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. [2] LeAndre Thomas is an award-winning writer and director from Oakland, Calif., whose most recent film won Best Director at the Pasadena International Film Festival. In addition to his independent films, Thomas is a part of the franchise studio team at Lucasfilm Ltd. where he has worked for more than 11 years being credited on recent titles such as “Light & Magic,” “The Mandalorian,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “ Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi,” and many more.

I haven’t dabbled in many art books, but I recently got into them with the Sequel Trilogy films (and enjoyed some for The Last of Us and Uncharted games), and while what’s inside The Art of Star Wars: Visions is often drawings that later translate directly into what’s seen in each short—so either the teams’ visions were clear from the start or this omitted some other potential concepts—it’s nothing short of arresting to explore the process each team took. And while the descriptions and remarks about many of the pieces featured are unobtrusive, and offer interesting insights many times throughout, it does feel a little too light, with short answers or not as in-depth explanations from the teams as one would hope, especially after the amount of details included in the Sequel Trilogy “Art of” books. Considering the depth of images we do get, it’s a minor critique though I hope with the second season in 2023, any follow-up Art books can attempt to glean more insight from the teams involved. Not long after the initial extinction of the Sith, the people of the mountain planet Korba are helping the Jedi purify the kyber crystals, which have been bled by the Sith. A young native girl named Aau seems to have an unusual effect on the crystals when she sings. Her father, Abat, is trying to help a Jedi named Kratu with finding a way to heal the crystals, but warns Aau that her singing is dangerous. While Abat is in the mines, Aau discovers another cave entrance with crystals and begins to sing, only for Abat to interrupt her, causing the caves to react violently. Kratu attempts to save them, but Aau realizes what she must do and sings again, which manages to finally purify the crystals. Kratu reveals that Aau must come with her to fulfill her destiny as she and Abat have a tearful goodbye. Rising star Hyeong Geun Park had already made a name for himself when he entered the Korean animation industry in 2017, thanks to his strong drawing and animation sensibilities. He has directed animation for dozens of cinematic game trailers and has since expanded into animated series, working on projects including Dota: Dragon’s Blood: Book 3 (2022) and Lookism (2022). Journey to the Dark Head is the first title he has executive produced from start to finish. Wars: Daal, the girl who’s been most bent on finding the cave , has a brief faceoff with the mysterious ghost in the cave. But other than that, it’s pretty light on the war end of things. Rodrigo Blaas is an Emmy Award®-winning director who has spent more than 20 years in animation. After co-founding Stromboli Animation in 1997, Blaas joined Blue Sky Studios in 2000, working on the feature film Ice Age, before transitioning to Pixar Animation Studios. There, he worked on such projects as Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), and Wall-E (2008) and on the Oscar®-nominated short film La Luna (2011). More recently, Blaas partnered with Guillermo del Toro to develop the award-winning series Trollhunters, served as creative director for Mikros Animation Paris and, in 2021, created El Guiri Studios in Madrid with his partner, Cecile Hokes. He also wrote and directed 2009’s award-winning short film Alma.

Find out all the details on the return of the critically-acclaimed series of animated shorts.

Kambole Campbell of Empire gave Volume 2 four out of five stars, stating that "this kaleidoscopic anthology for the most part makes Star Wars feel new again. She praised the second season for building on the success of the first season by drawing upon several "international animation houses working across a variety of mediums." Campbell observed that the anthology format of the series allowed for a mixture of stories that blended various genres, historical and contemporary political references such as the Nazi occupation of France in "The Spy Dancer" and indigenous rights in "In the Stars", and cultural references such as Irish folklore in "Screecher's Reach" and Ndebele dress in "Aau's Song". [48]

