Credit: LucasfilmThis year has already been a strong one for Star Wars animated content with the new season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. But Clone Force 99 isn’t the only one making waves on Disney+. Soon, they’ll be joined by Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, an upcoming animated series angled at a younger audience but marking an important visual debut for the Star Wars canon…
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What Is Young Jedi Adventures?
Young Jedi Adventures is the first Star Wars TV title to be set in the time of the High Republic, during the prime of the Jedi. It will follow a group of young padawan, also known as Jedi younglings, as they learn the ways of the Force with Jedi Master Yoda, journeying across the vast Star Wars galaxy and helping those in need while building new friendships along the way in the hopes of becoming Jedi Knights.
It is the first Star Wars show angled specifically at pre-schoolers, with a view to showing them the limitless potential of the Star Wars galaxy and the adventures contained within it.
James Waugh, Young Jedi Adventures’ executive producer and senior vice president, Franchise Content & Strategy at Lucasfilm, said:
“When developing Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, the first Star Wars series created for preschoolers, the creative team never stopped thinking about how this show may be a youngling’s first step into a larger world, and their first time experiencing the limitless potential of the Star Wars galaxy.
“The show’s characters, tone, and the life lessons woven throughout each episode were written just for them, and our talented team was committed to honoring the cinematic legacy while staying true to the expectations of parents for the youngest of audiences.”
The show will coincide with the release of a line of Young Jedi Adventures storybooks, based on the TV series of the same name and aimed at ages between 3-5 and 3-7. It’s possible that April’s Star Wars Celebration will give us a new look at what’s to come in the Jedi training series.
Young Jedi Adventures will release on Disney+ and Disney Junior on May 4, 2023, Star Wars Day.
When is it set?
Young Jedi Adventures is set in the time of the High Republic, centuries before Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999). It is a time of prosperity in the galaxy, with the Jedi at the peak of their powers, benevolent Force users more in tune with the Midiclorians than ever and using them to support the galaxy at large.
But there’s a darkness, spreading on the galaxy’s fringes and slipping through the shadows at the edge of the hyperspace lanes: the Nihil, villainous pirates who have somehow discovered a way to navigate hyperspace outside the designated routes and using it to their advantage to pillage and terrorize a vulnerable Republic.
With Young Jedi Adventures targeting preschoolers, it may be unlikely that we see much of that battle on the show. But the synopsis describing the padawans as going on adventures helping people across the stars resonates with the idea of seeing the Jedi behaving as paragons of virtue, justice and aid.
Who is in the show?
The cast of the Young Jedi Adventures TV show is made up mainly of new unique characters. There’s Jamaal Avery, Jr. as Kai Brightstar, Juliet Donenfeld as Lys Solay, Dee Bradley Baker as Nubs, Emma Berman as Nash Durango and Jonathan Lipow as RJ-83. All of them appeared in a first-look image showing the Jedi younglings on the planet Tenoo.
There is also one recognizable face: Jedi Master Yoda. The diminutive Jedi will be tutoring our new heroes as they embark on their adventures in the galaxy, no doubt imparting many words of wisdom in his signature turn of phrase. Piotr Michael will be voicing the fan-favorite character.
Despite there being minimal information about any of our characters so far, the first look appearance already helped fans latch onto one character in particular — Nubs, played by Star Wars animation veteran Dee Bradley Baker. Baker has had significant exercise for his vocal talents already this year in The Bad Batch, and previously in The Clone Wars, where he voices all of the Clone Troopers.
The blue-faired youngling is a Pooba, a species that looks not dissimilar to a teddy or koala bear. Poobas are brand new to the Star Wars world but seem already to be going down a storm, and Nubs’ innate cuteness definitely lends him an advantage when it comes to appealing to the preschool audience.
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About Young Jedi Adventures
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures follows a group of Jedi younglings as they embark on their journeys to become Jedi Knights, under the tutelage of Jedi Master Yoda. Set in the time of the High Republic, with the Jedi Order prospering, the show is the first depiction of that era on screen, and the tale of Jedi training following these eager Jedi younglings learning valuable skills is targeted at pre-schoolers. It is set to release on Disney+ and Disney Junior on May 4, 2023.
Will you be tuning in to Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!