— Ch. 1 · Origins And Development —
Star Wars: Visions.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
James Waugh, vice president of franchise content at Lucasfilm, pitched the idea for Star Wars: Visions to Kathleen Kennedy in early 2020. The project required international collaboration during a global pandemic that canceled planned in-person meetings between US executives and Japanese studios. Independent producer Justin Leach and his company Qubic Pictures facilitated discussions across continents when physical travel became impossible. Production of the shorts took place entirely within Japan throughout 2020 and 2021. On the 10th of December 2020, it was announced that the series would consist of ten short films by different animation studios set in the Star Wars universe. At Anime Expo Lite in July 2021, producers revealed the number had decreased from ten to nine because "The Ninth Jedi" originally started as two episodes but merged into one. Seven Japanese animation studios created the first volume including Kamikaze Douga, Studio Colorido, Geno Studio, Trigger, Kinema Citrus, Production I.G, and Science Saru.
Global Animation Studios
A second season expanded the series to include animation studios based in numerous countries beyond Japan. El Guiri from Spain contributed work alongside Cartoon Saloon representing Ireland. Punkrobot brought Chilean perspectives while Aardman represented the United Kingdom. Studio Mir joined from South Korea with Studio La Cachette arriving from France. 88 Pictures emerged from India and D'Art Shtaijo returned for a third time after their initial involvement. Lucasfilm co-produced directly with D'Art Shtaijo on at least one project. Triggerfish operated out of both South Africa and Ireland during production. The creators at each studio received free rein to re-envision ideas of Star Wars as they saw fit while receiving guidance from Lucasfilm's executive team. Waugh described the second volume as "a celebration of the incredible animation happening all around the globe." The second volume was released on the 4th of May 2023 featuring shorts from these diverse international partners.