There's no bigger representation of American pop culture than Star Wars, which has remained a firm part of the collective consciousness for decades. It's immensely popular in other countries as well, with Japan, in particular, having a great fondness for the franchise. This has now manifested in Star Wars: Visions, which reimagines the galaxy far, far away through the lens of anime industry giants.
Star Wars: Visions is certainly a creative endeavor, with the widespread question being whether or not its stories will be canon to the franchise's wider continuity. The very nature of Star Wars: Visions suggests a free rein narrative style, which may or may not keep the stories from being canon. Here's a closer look at what the anime entails and whether or not it falls in line with classic movies and TV shows.
What Is Star Wars: Visions?
Announced toward the end of 2020, Star Wars: Visions is an anthology series comprised of nine animated shorts. These shorts are produced by big studios in the anime industry such as Trigger, Kinema Citrus and Production I.G., which have produced such works as Fena: Pirate Princess, Gridman and Ghost in the Shell.
Each short has a supposedly unrelated storyline set within the Star Wars universe, using concepts such as the Jedi Knights and the Sith to bring a fresh perspective to the franchise. The goal is to ultimately create something that's much more defined by a unique cultural voice than any sort of strict adherence to Star Wars franchise expectations. This is certainly exciting for those who feel they know what to expect from the property, but it also has some fans worrying if the stories told in the anthology are even canon.
Is Star Wars: Visions Canon?
Officially, none of the stories in Star Wars: Visions had to adhere to any strict continuity or franchise rules. This is to truly allow the creators to have their own unique takes on George Lucas' universe. Executive producer James Waugh stated:
"We really wanted to give these creators a wide creative berth to explore all the imaginative potential of the Star Wars galaxy through the unique lens of anime. We realized we wanted these to be as authentic as possible to the studios and creators who are making them, made through their unique process, in a medium they’re such experts at. So the idea was, this is their vision riffing off all the elements of the Star Wars galaxy that inspired them — hopefully to make a really incredible anthology series, unlike anything we’ve seen before in the Star Wars galaxy."
Thus, fans should probably expect some divergent elements and concepts in the anthology that make certain stories almost Star Wars in name only. Despite this, some of the tales are stated to explicitly take place in a time between or before certain films. For instance, "Lop and Echo," the second episode in the anthology, is set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, while other stories are said to be set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker.
The first episode, titled "The Duel," is explicitly based around Japanese lore and has the highest chance of being wholly non-canon in the grand scheme of things. Nevertheless, Star Wars: Visions is sure to offer plenty of fun entertainment to Star Wars fans diehard and casual, pushing the series into whole new directions along the way.
Star Wars: Visions debuts September 22 on Disney+.
