With Star Wars: Rebels having ended earlier this year, Lucasfilm has announced a new animated series that will explore another “untold moment” of the Star Wars universe: Star Wars Resistance, the “anime-inspired” prequel of sorts to The Force Awakens.
Dave Filoni, who wrote for Star Wars: The Clone Wars and created Star Wars: Rebels, will helm the new series. According to Lucasfilm’s description, the series follows “Kazuda Xiono, a young pilot recruited by the Resistance and tasked with a top-secret mission to spy on the growing threat of the First Order.” But there will also be familiar faces (and, er, shapes) in the form of BB-8, Poe Dameron (voiced by Oscar Isaac), and Captain Phasma (ditto Gwendoline Christie)! Not to mention the ace pilots recruited alongside Kazuda to join the ranks of General Leia’s growing Resistance.
“The idea for Star Wars Resistance came out of my interest in World War II aircraft and fighter pilots,” Filoni said in a statement. “My grandfather was a pilot and my uncle flew and restored planes, so that’s been a big influence on me. There’s a long history of high-speed racing in Star Wars, and I think we’ve captured that sense of excitement in an anime-inspired style, which is something the entire team has been wanting to do for a long time.”
Marc Buhaj, senior VP of programming and general manager at Disney XD, added, “Our colleagues at Lucasfilm have created a compelling narrative for an untold moment in the Star Wars galaxy, and we are excited to partner with them again on this new original series. Star Wars Resistance will bring viewers across generations an engaging story with heart, humor and both new and familiar characters.”
Those characters will be voiced by a cast including Christopher Sean (Days of Our Lives), Suzie McGrath (East Enders), Scott Lawrence (Legion), Myrna Velasco (Elena of Avalor), Josh Brener (Silicon Valley), Donald Faison (Scrubs), Bobby Moynihan (DuckTales), Jim Rash (Community), and Rachel Butera (Tammy’s Tiny Tea Time).
Star Wars Resistance will premiere in fall 2018 on Disney Channel, then on Disney XD and around the world. And let’s not forget that Jon Favreau also has a Star Wars TV series in the works, albeit a live-action one.
What (or who) do you want to see in Star Wars Resistance?
Sounds good to me! I have always liked the space fighter aspect of Star Wars, and Filoni has done a great job with the other animated series he has worked on. And the anime style art sounds intriguing.
Pilots and WWII inspired…. I’M DYING HERE!!!! AAAAAH!!!! I NEED THIS NOW!!!
As someone who grew to love the graphics of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, I’m digging the art style.
Sounds good! I have enjoyed the other animated show, so I am excited about this new one!
Ahsoka!
I heard about this elsewhere but it didn’t specify if Filoni was involved a lot – I am happy to hear he’s on board. And also really excited to hear about Donald Faison. Maybe he’ll play hi Robot Chicken character ;)
But yeah, pretty much banking on getting some kind of conclusion (or at least more info) to Ahsoka/Sabine/Ezra/Thrawn :)
The new art style really intrigues me. I liked the McQuarrie style of Rebels but wasn’t a huge fan of the Clone Wars style.
Oh that image header reminds me of Porco Russo, one of my favorite animated films ever (Ghibli, of course). If only we could marry the two properties.
Well if you have not watched the Avater : The Last Airbender I recommend it. That is where Dave learned his chops! I am a big fan of the art of Rebels and will be disappointed if it is a drop off from that series.
As a huge fan of the EU book series X-Wing, this kind of series seems like a no-brainer to me. The adventures of Rogue and Wraith squadron from those books are some of the most fun I’ve had in the Star Wars Universe and they barely involved the main cast. There is plenty of room in the galaxy far far away sandbox to tell loads of stories.
I’ve always wished for an animated series or even a live action one based on those books.