Credit: Aardman Animation/BBC/LucasfilmWallace and Gromit have already been to the moon, so why not a Galaxy Far, Far Away?
The Star Wars Galaxy is immense and has a lot of potential for storytelling. Fans of the franchise have seen stories of Jedi and Sith, The Clone Wars, Stormtroopers and Rebels, and everything in-between, but there’s always more to see! To that end, Lucasfilm produced a limited series of nine anime shorts from different animation studios in Japan, and now, the second season of what was dubbed Star Wars: Visions is branching out!
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One of the best things about Star Wars: Visions was the allowance that Lucasfilm gave to the studios to work outside the established canon. While not exactly a Lucasfilm rendition of Marvel’s What If…?, it did allow for some unheard-of creative license in the Star Wars franchise. The creativity exercised by these studios was inspiring.
Fans saw stories that ranged from hypothetical sequels and prequels to stories that were loosely based on the mythology of Star Wars to stories that were inspired by both Star Wars as well as classic Japanese history and entertainment. With as much creativity as the studios exercised, and as well as the shorts were received, it only stood to reason that Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy would be interested in a second season.
What came as a surprise was the animation studio lineup! Instead of pursuing another season of strictly anime, Lucasfilm announced a much broader selection. The second season of visions is slated to include animation studios from Spain (El Guiri Studios), Ireland (Cartoon Saloon), Chile (Punkrobot), South Korea (Studio Mir), France (Studio La Cachette), India (88 Pictures), Japan (D’art Shtajio), South Africa (Triggerfish Animation Studios) and one more that may surprise fans: The United Kingdom’s own Aardman Animations.
Famous for their stop-motion animations and distinctive style, such as in Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run (2000), Aardman Animation is generally known for the more light-hearted side of animation. The studio, which suffered devastating losses following a fire in 2005, has had an inspirational renaissance with feature films like Early Man (2018) and the smash hit children’s series Shaun the Sheep, and now they’ll be bringing their talents to Star Wars!
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The animated anthology series Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 hits Disney+, appropriately, on May 4, 2023. The nine-episode season will feature new and original stories outside the Star Wars canon, with Aardman contributing a short titled I Am Your mother. The new season promises some significant ups and downs as the animators traverse the Star Wars galaxy!
What are you excited to see in Visions season 2? Let us know in the comments below!