Star Wars | Disney+ | Anime | Anthology series
The first ‘Star Wars: Visions’ trailer turns a galaxy far, far away into a stunning anime
Star Wars goes back to its samurai roots on Disney Plus on Sept. 22.
Lightsabers are already pretty cool. But put them in the hands of Japan’s leading anime studios and what do you you get? Next-level lightsaber action! Disney Plus just revealed trailers for new series Star Wars: Visions, streaming from Sept. 22, and they’re incandescent with anime action.
You can watch each of the nine animated shorts with either English or Japanese subs and dubs.
The English voice cast features Lucy Liu, George Takei, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Neil Patrick Harris, Kimiko Glen and Bobby Moynihan. Oh, and as in the prequels and The Mandalorian, Temuera Morrison plays Boba Fett (see 1:29 in the trailer). The Japanese voice cast features the talents of Masaki Tersoma, Akio Kaneda, Junya Enoki, Hiroyuki Yoshino and more.
The trailers open with a nod to the Star Wars saga’s roots in samurai stories, before exploding into a riot of Jedi taking on star destroyers and stormtroopers. George Lucas was directly inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s film The Hidden Fortress when creating the first film, A New Hope, blending samurai movies with westerns and sci-fi serials in a smash hit mashup of genres.
Star Wars Visions was first announced at last year’s Disney Plus event alongside a slew of other shows. “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,” James Waugh, Lucasfilm’s vice president of franchise content and strategy, said in a release Tuesday. “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.”
Check out the face-melting English and Japanese trailers for the show below:
Star Wars: Visions | English Dub Trailer | Disney+
The English dub cast includes the voice talents of returning Star Wars actors and some new voices:
- The Duel: Brian Tee (Ronin), Lucy Liu (Bandit Leader), Jaden Waldman (Village Chief)
- Tatooine Rhapsody: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Jay), Bobby Moynihan (Geezer), Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett), Shelby Young (K-344), Marc Thompson (Lan)
- The Twins: Neil Patrick Harris (Karre), Alison Brie (Am), Jonathan Lipow (B-20N)
- The Village Bride: Karen Fukuhara (F), Nichole Sakura (Haru), Christopher Sean (Asu), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Valco), Andrew
- Kishino (Izuma), Stephanie Sheh (Saku)
- The Ninth Jedi: Kimiko Glenn (Kara), Andrew Kishino (Juro), Simu Liu (Zhima), Masi Oka (Ethan), Greg Chun (Roden), Neil
- Kaplan (Narrator), Michael Sinterniklaas (Hen Jin),
- T0-B1: Jaden Waldman (T0-B1), Kyle Chandler (Mitaka)
- The Elder: David Harbour (Tajin), Jordan Fisher (Dan), James
- Hong (The Elder)
- Lop & Ocho: Anna Cathcart (Lop), Hiromi Dames (Ocho), Paul Nakauchi (Yasaburo), Kyle McCarley (Imperial Officer)
- Akakiri: Henry Golding (Tsubaki), Jamie Chung (Misa), George Takei (Senshuu), Keone Young (Kamahachi), Lorraine Toussaint (Masago)
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Star Wars Visions trailer lightsaber umbrella and historical context
The first major Star Wars Visions trailer was released today, and it has a lightsaber umbrella. Not the sort of umbrella that’s meant for blocking raindrops, but the sort that’s meant to spin and deflect blaster bolts. At first, this sort of weapon might seem unnatural and absurd.
First – Star Wars started going wild with lightsaber action well before even George Lucas decided to expand with the double-bladed weapon for Darth Maul. We’re talking lightsaber daggers, whips, and multi-blade nonsense aplenty in the expanded universe throughout the 1990’s. Imagine all the ways a bladed edge has been implemented in weapons here on Earth over the past several hundred hears, and you shall see the pathways Star Wars shall take!
When it comes to the umbrella weapon we see in the trailer… you might wonder if such a thing has ever existed as a bladed weapon here in reality.
Once you dive deeper into the history of the umbrella as a weapon, you find that it most certainly HAS been used as a weapon. Take a peek at one demonstration (of many) in the video below. Not just one umbrella, but two!
You’ll find it used as a club, Or an instrument with which one can catch and pull the arm or weapon of an opponent. Or a piece of hardware that can conceal a single blade – or a gun! But bladed tips – that’s pretty rare.
Above you’ll see the trailer for Star Wars: Visions. You’ll find what you might expect to be the one example of a spinning-blade umbrella weapon in the history of video media at approximately 56 seconds.
But behold! Another sword umbrella in a movie in the trailer below! This movie SHADOW was released in the year 2019 and features a LOT of said weapons.
The first ‘Star Wars: Visions’ trailer turns a galaxy far, far away into a stunning anime
We’ve been so focused on the MCU that we nearly forgot about Disney’s plans for Star Wars in 2021. Last Friday, Star Wars: The Bad Batch wrapped up its first season on the heels of the announcement that it had been picked up for season 2. Just four days later, Disney shared the first trailer for another animated project: Star Wars: Visions.
Last December, Disney announced a bunch of upcoming Star Wars shows and movies that were each in various stages of development. Star Wars: Visions stood out as one of the most intriguing, as Disney was recruiting some of the top anime studios in Japan to make original shorts set in a galaxy far, far away. And in the first trailer, it looks even more amazing than expected.
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,” said James Waugh, the Vice President of Franchise Content & Strategy at Lucasfilm and executive producer on the show.
“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.”
Star Wars: Visions titles and cast revealed
According to the trailer, there will be nine animated shorts in all. The studios and all their respective shorts are as follows: Kamikaze Douga (“The Duel”), Geno Studio (“Lop and Ochō”), Studio Colorido (“Tatooine Rhapsody”), TRIGGER (“The Twins” and “The Elder”) Kinema Citrus (“The Village Bride”) Science Saru (“Akakiri” and “T0-B1”), and Production I.G. (“The Ninth Jedi”).
Lucasfilm packed the English dub cast with familiar faces. In Tatooine Rhapsody, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Jay) and Bobby Moynihan (Geezer) will appear alongside Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett). In The Twins, Neil Patrick Harris (Karre) and Alison Brie (Am) will share the screen. We’ll also hear David Harbour, Jamie Chung, George Takei, and Karen Fukuhara throughout the series. Plus, Simu Liu — the star of Marvel’s upcoming Shang-Chi movie — will play a character named Zhima.
Star Wars: Visions will debut on Disney+ on September 22nd.