Star Wars: Visions is an animated anthology series created for the American streaming service Disney+. Produced by Lucasfilm, the series consists of original animated short films set in, or inspired by, the Star Wars universe, with each episode being a self-contained narrative produced by various studios.
The first volume of nine anime short films were produced by seven Japanese animation studios: Kamikaze Douga, Studio Colorido, Geno Studio, Trigger, Kinema Citrus, Production I.G, and Science SARU, with Trigger and Science SARU producing two shorts each. The second volume expanded the series to animation studios around the world, featuring shorts from El Guiri (Spain), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Punkrobot (Chile), Aardman (United Kingdom), Studio Mir (South Korea), Studio La Cachette (France), 88 Pictures (India), D'art Shtajio (Japan) along with Lucasfilm (United States), and Triggerfish (South Africa/Ireland). The creators at each studio are given free rein to re-envision the ideas of Star Wars as they see fit, while receiving guidance from Lucasfilm's executive team.
The first volume was released on September 22, 2021, while the second was released on May 4, 2023. Both volumes have received critical acclaim.
Premise
Star Wars: Visions is a collection of animated short films presented "through the lens of the world's best anime creators" in the first volume that offers a new, diverse perspective on Star Wars. Created outside of the constraints of the franchise's traditional canon, the films provide creative freedom to each director and production studio, while maintaining fidelity to the themes and emotional identity of the Star Wars saga. Additional volumes feature animation styles from various companies around the world.
Episodes
Volume 1 (2021)
Volume 2 (2023)
Production
Development
Development of the Star Wars: Visions project began when James Waugh, vice president of franchise content at Lucasfilm, pitched the idea to Kathleen Kennedy at the beginning of 2020. To facilitate the international production, Lucasfilm collaborated with independent producer Justin Leach and his company Qubic Pictures, which helped facilitate the discussions between the US-based executives and Japanese studios; this became particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, when planned in-person collaborative meetings had to be canceled. Production of the shorts took place in Japan throughout 2020 and 2021.
On December 10, 2020, it was announced that Star Wars: Visions was an anime anthology series of ten short films by different creators set in the Star Wars universe. It was previewed by producer Kanako Shirasaki and the executive producers at Anime Expo Lite in July 2021. At the event, it was revealed that the number of episodes had decreased from ten to nine, due to The Ninth Jedi originally starting development as two films, but was eventually combined into one film. The animation studios creating shorts for the first volume are Kamikaze Douga, Studio Colorido, Geno Studio, Trigger, Kinema Citrus, Production I.G, and Science SARU.
A second season of Visions was announced at Star Wars Celebration in May 2022, to include shorts from studios based in Japan, India, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Chile, France, South Africa, South Korea and the United States. Waugh described the second volume as "a celebration of the incredible animation happening all around the globe". The animation studios for the second volume are D'Art Shtaijo (along with Lucasfilm), El Guiri, Cartoon Saloon, Punkrobot, Aardman, Studio Mir, Studio La Cachette, 88 Pictures, and Triggerfish. The second volume was released on May 4, 2023.