Just as one Star Wars animated series concludes, another one is just beginning. And this one is breaking new ground for the sci-fi saga. Hot on the heels of Star Wars: The Bad Batch wrapping up its first season is Star Wars: Visions, the franchise’s very first anime.
A nine-part anthology series, Visions comes from seven of the most acclaimed anime studios around, including Studio Colorido, TRIGGER, and Science SARU. And this gorgeous new trailer teases the kind of exciting action and top-quality animation we can expect from the show. Check it out via the player above.
Visions isn’t expected to adhere to established Star Wars canon too closely, as exec producer James Waugh has previously explained that the idea was to give creators “a wide creative berth” and let them explore the galaxy “through the unique lens of anime.”
Having said that, many episodes can be slotted into the timeline. Episode 2 Lop and Ocho—from Gene Studio—is set during the height of the Empire, in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Meanwhile, finale The Ninth Jedi explores what became of the Jedi Knights after The Rise of Skywalker.
All nine episodes will drop in one go on Disney Plus, instead of being released weekly, as with other Lucasfilm productions. A cool feature of its release is that it will debut with both English and Japanese voiceovers, so it’ll be left up to the individual viewer how they want to experience the show and to choose their preferred dub.
The Star Wars saga has always been influenced by elements of anime and Japanese culture as a whole, so it’s surprising it’s taken so long for a project like this to materialize. Thankfully, we don’t have too much longer to wait until Star Wars Visions gets here. Catch all nine episodes on Disney Plus when they launch on Wednesday, Sept. 22.
