New updates on the Star Wars animated anthology series, Star Wars: Visions, have been revealed at a press conference in Tokyo. According to IGN, two episodes of the nine-episode series have been animated by popular Japanese studios, Production I.G and Studio Trigger. Fans of anime will recognize these studios as the animators of Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Kill la Kill, respectfully. Five other studios have worked on the series as well. Each episode will present a different cultural perspective to the famous sci-fi franchise. Some episodes will exist within Star Wars canon, while others will have a looser connection.
The founders of Studio Trigger, Masahiko Otsuka and Hiroyuki Imaishi, revealed that their two episodes will be at the beginning and end of the Skywalker Saga. Otsuka’s “The Elder” will take place before Episode I: The Phantom Menace. "Our story is not directly connected to any of the characters from the films, but it explores the idea of the Jedi Knights and the master and padawan dynamic in an older setting," said Otsuka.
Meanwhile, Imaishi’s “The Twins” will take place after the events of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: "The remnants of the Imperial Army have raised a pair of twins on the Dark Side of the Force, and the story goes from there."
Production I.G's director Kenji Kamiyama (reportedly one of the directors for the upcoming Blade Runner: Black Lotus series) has worked on an episode called “The Ninth Jedi,” which will also take place after Episode IX. As he explained:
“I wondered, after Episode IX, has the galaxy settled into peace? We all love stories of the Jedi and lightsabers, but what became of the Jedi Knights after the movie series? My story is about that ... When I first saw Star Wars, I was fascinated by the story of this kid Luke Skywalker who came from nothing and went on a huge adventure, and for me that is the root of Star Wars’ charm. ... So I wanted to depict a galactic-level adventure with a different character."
Other episodes will include "Lop and Ocho" from Geno Studio's Yuki Igarashi, which will be set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, and follows what happens when the Empire builds a base on a planet very attuned to nature: "Their new technology causes conflict with the inhabitants, and the protagonist Ocho, who is the daughter in a kind of local yakuza family, meets the enslaved orphan Lop, who is a humanoid rabbit-like alien creature inspired by Jaxxon from the classic Star Wars comics; they meet and form a familial bond that is not bound by blood." Additional episodes for Visions are "The Duel," from Kamikaze Douga’s Junpei Mizusaki; "The Village Bride," from Hitoshi Haga and Kinema Citrus; "Akakiri" and "T0-B1," from Science SARU's Eunyoung Choi and Abel Góngora, respectively; and "Tatooine Rhapsody" from Taku Kimura at Studio Colorido, described as a "rock opera" featuring familiar faces from that planet such as Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett.
It's fascinating to hear the different visions of these directors, the various styles and ideas make this series a promising one. There has been a huge focus on the Skywalkers, primarily in the movies, so this new series will be a nice change of pace.
Star Wars: Visions will premiere on September 22 on Disney+.