New Star Wars Series Continues 7-Year Rotten Tomatoes Record With Stellar Debut

Published Aug 5, 2026, 2:28 PM EDT Jeff Dodge (he/him), a published author and graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena. Fun Fact: he’s been to every single Idol Live! Tour. As Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi arrives on Disney+, the latest TV show in the long-running space opera franchise has debuted with an impressive score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Ninth Jedi is a new animated series that's a spinoff of Star Wars: Visions, which premiered in 2021. The brand-new show consists of eight episodes and is an offshoot of the Visions season 1 episode of the same name and season 3 episode "The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope." The entire season 1 of Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi is now available to stream on Disney+, and it debuted with a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. This continues a run of stellar reviews for this particular area of the franchise. Star Wars: Visions season 1 is Certified Fresh with a 96% score, while seasons 2 and 3 are both at 100%, giving the series an average score of 98%. Critics have praised The Ninth Jedi (and Visions as a whole) for allowing other creators to create their own interpretations and stories within this established universe. The show feels new, exciting, fresh, and stylish, according to early reviews. ScreenRant's El Kuiper called The Ninth Jedi a "stunning triumph." The movie franchise may have hit some snags in recent years, but the animated series proves that there are still Star Wars stories worth telling, especially with new creative voices in the industry. Some critics pointed out that Visions and The Ninth Jedi show that anime is a great storytelling medium that Star Wars should lean into more going forward. Kenji Kamiyama, who wrote and directed the "Ninth Jedi" episode of Star Wars: Visions in 2021, returned to the franchise for the spinoff series as a director after helming the anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Kimiko Glenn, Andrew Kishino, Masi Oka, Patrick Seitz, J. P. Karliak, Simu Liu, Feodor Chin, Young Mazino, Chase Sui Wonders and Keone Young are the voice actors in The Ninth Jedi. Some of these cast members are reprising their roles from the two "Ninth Jedi" episodes of the original Star Wars: Visions, which centers on Lah Kara, a lightsaber-smith's daughter who crosses paths with Jedi and Sith while transporting weapons to Margrave Juro. In the follow-up episode, Kara attempts to rescue her father, who's been kidnapped. Now Kara and her crew are back for Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi, which follows their journey to find Jedi who can help them defeat a warlord. James Waugh, Jacqui Lopez, Josh Rimes, Justin Leach and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa are serving as executive producers on The Ninth Jedi, with Mitsuyasu Sakai writing the scripts. After the Skywalker Saga films ended in 2019, Lucasfilm and Disney took a break from movies to focus on Star Wars TV shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Ahsoka, The Bad Batch and Maul – Shadow Lord. While they're starting to return the franchise to the big screen with this year's The Mandalorian and Grogu and next year's Star Wars: Starfighter, Disney is still working on small-screen shows that continue to expand the universe, including the new series The Ninth Jedi. Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi season 1 is now available to stream on Disney+. Release Date August 5, 2026 Network Hulu, Disney+ Directors Shunsuke Tada Writers Mitsuyasu Sakai Cast Chinatsu Akasaki Lah Kara (voice) Tetsuo Kanao Juro (voice)