Star Wars is continuing to get bigger and this year certainly presented that with The Mandalorian and Grogu and Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter. Although, in the realm of animation, fans are still looking forward to the release of an upcoming series that still shows much potential: Star Wars: Visions. Now in its nearly five year run, this anthology series still manages to captivate even with its new stories.
Unlike Season 2, Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 will see both new and old stories blend together in a way not seen before. To get a better sense of what’s to come in Star Wars: Visions Volume 3, we caught up with Lucasfilm’s Vice President, Franchise Content & Strategy, James Waugh, during this year’s Anime NYC.
Waugh touched upon what makes Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 different from the previous volumes. Similarly to how Lucasfilm approached its Tales series, Visions also follows in a similar path when it comes to approaching different sides of the universe.
“It explores resistance, rebellion, smuggler, bounty hunter stories,” Waugh said. “It touches on those other notes the Star Wars galaxy can play in a way that’s not 100% bound to the Jedi space and Sith space.” “It’s the more grounded, non-mystical side of Star Wars,” Waugh added. “[The mystical side is still] there, don’t get me wrong. There’s definitely a Jedi story, but it’s not the focus.”
Given how some stories, like “Duel of the Village Bride” and “The Ninth Jedi”, are returning, fans might be wondering how their creators will utilize the storytelling potential of Volume 4. I asked Waugh about the original intention from creatives to give animation studios this space.
“Visions was not intended for these stories to continue,” Waugh said. “We didn’t set out saying, ‘Yes, we are developing this because, like Ronan, we want this to keep going. It was because that story was so compelling.”
“What we ended up seeing that was so nice with Volume 3 is that those stories had so many incredible elements in them that were worth expanding upon. With “The Duel: Payback”, it’s Ronin’s story, this wandering Yojimbo-inspired character, but you’ll see that what Kamikaze Douga has done is expand the world of that unique expression of Star Wars.”
“You get to see what other worlds will look like and how different factions work within this world,” Waugh added. “There’s some fun things that I think will be really cool to see, but it’s given all these creators an opportunity to expand the world-building.”
Although Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 is exploring previous narratives, it still has original stories that explore the more lighthearted and human side of life. Waugh touched on these stories that studios shared, like Aardman’s “I Am Your Mother”.
“[Aardman] brought in a bunch of their top directors to just pitch us different stories,” Waugh recalled. “The reason we loved Magda’s story was not that we knew we’d find Star Wars in it, but that she pitched a story that was personal.”
“She had this sort of love-hate teen embarrassment of her mom and her mom’s culture. Then, to find later in life, that’s the thing that made her special and a unique creator. She wanted to find a Star Wars story to reflect that personal journey.”
Additionally, I got to ask Waugh if, given a Volume 4, if there would be any stories from Volume 2 he’d love to further explore in the future of Star Wars: Visions:
“I want to know more about what happens with Cartoon Saloon’s stuff, I want to know what happens with Punkrobot’s stuff, and I want to see that style all day long,” Waugh said. “There’s so much cool stuff in that volume that I would love to keep going on.”
Furthermore, Waugh stated that he’d like to maintain this structure of narrative returns in future volumes of Star Wars: Visions, which heavily inspired the decision behind Visions Presents: The Ninth Jedi.
“We’re really pivoting into the Star Wars: Visions Presents framework going forward for a bit, at least, is seeing what Visions can look like when you give creators a bigger canvas,” Waugh noted. “Every time we listen in, it’s like, ‘Oh, we love Visions, we love the anthological tone of it, but, I wish we had more time to tell “The Ninth Jedi” story and go deeper.’”
Waugh also spoke on how creator Kenji Kamiyama wanted to carry the story from The Ninth Jedi going forward. “Just in [that story’s] inherent structure of ‘We need to put together the Jedi Order. We need to find Jedi to help rebuild the Jedi Order.’ That felt like the perfect kick-off for a series and Kamiyama had a very clear idea.”
Star Wars: Visions begins streaming on Wednesday, October 29, on Disney+.
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Christopher Gallardo is a freelance entertainment writer and critic. While not running The Reel Roller, Chris can be found writing reviews and breakdowns on all things films and TV. Outside of entertainment writing, he’s currently taking classes for a Bachelor’s of Science with a minor in Digital Media & Journalism. Plus, he loves Percy Jackson, animated films and shows, and Fallout! Follow Christopher on Instagram & X.