Star Wars Visions Presents The Ninth Jedi Premieres August 5

Lucasfilm has unveiled the trailer for Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi, an eight-episode limited anime series from Lucasfilm and Production I.G premiering August 5, 2026 on Disney+ and Hulu. The trailer and a teaser poster debuted at Anime Expo 2026 during a dedicated panel at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where the official English dub trailer was released.

The series is the first entry in Star Wars: Visions Presents, a new banner built to give the anthology’s most promising shorts room to grow into multi-episode stories. It continues the story of Lah Kara, who first appeared in the Volume 1 short “The Ninth Jedi” and returned for “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope” in Volume 3, as she trains under Margrave Juro and sets out on a quest to save her father.

A Banner Built for Longer Stories

The series launches the Star Wars: Visions Presents banner, which Lucasfilm announced at Star Wars Celebration in April 2025 to give the anthology’s breakout shorts more room. Production I.G returns to animate the longer cut, with the panel introducing the project at Anime Expo 2026.

Visions launched in 2021 as a collection of standalone shorts from Japanese animation studios, each interpreting the Star Wars universe through its own visual and narrative lens. The format has produced three volumes of shorts since. “The Ninth Jedi” drew sustained interest, with a premise that already carried the shape of a longer story.

For Lucasfilm, the new banner answers a question fans had asked since 2021: what happens to Lah Kara after the credits roll? Kenji Kamiyama, who wrote and directed the original short, stays on as supervising director. All eight episodes drop on the same day. The banner’s design is documented in the series entry with full production history.

Previous Visions entries were standalone shorts. The new banner allows for multi-episode continuations of those breakout stories. The Ninth Jedi is the first such standalone spin-off series.

Picking Up Two Short Films Later

“The Ninth Jedi” aired September 22, 2021 as part of Star Wars: Visions Volume 1, with a run time of 21:41. See the original short’s full credits and air date. Its follow-up, “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope,” aired October 29, 2025 as the third episode of Star Wars: Visions Volume 3. The new series is set shortly after those two episodes.

The new series picks up not long after those two episodes. Lah Kara continues training under her master. She and his small fellowship of Jedi-in-training set out on a quest to save her father, a thread the original short only hinted at.

1. September 22, 2021: “The Ninth Jedi” debuts in Star Wars: Visions Volume 1, written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama.
2. April 2025: James Waugh announces at Star Wars Celebration that Visions will spawn longer-form spinoff series.
3. October 29, 2025: “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope” continues Lah Kara’s story in Star Wars: Visions Volume 3.
4. July 2026: Trailer and teaser poster debut at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles.
5. August 5, 2026: All eight episodes stream on Disney+ and Hulu.

Production I.G. and the Crew Behind It

Production I.G, the Japanese animation studio behind the original Volume 1 short, returns to animate the series. Kenji Kamiyama serves as supervising director on the series, having written and directed the original 2021 short.

Directing the eight-episode run is Shunsuke Tada, with the screenplay by Mitsuyasu Sakai. The production pairs Lucasfilm’s franchise stewardship with Production I.G’s animation. The two studios share creative leadership across the series.

Lucasfilm’s executive producers are James Waugh, Jacqui Lopez, and Josh Rimes. They are joined by Justin Leach and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa. The producers are Hitoshi Ito and Kanako Shirasaki. Caroline Keller rounds out the credits as co-producer.

Kamiyama, Tada, and Ito appeared at the Anime Expo panel to introduce the trailer and poster. The Japanese-American creative lineup mirrors the production’s bicultural approach. A Japanese animation studio and Lucasfilm oversight work side by side, with a cast that records in both languages.

Returning Voices and New Recruits

The English dub voice cast includes several returnees from the original short. Kimiko Glenn returns as Lah Kara, Andrew Kishino as Margrave Juro, Masi Oka as Ethan, Patrick Seitz as Homen, JP Karliak as Gramps, and Simu Liu as Lah Zhima; Neil Kaplan returns as The Narrator.

Four new English-language cast members join for the longer story. Feodor Chin voices Gennoh, Young Mazino voices Nawaam, Chase Sui Wonders voices Tafflah, and Keone Young voices Kwana. The four are new additions to the Visions voice cast.

The Japanese-language cast is anchored by returnees. Chinatsu Akasaki voices Lah Kara. Tetsuo Kanao voices Juro, Hiromu Mineta voices Ethan, Hinata Tadokoro voices Homen, Cho voices Gramps, and Shinichiro Miki voices Lah Zhima. Akio Otsuka returns as The Narrator.

Why The Ninth Jedi Earned the Expansion

Lucasfilm selected “The Ninth Jedi” as the first spinoff under the new Visions Presents banner. The 2021 Volume 1 short introduced Lah Kara’s family and her early Jedi training. The new series picks up Lah Kara’s journey with a quest to save her father taking center stage.

The Visions Presents banner was announced at Star Wars Celebration, with the goal of giving breakout shorts more room. The series picks up where the original Volume 1 short left it. The cast records in both English and Japanese, mirroring the production’s bicultural approach. The case for fresh voices in Star Wars films offers one director’s read on the franchise’s broader direction.

Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi premieres August 5, 2026 on Disney+ and Hulu, with all eight episodes available at launch.