Trivia / Star Wars: Visions

• Actor-Shared Background: Some of the English dub voice actors are of partial or full East Asian descent, even Japanese, as tribute to Visions being largely produced in Japan.
• All-Star Cast:
  • Featuring the voices of Simu Liu, Lucy Liu, Jamie Chung, Karen Fukuhara, Henry Golding, Jordan Fisher, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bobby Moynihan, George Takei, Masi Oka, Neil Patrick Harris, David Harbour, Alison Brie, James Hong and more!
  • The Japanese cast is no slouch, either, as it features seasoned anime regulars such as Masaki Terasoma, Akeno Watanabe, Yuko Sanpei, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Anri Katsu, Jun'ya Enoki, Ryōko Shiraishi, Tokuyoshi Kawashima, Asami Seto, Megumi Han, Yūma Uchida, Mariya Ise, Chinatsu Akasaki, Shin-ichiro Miki, Kazuya Nakai, Akio Ōtsuka, Daisuke Hirakawa, Masako Nozawa, Takaya Hashi, Kenichi Ogata, Yuichi Nakamura, Risa Shimizu, Lynn, and Wataru Takagi.
• Creator-Driven Successor: "Screecher's Reach" by Cartoon Saloon can be seen as one to their Irish Folklore Trilogy, as it is a 2D animated short done in the same style as those films and like them, greatly incorporates aspects of Celtic Mythology into the story.
• Creator's Oddball: In similar style to the English dubs of Studio Ghibli films, most of the English dub cast has never voiced for anime before with the exceptions of veteran anime voice actors like Kyle McCarley, Michael Sinterniklaas, Patrick Seitz, and Stephanie Sheh (among a few others)^note Joseph Gordon-Levitt had voiced main character Jiro Horikoshi in Ghibli's The Wind Rises, which was also a Creator's Oddball for him; similarly Alison Brie also appeared in Weathering With You; Christopher Sean has voiced for Epic Seven, a Korean animesque mobile game that has collaborated with Japanese anime such as Re:Zero, also an oddball.. Like with Ghibli, the Visions English dub largely uses All-Star Cast to appeal to casual viewers and families who don't watch anime.
• He Also Did:
  • Takanobu Mizuno, the director of "The Duel", also did Batman Ninja, another popular Western franchise done through the lens of Japanese media.
  • Takashi Okazaki, the character designer and writer of "The Duel", is the mangaka behind Afro Samurai.
  • Hiroyuki Imaishi, the director of "The Twins", is one of the co-founders of Studio TRIGGER and directed most of its works as well as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt under Studio Gainax before the split.
  • Masahiko Otsuka, the director of "The Elder", is also one of the co-founders of Studio Trigger as well as its president, having served as assistant director and other roles at both Trigger and Gainax. Some of his works include Neon Genesis Evangelion and Little Witch Academia.
  • Kenji Kamiyama, the director of "The Ninth Jedi", is a Production I.G regular and is most prominently known for his directing on the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, and Eden of the East.
  • Abel Gongora, the director of "TO-B1", is an animator most famously known for the opening sequence of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and the openings for GARO: Vanishing Line. He also worked as the head animation chief for DEVILMAN crybaby.
  • Yuki Igarashi, the director of "Lop and Ocho", is prominently known for his animation work on Mob Psycho 100 as well as the first ending sequence of Jujutsu Kaisen.
  • Tetsuya Nishio, the character designer for "The Ninth Jedi", is best known for doing the character designs for the Naruto anime. He's also known for his work on Mamoru Oshii's films.
  • Kamome Shirahama, the mangaka of Witch Hat Atelier, did character designs for "The Elder". She also previously did the ARTFX figure designs for Rey and Kylo Ren, as well as other official Star Wars art such as variant covers for the Star Wars: Doctor Aphra comic.
  • Naoyuki Asano, character designer for "Akakiri", did character designs and animation for Osomatsu-san and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.
  • Trigger employee Shigeto Koyama, character designer for "The Twins", is known for his mecha(nical) character designs in Eureka Seven, Diebuster, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, Promare, and Kill la Kill. He also animated for Rebuild of Evangelion and designed Baymax for Big Hero 6.
  • Emi Evans provides the vocals for the background music in "The Village Bride". She's best known for her work on Drakengard 3, Nier, and NieR: Automata.
• Inspired by…:
  • According to Justin Leach, the titular character of Lady Snowblood was an inspiration for the Sith Bandit Leader. For reference, that film was also the inspiration for Kill Bill.
  • Director Abel Gongora cites Astro Boy as an inspiration for "TO-B1".
  • Lop, the heroine of "Lop & Ocho", was inspired by Jaxxon, a rabbit-like alien from Marvel's 1977 comic book series.
• Playing Against Type:
  • Perpetually nice and friendly Alison Brie makes for quite a shock as the hammy Dark Jedi Am, Darth Vader expy and Card-Carrying Villain.
  • A partial case with Kyle Chandler as Professor Mitaka. While this kind of mentor role is certainly in his wheelhouse, he also uses a more neutral accent than his typical southern drawl, making him almost unrecognizable.
• Playing with Character Type: Henry Golding had his Star-Making Role as a star crossed romantic lead in Crazy Rich Asians and later Last Christmas. He plays Tsubaki, a Jedi who is in forbidden love with a princess, and a major case of Love Makes You Evil.
