In Less Than One Minute, Star Wars' New Show Finally Does What Lucasfilm Never Could

Published Aug 5, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT The future of Star Wars — literally Image: Lucasfilm/Everett Collection The scope and scale of Star Wars is virtually unlimited. Using the concept of the Force, along with lightsabers, Jedi, Sith, and the binary of Light and Dark established by George Lucas, storytellers essentially have free rein to explore any era in the history (or future) of the galaxy, and beyond. And yet, every new story set in that galaxy, far, far away seems to be focused on just a few generations of Star Wars history — until now. Ever since A New Hope, Star Wars has been synonymous with the Skywalker Saga. Every new movie and show feeds into that story in some way, and even unrelated spinoffs like The Mandalorian eventually manage to circle back to the Skywalkers in one way or another. When Star Wars tries to do something different, it either gets rejected by fans (The Acolyte) or stuck in development hell (James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi movie). Meanwhile, Lucasfilm keeps teasing a return to Rey's story, while finding new ways to retell the original trilogy. Image: Lucasfilm The Ninth Jedi is different. Officially titled Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi, the new animated series is based on a standout episode from the first season of the anthology series Star Wars: Visions. That standalone story imagined a distant Star Wars future where the Jedi were virtually extinct and one man still crafted lightsabers to keep the tradition alive. A few years later, a follow-up entry in Visions season 3 moved the story forward slightly. Now its creator, Kenji Kamiyama, is expanding the story even more, while still staying true to what makes the original concept so special. Case in point: the opening exposition for The Ninth Jedi's first episode, which mixes the boisterous narration of The Clone Wars with the gripping narrative stakes of a Star Wars movie's text crawl. In less than 60 seconds, Kamiyama clearly sets the stakes for his story: The era of the Jedi and the Sith has ended. They have all but disappeared, and with them, the ancient art of crafting their sacred weapon, the lightsaber. A terrible age of conflict now mires the galaxy in chaos as warlords rise. Among them, the fierce masked general, Nawaam has emerged spreading terror as planets fall under his control at an alarming rate. Amid this, Margrave Juro works to bring back the Jedi Order in hope that they can restore peace and justice to the galaxy. Image: Lucasfilm/Production I.G. There's a lot to unpack here, but what interests me most is the very first sentence. Without revealing a specific date, The Ninth Jedi's opening narration clearly places it in the distant future compared to A New Hope or even The Rise of Skywalker. This is a story set in a world where characters like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader aren't just a distant memory — they're completely forgotten. That clears the way for Kamiyama and his collaborators to tell a totally fresh story. Without being bogged down in Skywalker canon, they can explore the basic framework of Lucas' sci-fi fantasy world with complete freedom. The result is an excellent Star Wars spinoff that should point the way forward for the entire franchise. Image: Lucasfilm/Production I.G. At the same time, it's not like The Ninth Jedi is ignoring what came before. Kamiyama told Polygon that he was heavily influenced by A New Hope in his attempt to tell a story that feels both original and nostalgic, and that becomes clear as he remixes some classic Star Wars tropes into his show. But instead of feeling like a cringey Easter egg — Remember the Death Star?! You love the Death Star!! — these moments gain impact thanks to the show's overall distance from everything else. Instead of a winking reference, it becomes a subtle nod that certain things really are inevitable in this galaxy far, far away. The Ninth Jedi proves that the future of Star Wars should have nothing to do with anybody named Skywalker. If Disney has any sense, its next move will be to renew The Acolyte, fast-track Dawn of the Jedi, and greenlight a few more Visions spinoffs. But if that doesn't happen, at least we'll always have The Ninth Jedi. The Ninth Jedi is streaming now on Disney Plus.