Following on from their airing on the Disney Channel in a half-hour special, the first few episodes of the second season of Star Wars: Forces of Destiny have started to arrive online. The animated webseries initially launched earlier this year and received a warm reception for its emphasis on the female characters of the Star Wars saga and for its impressive voice cast. Thankfully, this looks to continue in the new installments.
Episode 1, seen above, is titled “Newest Recruit” and highlights Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar) from Star Wars Rebels. It sees the rebel heroine team up with her old friend Ketsu Onyo (Firely‘s Gina Torres) on a seemingly easy mission to get some food for the Rebellion – which is gatecrashed by Stormtroopers. Rebels fans will note this marks an important moment for Ketsu, who’s never formally joined the Rebellion before.
Episode 2, titled “Tracker Trouble,” should peak the interest of fans as it features a previously unknown mini-adventure set within the events of The Force Awakens. Just before they arrive at Maz Kanata’s place, Rey (Daisy Ridley), Han, Chewie, BB-8 and Finn discover that Unkar Plutt has hidden a tracking device on the Millennium Falcon. This one’s also notable for featuring John Boyega reprising as Finn for the first time in this series. Harrison Ford’s iconic role, meanwhile, is filled by the suitably gruff-voiced Kiff VandenHeuvel.
These two episodes are definitely in keeping with Forces of Destiny‘s mission to plug the gaps in the established canon where more adventures could have happened. As Lucasfilm Story Group member Carrie Beck previously explained:
“One of the opportunities here was to tell the stories in between the larger moments and imagine some of the ways our characters have crossed. It’s all part of the larger swath of storytelling.”
Future installments will feature more Star Wars leading ladies such as Princess Leia, Jyn Erso, Ahsoka Tano and Padme Amidala, while a second 30-minute compilation of Star Wars: Forces of Destiny season 2 will air on the Disney Channel on October 29th.
