The Star Wars: Visions anthology is getting its first longform anime spin-off, set to stream on Disney+.
First announced by Lucasfilm during the Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo last 20 April, 2025 (Sunday), the Star Wars: Visions anime anthology is taking on its first longform anime series with Star Wars: Visions Presents—The Ninth Jedi. Kenji Kamiyama, who directed Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim, is helming the project as its director.
The Ninth Jedi set to premiere in 2026
The Ninth Jedi series will be a spinoff to Kamiyama’s 2021 Visions short featured back in Volume 1, and will include a more in-depth exploration of Jedi lore and kyber crystals that have been introduced in this specific branch of the Star Wars’ sprawling universe.
The Ninth Jedi will follow fan-favourite character Lah Kara, a young woman with force sensitivity, and her continued search for her missing father, a lightsaber smith, while also attempting to bring together the scattered Jedi. The short itself was set after the final movie of the Star Wars revival trilogy, titled “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker”.
Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 to stream 19 October
Following the announcement for The Ninth Jedi series, it was also revealed that the Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 anthology is set to debut on Disney+ this coming 19 October, 2025. Volume 3 will continue the storylines of three shorts included in Volume 1: “The Duel”, “Village Bride”, and “The Ninth Jedi”.
During the Star Wars Celebration event, director Takanobu Mizonu, who did “The Duel”, confirmed that the Ronin’s story is set to continue with “The Duel: Payback”. In Payback, the Ronin will face a Jedi named “Grand Master”, and may form an alliance with a Sith. Takashi Okazaki, who did the designs in the original short, will return to design the original characters for Payback.
Hitoshi Haga, who directed “Village Bride”, will return with “The Lost Ones”, which is set after the events of Order 66, and once again will focus on the mysterious figure known as F.
Meanwhile, “The Ninth Jedi” will release a new short separate from the 2026 standalone series, titled “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope”. This short will be a prequel focusing on the story of a war before Kara was born. Naoyoshi Shiotani is directing this short in place of Kamiyama.
New shorts will also feature in Volume 3, those being:
- “The Smuggler” - directed by Masahiko Otsuka, who also did “The Elder”, and will focus on a standalone story about a young thief loosely inspired by Han Solo, in a new planet.
- “The Bounty Hunters” - directed by Ken Yamamoto at Wit Studio, which follows two bounty hunters named Sevn and droid IV-AH4, who are hired by a mysterious and handsome businessman.
- “The Song of Four Wings” - directed by Hiroyasu Koabayashi at Project Studio Q, which tells the story of a princess with an R2-type droid, which also transforms into a mechanised powered suit.
- “Bird of Paradise” - directed by Tadahiro Yoshihira at Polygon Pictures, which aims to explore the Star Wars connection with mythology, and features the motif of sacred trees. According to some statements about the short during the event, this may be an isekai.
- “Black” - directed by Shinya Ohira at david production, although no details were revealed about this short as Ohira was not present during the event, it was revealed that Ohira spent three years writing, directing, designing, and key-animating the project.
