Star Wars Visions was the beloved franchise’s first venture in the world of anime, with major anime studios such as TRIGGER, Colorido, Production IG, and Kinema Citrus being just a few examples of the production houses that helped bring this new series to life. With the confirmation that a second season would be hitting Disney+ on May 4th of this year, the new list of studios that will be animated these stories has been released, with some of the choices potentially coming as a surprise to those who were expecting a pure anime feel once again.
The first season of this anthology series took place in the same universe as Star Wars but would normally not feature many returning characters from the original slate of films that kicked off the series. While characters like Boba Fett and Jabba The Hutt made appearances, for the most part, the casts of this series were new to the Star Wars universe and we would expect the same from the upcoming second season.
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Star Wars Visions: Who’s On Deck
The Official Star Wars Twitter Account took the opportunity to share the studios that will take part in bringing the nine new short stories to life, while also further exploring the titles of each installment and the animators that will be leading the charge:
Which animation studio are you most excited to see share their take on the world of Star Wars? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Jedi.
El Guiri Studios
Headed by animator Rodrigo Blaas, who previously worked on Trollhunters, Wall-E, and Finding Nemo, El Guiri Studios will be bringing to life a story titled “Sith”, with the official Star Wars website giving a thorough breakdown:
“Rodrigo Blaas is an Emmy Award®-winning director who has spent more than 20 years in animation. After co-founding Stromboli Animation in 1997, Blaas joined Blue Sky Studios in 2000, working on the feature film Ice Age, before transitioning to Pixar Animation Studios. There, he worked on such projects as Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), and Wall-E (2008) and on the Oscar®-nominated short film La Luna (2011). More recently, Blaas partnered with Guillermo del Toro to develop the award-winning series Trollhunters, served as creative director for Mikros Animation Paris and, in 2021, created El Guiri Studios in Madrid with his partner, Cecile Hokes. He also wrote and directed 2009’s award-winning short film Alma.”
Cartoon Saloon
Cartoon Saloon is an Irish animation studio and has been responsible for some amazing work in the past, including The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and Wolfwalker to name a few. Their short is titled “Screecher’s Reach”. With the project being led by founder Paul Young, here’s how the anthology series described the creator:
“Paul Young is a co-founder of Cartoon Saloon, an IFTA winner and Oscar®, Emmy® and BAFTA nominee. He produced the animated features My Father’s Dragon, WolfWalkers, The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and The Breadwinner as well as award-winning TV series including Puffin Rock, Dorg Van Dango, and Viking Skool.”
Punk Robot
In The Stars will be the short that is put together by Punkrobot, with the Latin America studio having produced an animated short that won an Oscar in Bear Story. Here’s how Star Wars describes the animator who won an Oscar for his previous short film:
“Gabriel Osorio majored in Fine Arts at Universidad de Chile, later specializing in 3D animation. After working in commercials, movies and television series, he founded Punkrobot Studio. Since 2008, he has directed projects for children’s television including Flipos, Muelin y Perlita, Soccer Girls, and television spots. In 2016, his short film Bear Story became the first Latin American project to win an Oscar® in the animated short category.”
Aardman
This might be one of the most surprising entrants on the list of studios as Aardman is perhaps best known for their work on the claymation property Wallace & Gromit. With director Madalena Osinska jumping on board the short titled “I Am Your Mother”, here’s how Star Wars breaks down her resume:
“Magdalena Osinska is an award-winning director who has been with Aardman for eight years. She has directed stop-motion, CGI, 2D and live-action commercials including Wallace & Gromit’s “The Great Sofa Caper” and “Share the Orange.” Osinska directed development of the children’s series Joyets and has also directed films including Spirits of the Piano and Zbigniev’s Cupboard. A graduate of the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, UK, as well as the Polish Film School in Lodz and Art College in Warsaw, Osinska is currently developing the feature film Jasia, based on her grandmother’s memories of WWII Poland.”
