'Star Wars: Visions' Trailer: Lucy Liu, Joseph Gordon-Levitt And More Get Animated
That galaxy far, far away just became even bigger.
With the future of the movies somewhat up in the air after the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars is looking elsewhere for stories to carry the torch and keep audience interest high. That's where Star Wars: Visions comes in, the anime series that appears set to open up the universe in huge and exciting ways. Lucasfilm has released two trailers for the upcoming series: one dubbed in English, one in original Japanese. Check out both versions below.
Star Wars: Visions English Dubbed Trailer
Excitingly, the English voice cast is full of both newcomers and familiar faces to the Star Wars universe. Some of the biggest names we've just learned about today include Lucy Liu, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, Neil Patrick Harris, Alison Brie, Karen Fukuhara, Kimiko Glenn, Simu Liu, Kyle Chandler, David Harbour, Henry Golding, Jamie Chung, and George Takei. For a project that might have seemed disposable or unessential to some, Lucasfilm has clearly spared no expense whatsoever to make this series as much of a must-watch as any of their other shows or movies.
Star Wars: Visions Trailer with Japanese Cast
As far as the Japanese voice talent goes, anime fans will likely recognize more than a few names on this list. Masaki Terasoma, Akeno Watanabe, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Akio Kaneda, Tokuyoshi Kawashima, Takaya Kamikawa, Chinatsu Akasaki, Shin-ichiro Miki, and Kenichi Ogata are only a few of the many veteran actors headlining the series.
Disney+ will make both versions of the show available on the streaming service when the series debuts on September 22, 2021. Star Wars: Visions will take the form of an anthology series, allowing several major Japanese studios to leave their indelible mark on nine different episodes. As executive producer and Lucasfilm Vice President, Franchise Content & Strategy James Waugh tells it:
"Lucasfilm is partnering with seven of the most talented anime studios in Japan to bring their signature style and unique vision of the Star Wars galaxy to this inspired new series. Their stories showcase the full spectrum of bold storytelling found across Japanese animation; each told with a freshness and voice that expands our understanding of what a Star Wars story can be, and celebrates a galaxy that has been such an inspiration to so many visionary storytellers."
The Japanese studios include Kamikaze Douga for an episode titled "The Duel", Geno Studio (Twin Engine) for "Lop and Och?", Studio Colorido (Twin Engine) for "Tattooine Rhapsody", TRIGGER for "The Twins" and "The Elder", Kinema Citrus for "The Village Bride", Science Saru for "Akakiri" and "T0-B1", and Production I.G. for "The Ninth Jedi".
If all this information doesn't get you excited for this, nothing will. Star Wars is sorely in need of a creative shake-up and Visions seems like the perfect remedy. It's only natural for such a Kurosawa-inspired franchise to return to its roots with an anime series that, by all indications, will pay homage in far more direct and authentic ways than we've grown used to seeing. The trailers sell an enticing blend of action, tone, and animation-specific flair that will surely keep each and every episode fresh and engaging.
And if all that weren't enough, Lucasfilm has also released a few images from the series that communicate the varying visual and animation styles we can expect from each unique episode.
