The Star Wars universe and the world of anime collide as Lucasfilm announced in Anime Expo Lite that Star Wars is having an anime anthology series.

The NEW anime series entitled “Visions” will be released in Disney+ on September 22, 2021. It will be a series of several shorts made by different studios that worked hand-in-hand with Star Wars.

Starwars.com revealed last December 2020 wrote, “…Star Wars: Visions will be a series of animated short films celebrating Star Wars through the lens of the world’s best anime creators. The anthology collection will bring 10 fantastic visions from several of the leading Japanese anime studios, offering a fresh and diverse cultural perspective to Star Wars.”

Lucasfilm confirmed the seven studios who will be working with them and the nine shorts for the series. The said studios and shorts are as followed Kamikaze Douga with “The Duel,” Geno Studio (Twin Engine) with “Lop and Ochō,” Studio Colorado (Twin Engine) with “Tatooine Rhapsody,” Trigger with “The Twins,” Trigger with “The Elder,” Kinema Citrus with “The Village Bride,” Science Saru with “Akakiri,” Science Saru with “T0-B1,” and Production IG with “The Ninth Jedi.”

The series will make its debut with its first of the nine shorts, “The Duel.” It is said to be a rock opera-style film with the inclusion of traditional Japanese culture, and the story will focus on the “twins of the dark side” which has a different plotline from the original franchise.

The production kept in mind to include the retro and vintage feeling throughout the whole series. They also mentioned how they wouldn’t want to miss out on putting in the “Astro Boy” influence as it was also a classic concept, and of course, the iconic “lightsaber.

Executive Producer, James Waugh said how they wanted the classic sci-fi film to be expressed as an anime as they have been inspired by Japanese animations throughout the years.

As of writing, they have been working with several studios in Japan and each of these studios have hardcore Star Wars fan. With that, they have decided to present a different storyline from the original series as they wanted the creators to express and tell the stories they want to tell.

“We were looking for something from the heart and soul of the individual creators. These stories, they are their visions through the lens of Star Wars,” said Waugh.

Regardless of some Anime Titles Disney has produced like “Stitch!,” “Fireball,” and “Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!,” they are yet to produce an animated series with the same Japanese anime concept as Star Wars: Visions.

To date, there has not been any news on whether or not Disney+ will further invest in having an Anime Library.

Source: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Visions#cite_note-Announcement-1, https://www.starwars.com/news/anime-expo-lite-star-wars-visions, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Gr9gKFxpE&t=3s, https://www.starwars.com/news/future-lucasfilm-projects-revealed