All The Animation At Star Wars Celebration 2022
Disney hosted Star Wars Celebration 2022 over the weekend, unveiling details about several projects currently in production.
Among the goodies offered up were trailers and teasers for several animation and video game sequels as well as an entirely new animated series and a vacation-themed Lego Star Wars special. Here’s the animation news which was shared over the weekend.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch S2
Disney dropped a new trailer for the second season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which is set to launch sometime this fall. The first season of The Bad Batch kicked off just as Emperor Palpatine was activating Order 66, turning the entire clone army against the Jedi order. In the trailer for season two, we can see that some time has passed since the end of the first season, with the characters all looking a bit older and dressed differently. The trailer also teases possible expanded roles for Emperor Palpatine and Clone Wars favorite Commander Cody. While the specter of Palpatine loomed large over season one of The Bad Batch, this new season could offer a first look at what happened to Obi Wan’s right-hand-man Cody after the execution of Order 66.
Star Wars: Visions Volume 2
Disney+’s popular animated Star Wars anthology series will be back in spring 2023 with a second volume of shorts. The first volume of Visions (trailer linked below) featured nine non-canon, independently produced short films set in the Star Wars universe. The well-reviewed series currently has a 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and enjoys a strong following from die hard fans. For volume one, Disney employed some of Japan’s most iconic animation studios to produce the shorts. No volume two studios have been announced by name yet, but Disney did say the second batch of shorts will come from a wider range of countries including the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Chile, Spain, France, and India.
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi
An entirely new animation anthology, Tales of the Jedi is coming sometime in 2023 and will feature six, 15-minute shorts following popular characters like Ahsoka Tano – half the episodes are dedicated to Anakin’s former padawan – and Count Dooku at different stages throughout their lives. The series, unrelated to the incredibly popular Dark Horse Comics’ run of the same name, will also see Liam Neeson return to voice Qui-Gon Jinn, with his son Micheál Richardson voicing the character during his younger years.
Learn the origins of Ahsoka. Tales of the Jedi is coming Fall 2022 to @disneyplus. pic.twitter.com/svTt7ZKQ9P
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 29, 2022
Lego Star Wars Summer Vacation
Summer Vacation takes place after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and features Rose, Rey, Finn, Poe, and Chewbacca taking a much deserved break after saving the galaxy. While attempting to relax, they’ll quickly learn that galactic heroes rarely get a day off. According to the presentation, the special will feature lots of comedy and several musical numbers. It was also teased that Weird Al Yankovic will make a special cameo, voicing a character named Vic Vankoh.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Disney, EA, and Respawn shared a trailer for the sequel of their popular single-player RPG Jedi: Fallen Order, set to drop in 2023. While the trailer is light on plot details, we do get a look at a beat-up Stinger Mantis cockpit, Cal Kestis with BD-1 still pearched on his shoulder, a new inquisitor, and a long-haired maybe-Jedi floating in a rough looking bacta tank.
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures
Set during The High Republic era, a 200-year span which ended about a century before the events of The Phantom Menace, the series for younger audiences will follow Younglings as they learn the skills and temperament needed to become Jedi. The series is set to premiere Spring 2023 on Disney+ and Disney Junior.
Ashoka
Not necessarily animation news, but definitely news for fans of Star Wars animation, several more key characters from Rebels are coming to Disney+’s live-action Star Wars universe in the upcoming series Ashok. At the Celebration, it was revealed that Rebels characters Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla, and Chopper will all feature in the upcoming series. A clip shared exclusively during the Celebration also feature a mural of Ezra Bridger, perhaps teasing a return of the young force-user.
Pictured Above: “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor,” “The Bad Batch: Season 2,” “Tales of the Jedi”