wars Celebration in May 2022, and Volume 2 took Visions well beyond Japan. The studios came from nine countries. El Guiri came from Spain; Cartoon Saloon from Ireland; Punkrobot from Chile; Aardman from the United Kingdom. Studio Mir came from South Korea; Studio La Cachette from France; 88 Pictures from India; D'Art Shtajio from Japan; Triggerfish from South Africa. D'Art Shtajio's short was also co-produced with Lucasfilm. Volume 2 was released on the 4th of May, 2023. It earned a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 23 reviews, and a Metacritic score of 88 out of 100.

  Kambole Campbell of Empire gave Volume 2 four out of five stars. Campbell observed that the anthology "makes Star Wars feel new again" by drawing on international animation houses working across various mediums. The anthology format allowed for a range of historical and political reference points. The Nazi occupation of France ran through "The Spy Dancer"; indigenous rights shaped "In the Stars"; forced labor anchored "The Pit." Irish folklore informed "Screecher's Reach"; Ndebele dress shaped the world of "Aau's Song." Maggie Lovitt of Collider gave the season an "A" rating. She described it as delivering "some of the most inspiring Star Wars stories of this decade." Samantha Nelson gave Volume 2 nine out of ten stars. She praised the series for celebrating the broad reach of Star Wars. "I Am Your Mother" won Best Animation at the 2023 Venice TV Awards. A third volume was announced on the 19th of November, 2024, at Disney's Content Showcase event.

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• 7. The Third Wave

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  David Production, Polygon Pictures, Project Studio Q, and Wit Studio were among the animation houses making their Visions debut in Volume 3. Kamikaze Douga, Trigger, Kinema Citrus, and Production I.G each returned from Volume 1. Released on the 29th of October, 2025, Volume 3 earned a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 20 reviews. Jorgie Rodriguez of POC Culture gave it four and a half stars out of five. Rodriguez highlighted "BLACK" as the anthology's first silent Star Wars short, a harrowing portrait of a Stormtrooper in his final moments. In 2026, Star Wars: Visions earned an Annie Award nomination for Best Limited Series, with "BLACK" as the qualifying episode.

  Del Rey Books published Ronin: A Visions Novel, written by Emma Mieko Candon, on the 12th of October, 2021. The novel expands on the story of "The Duel." Dark Horse Comics published an art book on the 12th of April, 2022. It collected creator interviews and selected production materials from all nine Volume 1 shorts. A comics line launched on the 12th of October, 2022, with Star Wars: Visions #1 drawn by Takashi Okazaki. Peach Momoko's entry, "The Followers of Ankoku," followed on the 15th of November, 2023. Okazaki returned with "The Ronin and the Droid" on the 20th of March, 2024. At Star Wars Celebration in April 2025, Lucasfilm announced a spin-off series, Star Wars: Visions Presents. Its first installment will expand "The Ninth Jedi" into a full anime series, with a release planned for 2026.

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