First Look At Star Wars Visions: Season 3 Shows A More Experimental Anthology

Disney+ fatigue mightiness beryllium mounting successful for galore viewers, pinch a surfeit of Marvel and Star Wars shows dropping astatine a hectic clip complete nan past fewer years. But that didn’t extremity Star Wars: Visions from getting a lukewarm reception astatine this past weekend’s Anime NYC convention, wherever thousands of fans were fixed a sneak peek astatine nan upcoming play of nan animated anthology show.

Star Wars: Visions play 3 was besides featured astatine this summer’s Star Wars Celebration, but its quality astatine an anime con was conscionable arsenic due fixed that nan upcoming slate of episodes will beryllium erstwhile again produced by Japanese animation studios for illustration Studio Trigger (Kill La Kill), Kamikaze Douga (Batman Ninja) and Kinema Citrus (Revue Starlight, Made successful Abyss). Season 2 took nan show much worldwide, pinch episodes from nan likes of Irish workplace Cartoon Saloon (The Secret of Kells, Wolfwalkers) and Aardman (Wallace and Gromit). Executive shaper James Waugh said it was bully to get a much world perspective, calling it “a world circuit of each these different styles.” But returning to Japan was ever successful nan cards. The producers met “so galore unthinkable storytellers” and wanted to re-connect pinch them, arsenic good arsenic collaborating pinch caller studios they hadn’t worked pinch yet.

Nowhere does this desire to do much Japanese anime go much evident than successful nan truth that 3 of nan upcoming episodes are sequels to stories from play one: “The Duel: Payback,” “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope,” and “The Lost Ones” (a sequel to “The Village Bride”). “The Duel” will besides beryllium receiving a afloat bid coming successful 2026, framed arsenic “Star Wars Visions Presents.”

However, nary of these were connected show arsenic much than little clips. The main attraction for nan panel, speech from a pre-recorded Q&A pinch head Shinya Ohira, was nan screening of a afloat section from nan upcoming season. “Black” had antecedently been presented to a crowd astatine nan French animation show Annacy, which should person been a motion that nan crowd was astir to beryllium shown thing very different from mainstream anime.

“Black” is nan communicative of a emblematic stormtrooper but, alternatively of a straightforward depiction this is simply a distorted look astatine what’s going connected his caput arsenic he heads toward conclusion and his imaginable death. Everything is exaggerated successful size and proportion, and nan creation style shifts perpetually from watercolor to gouache to segments that look for illustration they were drawn pinch a nib pen. There’s nary dialogue; only music, which shifts from much new-age-type ambient sounds to a loud, big-band plaything number. Ohira described nan section arsenic a benignant of euphony video, and it’s easy to spot that because “Black” is little astir crippled than it is astir sheer vibes.

And nan vibes are… not good. When we watch a Star Wars film, we get to spot nicely-framed shots of X-Wings and nan Death Star from nan information of our comfortable seats astatine location — but to beryllium a communal trooper connected nan crushed tin beryllium scary and confusing. “Black” shows america these ships successful mostly little glimpses, reflecting what a personification stumbling astir successful nan chaos connected nan crushed would see. Our protagonist’s vulnerability is further highlighted by his characteristic design, wherever his armor is ever shown successful a authorities of harm and disarray, pinch conscionable capable of his helmet peeled backmost to show his face. 

The chronology is jumbled, pinch scenes from nan Death Star and Hoth, arsenic good arsenic battles successful little iconic locations. And nan emotions plaything backmost and distant too; quiet moments are shown arsenic nan trooper remembers his life backmost home, a stark opposition to nan loud, agleam cacophony of battle.  It’s not explicitly anti-war, but nan short does outline that nan acquisition tin really suck.

It’s an absorbing prime for Disney/Lucasfilm to put this short arsenic nan typical of nan season, arsenic opposed to much “traditional” anime features for illustration nan 1 from Studio Trigger, “The Smuggler.” Brief glimpses of each nan shorts were highlighted successful nan sizzle reel, and nan ones from nan astir celebrated anime studios were nan clips that elicited nan biggest cheers from nan crowd. It’s not that “Black” wasn’t applauded astatine nan show, but it’s made for a circumstantial type of animation nerd.

The bully point astir an anthology is that not each conception has to person wide appeal, and Waugh is alert of nan chaotic swings nan play takes, saying to look astatine it “through nan lens of a mixtape … I really want each nan different tones and styles, and I want a benignant of rhythmic alteration passim nan anthology … we really want to show nan afloat threat of what nan mean of anime is tin of.”

Star Wars whitethorn beryllium going done a weird play correct now, pinch bid for illustration The Acolyte getting cancelled while different projects for illustration Rogue Squadron person truthful acold grounded to get disconnected nan ground. So it mightiness look a small overseas to do thing that feels for illustration 1 large passion project. But animation besides intends it’s a full batch cheaper to produce, and nan anthology format makes it much amenable to experimentation. Not everyone is going to beryllium a instrumentality of episodes for illustration “Black,” but that’s okay, because location are 8 different episodes to try, and they each driblet connected Disney+ October 29.