One of the most inspiring new Star Wars fans get with Disney+ are series of animated shorts that wouldn't fit anywhere but streaming. None of the nine episodes of Star Wars: Visions Season 2 run as long as an episode of The Clone Wars. Yet, each one contains enough story and potential to live as its own dedicated series.
The first season of Visions brought Star Wars and anime together in a brand-new way. Different shorts from different studios reimagined the galaxy far, far away. The stories were wonderful, but they didn't seem to fit into the larger universe of Star Wars, at least not in the way Tales of the Jedi does. Star Wars: Visions is no less dynamic and surprising in Season 2, with each studio delivering a beautiful short. There are plenty of new characters and concepts, but ones that feel at home in the galaxy. The canonicity of these stories is dubious, even unlikely. But, unlike the thrilling chapters last time around, the shorts in Star Wars: Visions Season 2 could lead to nine new series.
Star Wars: Visions Makes the Universe More Recognizable In Season 2
Like before, each studio's animation style is dynamic and unique. However, like in the canon series The Clone Wars or Star Wars: Rebels, Stormtroopers still look like Stormtroopers. The settings are mostly brand new; however, the animators hit the ephemeral target of "feeling" like Star Wars. One way they achieve this is by using the same trick Lucas and his artists did. Each studio pulls distinct cultural elements into the look of its shorts. The Star Wars design template has evolved slightly over the past four decades, but not much.
This continuity of style allows for new flourishes that reinforce the Star Wars essence rather than contrasting with it. As riveting as it was to see in action, a lightsaber umbrella is a bit much, even for Star Wars. Yet, it's not just the look of Season 2 that elevates Visions to the level of canonized Star Wars. This season, there is a heavy focus on the Force, drawing from existing lore and adding new ideas and concepts. The stories set during the Imperial era are familiar. Yet, those set in the distant past (or future?) align with what fans already know.
Star Wars has long relied on archetypes, and Visions Season 2 gives fans plenty they recognize, including Jedi and Sith. Some of these characters would fit right in on The Bad Batch or an episode of Tales of the Jedi with a very young Yoda. Season 1 also had archetypes, but the focus on characterization in this new crop of shorts makes these character-shapes into "real" people.
Season 2 of Star Wars: Visions Is No Less the Visual Spectacle Than a Movie
When it comes to science fiction, animation can feel like a cheat. It's much easier to create alien settings, action sequences and superhuman characters. Star Wars: Visions may have more in common with the original trilogy in that viewers will wonder, "How did they do that?" There are shorts that appear to be stop-motion, Claymation, traditional 2D, and hyper-realistic 3D. Even if the answer to the question for all of them is "on a computer," the result is nonetheless visually stunning.
The protagonist, in one short, seems almost designed to be unlikeable to an audience familiar with Star Wars. Yet, even the most annoyed viewer will watch every moment because it's so strange and beautiful. The end may even break the suspension of disbelief because of how the character is written. Only Star Wars is one of the few franchises where the "hand of the storyteller" can be called "the Force." The shorts are just a lovely visual experience. Some of these fables about the Force deliver a message more succinctly and effectively than even the best Star Wars movies.
If Lucasfilm's goal with Star Wars: Visions Season 2 was to find potential characters and animation studios to do complete series, the result would be an embarrassment of riches. Each of the shorts could be expanded into a full television season or more. Visions has never felt more like Star Wars, if only because the show gives viewers just enough to make them rabid for more.
Star Wars: Visions Season 2 debuts in its entirety on May 4th on Disney+.