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Tag: The Last Jedi

  • ‘The Ninth Jedi’ Series To Debut First Episode Today at Anime Expo Ahead of Summer Release

    The greatest modern hope for Star Wars animation is officially stepping out of the anthology shadow today. Lucasfilm is launching its highly anticipated summer campaign at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles, treating convention crowds to the world-first premiere screening of episode one of Kenji Kamiyama’s Star Wars: The Ninth Jedi.

    Originally exploding onto the scene as a breakout standalone short in the first season of Visions, The Ninth Jedi completely captivated fans by introducing a distant, tactile future where the Jedi Order is a mythical memory. The narrative tracks Kara, a force-sensitive young girl and daughter of a master blacksmith, who must deliver newly forged, color-shifting lightsabers to a mysterious leader named Margrave Juro before a predatory Sith cell intercepts them. Following a brief intermediate chapter in Visions Season 3, the concept has officially been elevated into a full-scale standalone series.

    Having recently directed The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, showrunner Kenji Kamiyama brings an unparalleled pedigree for handling massive, established mythologies within an anime framework. The Ninth Jedi meticulously balances high-stakes cosmic rule-bending with a lived-in, rule-bound universe that echoes the classic call-to-adventure magic of the original trilogy without relying on nostalgia traps or Skywalker canon.

    Giving The Ninth Jedi a full episodic sandbox is easily the smartest creative decision Lucasfilm has made all season. It proves the studio recognizes that the absolute future of the franchise relies on diversifying its visual mediums and letting elite visionary directors take genuine creative risks. With the preview episode dropping on the AX floor today, look for the full series to anchor Disney+ sometime this August—officially serving as the perfect, high-fantasy antidote to standard live-action fatigue.

  • ‘The Rise of Skywalker’s John Boyega Has No Interest in Returning to ‘Star Wars’

    ‘The Rise of Skywalker’s John Boyega Has No Interest in Returning to ‘Star Wars’

    It looks like we may have seen the last of Finn in live-action Star Wars, as actor John Boyega has revealed in an interview with Variety that he has no real interest moving forward. He feels his work on The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker “was good” for him as he moves on to try his hands at a more diverse line-up of projects.

    At this point, I’m cool off it. I’m good off it. I think Finn is at a good confirmation point where you can just enjoy him in other things, the games, the animation. But I feel like ‘[Episode] VII’ to ‘[Episode] IX’ was good for me. To be fair, [with] the allies that I’ve found within Joel Taylor and Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, Viola Davis, all these people I’ve been working with… versatility is my path.

    John Boyega

    It’s no wonder that he may have not had any active interest anymore, as he had faced quite a bit of racist backlash for his initial casting. When it was hinted that he may become the face of the franchise and the next Jedi, there was a massive movement online. The prequel trilogy even led to the creation of the so-called “Fandom Menace” that has shown its fangs recently with Moses Ingram’s addition to the franchise in Obi-Wan Kenobi. He even reflects on how different the reaction to the backlash was towards Ingram in comparison to his time with the franchise.

    It doesn’t make me feel bitter at all. It makes me feel like sometimes you are that guy. And my dad taught me that. Sometimes you’re not the guy to get the blessing and sometimes you are Moses, you know, you lead the people to the mountain, but you see the destination. You don’t get to go in, you get others to go in. And that’s where you get your happiness from. And for me to see other people accepted, and then at the same time to see that the studios now are like, ‘Okay, cool. This is not an elephant in the room conversation. We need to support our Black client.’ It’s fantastic.

    John Boyega

    It’s a shame that we’ll likely not see Finn’s character return, as the potential of exploring a former Stormtrooper turning good was such a compelling storyline when the initial trilogy was started.

    Source: Variety