• Production Lead Time: Izumo Jyuki, a concept artist for "Lop and Ocho", came up with the design of the Imperial sentry droids, which he had slightly altered to look closer to how the Dark Troopers, their inspirations looked in Dark Forces Saga games. This art was completed in November 2020, shortly before the release of The Mandalorian Season 2, where it would just so happen to reintroduce Dark Troopers.
• Production Posse:
  • Justin Leach, CEO of Qubic Studios and co-executive producer of Visions, was a senior rigger for early seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Production I.G also co-produced the Season 1 episode "Lair of Grievous" and created General Grievous's animation model for the show.
  • Karen Fukuhara (F), Jordan Fisher (Dan), and Lorraine Toussaint (Masago) were all in the main cast of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
  • Jun'ya Enoki (Karre), Asami Seto (F), Yūma Uchida (Asu), Yuichi Nakamura (Dan), and Chinatsu Akasaki (Kara) are Itadori, Nobara, Megumi, Gojo, and Miwa in Jujutsu Kaisen.
  • Regarding the Japanese side of production, some of the studios (mostly the supporting ones) would overlap with the work of more than one lead team. With T2 Studio, regulars for both Studio TRIGGER and Kinema Citrus in general, and Asahi Production (credited for working on the shorts by Science Saru, Studio Colorido and Geno Studio in different capacities) standing out in particular.
• Promoted Fanboy:
  • The directors chosen for Visons are noted to be huge Star Wars fans, all of whom jumped at the chance to create something new in the franchise. "The Elder" director Masahiko Otsuka, whose career stretches back to projects such as Pom Poko and Neon Genesis Evangelion, even expressed gratitude that he got to make his self-proclaimed last work a Star Wars anime.
  • A number of Star Wars alumni are also, unsurprisingly, anime fans. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in particular pushed to develop this project due to her love for the medium, demonstrated in part by her previous involvement in localizing multiple Studio Ghibli films.
• Reality Subtext: "The Elder" and its focus on age as dulling one's skills takes on new meaning when considered in the light of it possibly being the director's final work.
• Refitted for Sequel:
  • A bit of concept art for The Force Awakens featured a shot of Rey, in a lidless X-wing, dragging her lightsaber through a Star Destroyer. This idea is repurposed for the climax of "The Twins".
  • One discarded idea for Return of the Jedi was that lightsabers would change color depending on the wielder, with Luke's lightsaber turning red when Vader turns it on after Luke turns himself in (this was retained in the 1983 comic adaptation, which was an Early Draft Tie-In). This idea was brought back for "The Ninth Jedi". It even becomes a major plot point, as the false Jedi are revealed to be evil when all of their lightsabers ignite red.
  • Four-Nines from "The Ninth Jedi" is a floating non-military droid. Joe Johnston first came up with this concept for the Original Trilogy (the design would then be reused for R4-G77 in Star Wars Resistance), but it was scrapped because floating droids would've been difficult for the special effects team to pull off at the time.
• Role Reprise:
  • Temuera Morrison returns as Boba Fett for "Tatooine Rhapsody".
  • Matthew Wood returns as the Separatist B1 battle droids in "The Village Bride".
  • Denis Lawson reprises his role as Wedge Antilles in "I Am Your Mother".
• What Could Have Been: At Disney Investor's Day 2020, it was stated in the show's reveal announcement that there would be ten short films. However, it would later be stated at Anime Expo 2021 that two ideas had been combined into "The Ninth Jedi", reducing the episode count to nine.
• Word of God:
  • At Anime Expo 2021, it was stated that Visions will not strictly adhere to established canon so to give the studios more creative freedom.
  • In the behind-the-scenes featurettes, it's explained that the creators wanted Lop to be based on a pre-existing rabbit alien species; they were told about Jaxxon and his species Lepus carnivorous from Coachelle Prime, so they believe Lop is from a short subspecies of that.
• You Look Familiar: Many of the English dub voice actors are returning Star Wars alumni.
  • Marc Thompson, one of the regulars for the Del Ray audiobooks, is Lan in "Tatooine Rhapsody".
  • Bobby Moynihan, the voice of Orka in Star Wars Resistance, is Geezer in "Tatooine Rhapsody".
  • Shelby Young, the voice of Leia in Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, is K-344 in "Tatooine Rhapsody".
  • Christopher Sean, the voice of Kazuda Xiono in Star Wars Resistance, is Asu in "The Village Bride".
  • Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, the voice of Alrich Wren in Star Wars Rebels, is Valco in "The Village Bride".
  • Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the voice of Slowen Lo (the man who reports Finn and Rose's mis-parked ship to the police on Canto Bight) in Episode VIII : The Last Jedi, is Jay in "Tatooine Rhapsody".
  • Andrew Kishino, the voice of Saw Gerrera in the cartoons, is Izuma in "The Village Bride" and Juro in "The Ninth Jedi".
  • James Hong, the voice of Azmorigan in Star Wars Rebels, is the titular character of "The Elder".
  • George Takei, the voice of Lok Durd in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is Senshuu in "Akakiri".
  • Keone Young, the voice of Commander Sato in Star Wars Rebels, is Kamahachi in "Akakiri".
  • Paul Nakauchi, the voice of Sifo-Dyas in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is Yasaburo in "Lop and Ocho".
  • Jonathan Lipow, who has provided various voices in Star Wars Resistance, is B-20N in "The Twins".
  • Kenichi Ogata, the voice of Chirpa in Ewoks, is the titular character of "The Elder".
  • Steve Blum, who has voiced many characters in the franchise over the years (most notably Zeb Orellios in Star Wars Rebels), voices the stormtrooper commander in "The Pit".

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