Taylor, Drew (December 29, 2021). "The Best Animated Films and TV Shows of 2021: From 'Encanto' to 'Flee' and Beyond". TheWrap. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022 . Retrieved January 3, 2022. A hopeful mechanic and disillusioned young Jedi team up for a risky and unlikely quest to turn the tide of the galactic war, but dark forces tail them. We wanted to make the 2D animation kind of feel familiar and kind of be reminiscent of kind of older, nostalgic looking, anime the ones that Arthell and I kind of grew up watching. We wanted to feel kind of familiar and not new or cutting edge, because this is a very old message. So we wanted it to kind of match to that. So little things like that we kind of kind of skewed and tweaked along the way, like, pretty much any production. Star Wars: Visions was released on September 22, 2021, on Disney+. [9] From September 21 to 27, Disney screened The Village Bride along with movies playing at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. [20] [21] By November, the studio had submitted the film for consideration for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. [20] The second volume of shorts was released on May 4, 2023. [3] Reception [ edit ] Audience viewership [ edit ] The reaction to the first volume of ‘Star Wars: Visions’ blew us away. We were delighted that this project inspired and resonated with so many people. Star Wars: Visions executive producer and Senior Vice President Franchise Content & Strategy at Lucasfilm. “We always saw Star Wars: Visions as a framework for celebratory expressions of the franchise from some of the best creators working today. Animation is in a global renaissance, and we’re constantly staggered by the amount of creativity pushing the medium forward. With Volume 1, the imaginative minds of Japan’s anime industry were on full display. With Volume 2, we expanded our canvas to take audiences on a global tour of some of the most talented creators from around the world. We’re so proud to be able to reveal the line-up of studios we’ve assembled. Every short is incredible, full of heart, scope, imagination, and the values that make stories distinctly ‘Star Wars’ — all while opening up bold new ways of seeing what a ‘Star Wars’ story can be.”We realized we wanted these to be as authentic as possible to the studios and creators who are making them, made through their unique process, in a medium they're such experts at. So the idea was, this is their vision riffing off all the elements of the Star Wars galaxy that inspired them — hopefully to make a really incredible anthology series, unlike anything we've seen before in the Star Wars galaxy." ― James Waugh [3]

Angelucci, Cristina (December 5, 2022). "KIDSCREEN AWARDS 2023: THE NOMINEES". Licensing Magazine . Retrieved March 10, 2023. Barquin, Juan (September 21, 2021). " Star Wars: Visions overflows with unique stories and gorgeous animation". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021 . Retrieved October 27, 2021.Everything’s coming up Visions…or well, at least there is still plenty more to enjoy from the initiative! Last year saw the release of Ronin – A Visions Novel, an extraordinary novel the blasted open the world of “The Duel” in dazzling ways, while earlier in October Star Wars Visions #1 served as a dazzling prequel to the same short. Recently announced is the Star Wars: Visions Original Manga, while season two of Visions will be out 2023! Since your short has such a powerful message, what do you hope other audience members or some new Star Wars fans get out of it? Does it work? Is there anything more Star Wars than standing up to the Empire against increasingly unlikely odds? “In the Stars” is ultimately a triumphant story, though man is it a harrowing journey to get there. Koten and Tichina are desperate when the short begins, which makes their eventual victory all the more fulfilling. “I Am Your Mother” Since childhood I’ve been a fan of animation art books. I remember pouring over them endlessly, and being particularly drawn to how the final product started with hand drawn sketches and concept art. The Art of Star Wars: Visions provides this same type of experience, allowing readers to soak in all the creative work that goes into producing a series of this caliber. What sets this book apart is how it’s really nine art books in one, showcasing the beauty and diversity each studio brings to the series. Additionally, the book is a vehicle to display the variety of art styles found in Japanese animation. Whether you’re new to Anime or you have a particular aesthetic preference, there’s something for everyone to enjoy with this book. The reaction to the first volume of Star Wars: Visions blew us away. We were delighted that this project inspired and resonated with so many people,” says James Waugh, Star Wars: Visions executive producer and senior vice president, Franchise Content & Strategy, at Lucasfilm. “We always saw Star Wars: Visions as a framework for celebratory expressions of the franchise from some of the best creators working today. Animation is in a global renaissance, and we’re constantly staggered by the amount of creativity pushing the medium forward. With Volume 1, the imaginative minds of Japan’s anime industry were on full display. With Volume 2, we expanded our canvas to take audiences on a global tour of some of the most talented creators from around the world. We’re so proud to be able to reveal the line-up of studios we’ve assembled. Every short is incredible, full of heart, scope, imagination, and the values that make stories distinctly Star Wars — all while opening up bold new ways of seeing what a Star Wars story can be.”