Following the first episode of Marvel’s What If…? arriving on Disney+ last week, you might have been left wondering if we’d ever see the same thing for Star Wars – an experimental animated take on a familiar universe, but with major twists involved too. And the answer is, it’s already on the way – the long-awaited Star Wars: Visions is coming to the streaming service this September, providing a totally different perspective on the galaxy far, far away. It’s an anime series, telling nine different tales, presented by seven legendary Japanese animation houses – and the new trailer promises a huge variety of stories, styles, and plenty of ‘sabers.
It’s not Star Wars as we know it – but Visions looks like something genuinely different in a cinematic world we’ve known for over 40 years. And it’s interesting to see all kinds of classic Star Wars iconography reimagined through an anime lens, from lightsabers and stormtroopers, to Boba Fett’s Mandalorian armour. And within the anime art form there’s a huge variety of visual styles, tones and more that look like they’ll be explored thoroughly here. Whether any of it is technically canon or not remains to be seen – but it should provide fans with plenty to delve into before The Book Of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian: Season 3 arrive.
The episodes are titled: The Duel; Tattooine Rhapsody; The Twins; The Village Bride; The Ninth Jedi; T0-B1; The Elder; Lop & Ocho; and Akakiri. Each will have a Japanese voice cast, as well as a starry English dub, with the following stars confirmed: Lucy Liu, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Neil Patrick Harris, Alison Brie, Simu Liu, Kyle Chandler, David Harbour, Henry Golding, Kimiko Glenn, Masi Oka, George Takei and more. Oh, and Temuera Morrison will be voicing Boba Fett.
Star Wars: Visions begins streaming on Disney+ from 22 September.