The first season ofStar Wars: Visionswas awelcome surprise.
NowVisionsis returning for its much-anticipated second season, this time collaborating with animators from around the globe.
The result is an eclectic mix ofStar Warsstorytelling, each with its own distinct art style.
Anni in a scene from the ‘Star Wars: Visions’ season 2 episode ‘I Am Your Mother,’ created by legendary U.K. studio Aardman.Disney+
(A familiar character from the original trilogy even makes a cameo.)
The result is some of the freshest and most original storytellingStar Warshas done in decades.
(It’s also got a starry voice cast that includesDaveed Diggs,Anjelica Huston, andCynthia Erivo.)
Toul in a scene from the ‘Star Wars: Visions’ season 2 episode ‘Journey to the Dark Head,’ by South Korea’s Studio Mir.Disney+
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: For season 1, you collaborated with a bunch of incredible Japanese anime studios.
For season 2, you expanded your reach to work with studios all around the world.
Why was it important to go global for season 2?
Lola and E2 in a scene from the ‘Star Wars: Visions’ season 2 episode ‘Sith,’ by Spain’s El Guiri.Disney+
JAMES WAUGH:There’s a couple reasons.
First off, it’s worth saying that we are massive animation fans, period.
We devour tons of animated content.
I really do believe that some of the best filmmaking period is being done in animation at the moment.
We thought: How amazing would it be to seeStar Warsthrough the lens of these different cultures?
We wanted to initiate the door to those types of experiences and see howStar Warswould look through that.
That was really exciting to us.
When we pitched it, everybody was really excited by that evolution.
What’s the pitching process like with these studios?
Did they come to you with an idea, or did you approach them?
JACQUI LOPEZ:We approached them.
We asked them, would they be interested?
Do they have aStar Warsstory to tell?
They then came back to us with their stories.
Some studios had one story that they felt like theyhadto tell.
Other studios had different filmmakers pitch, so they had anywhere from two to six pitches for us.
We curated it from there.
JOSH RIMES:A lot.
We were hoping that we’d get to see different formats going in.
With Punkrobot for example, we lovedBear Story, their Oscar-winning short.
That was a CGI-animated piece that also had an amazing wind-up toy feel to it.
It almost felt like stop-motion.
You look at Triggerfish also, which doesn’t feel like traditional stop-motion.
It’s a CGI piece, but it’s very tactile and has those colorful felt-like creatures.
We were getting all these textures from around the world.
I think that’s whereStar Warsreally functions at its best, when it’s telling mythic, resonant stories.
The style and the bombast can come afterwards.
Was that a theme you were talking about as you were assembling the season?
We wanted to see whatStar Warsmeant to all of them.
And even though so many of them wanted to interpretStar Warsin new ways, those core elements hold true.
The stories that kind of resonated were thoseStar Warsthemes.
But we never directed them towards it.
We helped them refine.
LOPEZ:You know what I loved too?
The different ways the Force was represented.
Some of it was very personal to the filmmaker.
As well as on the Triggerfish [short] with Nadia [Darries], who is a singer.
Her ability to sing is her self-expression that frees her.
So that’s another beautiful thing, taking these really personal stories from different countries.
Your life experience comes from your environment.
You talked about finding different ways to bring cultural specificity into theStar Warsgalaxy.
Were there any specific examples of that you really loved?
WAUGH:“Bandits of Golak.”
RIMES:That’s a good one.
WAUGH:That film is so alive.
They wanted that from the start.
The original pitch was about dhabas, these cool truck stops that are full of lights and color.
RIMES:And don’t forget the food!
That’s a huge part of it.
They’re not going to be able to finish this on this budget or schedule."
If it’s not crowded, it won’t feel like India!"
They were just so excited to have an expression of their culture in theStar Warsgalaxy.
It was an incredibly joyful experience.
RIMES:Cartoon Saloon is another one.
Their movies are so steeped in Celtic and Irish myth and history.
So they wanted to do a banshee story.
They were inspired by their own Celtic myths but also the idea of a Jedi.
WAUGH:They all have a bit of that.
You only get that from a studio based in Paris.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
To hear our entire interview with theStar Wars: Visionsteam, check out the latest episode of EW’sDagobah Dispatchpodcast.
