Star Wars: Visions Creators Reveal Disneyland and Lovecraft Influences Behind The Ninth Jedi Follow-Up
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Star Wars: Visions creators discuss the inspirations behind The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope, revealing that Tokyo Disneyland and Lovecraftian horror shaped the new episode.
When Star Wars: Visions returned for its third season, it brought back a fan favorite by continuing the story of The Ninth Jedi. Originally introduced as an anime short in the first season, the far future narrative caught the attention of both viewers and Lucasfilm executives. Following the success of that initial episode, Lucasfilm and studio Production I.G expanded the concept into a new episode and an upcoming limited series set for 2026. Executive producer Josh Rimes recently shared in an interview with Polygon that the rich worldbuilding and vivid characters made expanding beyond standalone shorts an easy choice.
The new episode, titled The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope, picks up less than a year after the original short. Director Naoyoshi Shiotani explained that the story focuses heavily on Kara processing the trauma of losing her father while maintaining her optimistic exterior. During her journey, Kara encounters a unique service droid named Teto that helps rescue her after a ship attack. Shiotani revealed that Teto's expressive design was directly inspired by the droids found in the queue for the Star Tours attraction at Tokyo Disneyland.
While the Disneyland inspiration brought charm to the character design, other visual elements of the episode lean into much darker territory. As reported by Polygon, Shiotani and the creative team drew inspiration from Lovecraftian horror and cosmic entities when designing the drifting starships and lurking threats in the asteroid field. Fans looking to dive deeper into how these eclectic influences shaped the new Star Wars chapter can read the full interview over at Polygon.
Tags: Star Wars: Visions, Polygon, Anime, Lucasfilm, Streaming
Original article: Polygon