Studio Mir
One of the better-known animation studios on the list, Studio Mir might be best known for its work on popular properties including The Legend of Korra, The Boondocks, Harley Quinn, Young Justice, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, and Mortal Kombat to name a few. For the production house’s short story, “Journey To The Dark Head”, Star Wars broke down director Hyeong Geun Park’s resume:
“Rising star Hyeong Geun Park had already made a name for himself when he entered the Korean animation industry in 2017, thanks to his strong drawing and animation sensibilities. He has directed animation for dozens of cinematic game trailers and has since expanded into animated series, working on projects including Dota: Dragon’s Blood: Book 3 (2022) and Lookism (2022). Journey to the Dark Head is the first title he has executive produced from start to finish.”
Studio La Cachette
While you might not recognize the name Studio La Cachette, you definitely have heard of some of the franchises that they’ve worked on in the past. The production house has worked on series including Adult Swim’s Primal, Adventure Time, and Netflix’s Love Death & Robots. The short is titled “Spy Dancer” and will be directed by Julien Chheng:
“Julien Chheng is CEO of Studio La Cachette, an Emmy Award®-winning French animation studio he co-founded in 2014 with fellow Gobelins school’s alumni Oussama Bouacheria and Ulysse Malassagne. Chheng was trained in visual development at Disney and has worked as a character animator on acclaimed 2D animated features The Rabbi’s Cat, Mune, and the Academy Award®-nominated Ernest and Celestine. In 2021, he won an Emmy Award® as animation executive producer of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, for which he also served as animation supervisor. In 2022, Chheng directed with Jean-Christophe Roger the Cesar-nominated feature Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia.”
88 Pictures
88 Pictures has previously worked on series including Fast & Furious Spy Racers, Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles, and Veggietales to name a few. The short segment, “The Bandits of Golak”, will be directed by Ishan Shukla, with the official website breaking down the animator’s career:
“Ishan Shukla started his career as a CG artist in Singapore. For more than a decade, he spearheaded projects ranging from TV commercials to series and music videos. His 2016 animated short, “Schirkoa,” was long-listed for the Academy Awards® after receiving dozens of awards and playing at 120 international festivals, including SIGGRAPH Asia where it was named Best in Show. He then set up his own animation studio to work on adult-oriented animated feature films including a feature-length version of Schirkoa, set to hit festivals in summer 2023.”
D’art Shtajio
D’art Shtajio is an anime studio that has worked on key animation for some major players in the game, including the likes of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Attack on Titan, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, One Piece, Prokmon Journeys, and Tokyo Ghoul to name a few. Their short, “The Pit”, will see directors LeAndre Thomas and Justin Ridge taking a crack on the universe of the Jedi and Sith:
“LeAndre Thomas is an award-winning writer and director from Oakland, Calif., whose most recent film won Best Director at the Pasadena International Film Festival. In addition to his independent films, Thomas is a part of the franchise studio team at Lucasfilm Ltd. where he has worked for more than 11 years being credited on recent titles such as Light & Magic, The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, and many more.
Justin Ridge executive produced the Emmy®-nominated series Star Wars Resistance. His credits also include Star Wars Rebels, Storks, The Cleveland Show, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
Triggerfish
Triggerfish is a South African studio that has created works in the past such as Khumba and Seal Team, working to create the short titled Aau’s Song. With director Nadia Darries and Daniel Clarke hopping on board, here’s how Lucas Films describes the duo:
“Nadia Darries is a director, animator and co-founder of Goon Valley Animation, with an avocation for songwriting. Born in the Cape Flats in South Africa, Darries has worked on high-end animated film and motion design as an animator, project manager, creative director and director since 2015. Her experience includes animating at Triggerfish Animation Studios on the award-winning BBC films Stick Man, Revolting Rhymes, and Highway Rat.
Daniel Clarke is a Cape Town-based director and artist working in animation, film and illustration. He started his career in animation in 2008 at Triggerfish Animation Studios, where he has served as production designer, art director and director on projects such as the feature film Khumba, BBC’s Stick Man, and The Snail and the Whale. In 2018, along with James Clarke and Daniel Snaddon, he completed the graphic novel Kariba.”
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