Star Wars Celebration 2025 came to a close last night in Tokyo, after three days of nonstop spotlights on Lucasfilm’s slate of major theatrical titles and live-action and animated series and specials on Disney+. The weekend featured numerous big announcements, surprise celebrity appearances and exclusive details and first looks at upcoming chapters of the iconic Star Wars franchise.
2025 marks the 16th occurrence of the bi-annual global event, and this year’s event was the biggest international Star Wars Celebration ever, with over 105,000 guests from 125 countries in attendance, which is an 8% increase in overall attendance from the last Celebration, which took place in 2023 in London. It was also the fastest Celebration to sell out. The three-day event, which took place at Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Tokyo, featured 26 hours of programming across the three main stages, and 100 hours of fan panel and podcast content.
Among the animation highlights, Sunday’s events saw hosts Sascha Boeckle and DJ Taro debut a first look at Volume 3 of the acclaimed multi-studio shorts anthology series Star Wars: Visions, which will debut October 29 exclusively on Disney+, followed by a panel discussion featuring filmmakers from david production, Kamikaze Douga, Kinema citrus Co, Polygon Pictures, Production I.G, Project Studio Q, TRIGGER and WIT Studio.
Volume 1 of Star Wars: Visions, which premiered in 2021, received an Emmy nomination for the short, “The Duel.” The Emmy, Lumières and Annie Award-winning second volume was released in 2023, and featured shorts by global animation studios including Aardman, Cartoon Saloon, Triggerfish and Punkrobot.
With Volume 3, the animated anthology returns to where it all began with nine shorts from nine different anime studios to further demonstrate the diversity and creativity of Japanese animation. The titles of each studio’s short, the directors, and key details were revealed for all nine shorts:
David Production – “BLACK”
Directed by Shinya Ohira
A psychedelic battle between past and present, light and dark, and life and death plays out in the haunted psyche of an Imperial trooper who is on the cusp of defeat.
Kamikaze Douga + ANIMA – “The Duel: Payback”
Directed by Takanobu Mizuno
With the help of some unexpected allies, Ronin faces off against his greatest foe – a twisted Jedi known as the Grand Master who is bent on revenge.
Kinema Citrus – “The Lost Ones”
Directed by Hitoshi Haga
After assisting refugees escape a natural disaster, an incognito F is forced to confront the ghosts of her past when their refugee ship is intercepted by the Empire.
Polygon Pictures – “The Bird of Paradise”
Directed by Tadahiro Yoshihira
After she is blinded in battle, a hot headed Jedi padawan must undergo a series of spiritual trials in order to overcome the temptation of the Dark Side.
Production I.G – “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope”
Directed by Naoyoshi Shiotani
Pursued by Jedi Hunters, and blasted adrift into space, Kara encounters a seemingly abandoned ship tended to by a mysterious droid.
Project Studio Q – “The Song of Four Wings”
Directed by Hiroyasu Kobayashi
A princess-turned-rebel protects a child from the might of the Empire on a snowbound planet.
TRIGGER – “The Smuggler”
Directed by Masahiko Otsuka
A smuggler, desperate for a quick payday, agrees to take on a job to bring a wanted young prince to safety as the Empire pursues.
WIT Studio – “The Bounty Hunter”
Directed by Junichi Yamamoto
A rogue bounty hunter takes on a job for a shady industrialist that has unexpected consequences for her and her droid.
While complete cast details have not been announced, an exclusive sizzle was screened for fans in room (and on the Star Wars LIVE! Stream), which featured the voices of Ami Maeshima, Yasuko Hatori, Takako Honda, Yume Miyamoto, Makoto Koichi and Chinatsu Akasaki from the Original Language cast, and George Takei, Sonoya Mizuno, Nick Kishiyama, Lincoln Bonilla, Jimmie Yamaguchi, Mike Bodie and Stephanie Hsu from the English dub.
The day ended with an announcement from James Waugh, Lucasfilm’s SVP Franchise Content & Strategy, who also serves as an executive producer on Star Wars: Visions, that the series will continue with the creation of an all-new banner Star Wars: Visions Presents, which will be used to tell longer-form stories.
Kenji Kamiyama (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim) joined Waugh on stage to announce the first title to be released under the new banner: Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi. Kamiyama will serve as supervising director of the limited series, which will continue the story of Lah Kara that first debuted in Star Wars: Visions Volume 1.
Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi, a new limited series, will premiere on Disney+ in 2026.
Previously, during Friday’s special Lucasfilm Animation Panel to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the division, fans were treated to the world-premiere of the first episode of Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, an all-new anthology series of animated shorts from creator Dave Filoni, which will premiere May 4 exclusively on Disney+.
The popular series, which began in 2022 with Tales of the Jedi and continued in 2024 with Tales of the Empire, this time focuses on the criminal underbelly of the Star Wars galaxy through the experiences of two iconic villains. Former assassin and bounty hunter Asajj Ventress is given a new chance at life and must go on the run with an unexpected new ally, while outlaw Cad Bane faces his past when he confronts an old friend, now a Marshal on the opposite side of the law.
The panel ended with an announcement many fans have been waiting for: a brand-new series from Lucasfilm Animation with another rogue at the centire: Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, premiering on Disney+ in 2026, starring Sam Witwer. Guests were then treated to an exclusive first look at the series, and gifted an exclusive Lucasfilm Animation special 20th anniversary poster.
Later that day, everyone’s favorite Pooba, Nubs, then came to the Star Wars LIVE! stage, where it was announced that the third season of Later that day, everyone’s favorite Pooba, Nubs, then came to the Star Wars LIVE! stage, where it was announced that the third season of Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures will debut this Fall on Disney+ and Disney Jr. will debut this Fall on Disney+ and Disney Jr.
Saturday was devoted to the return of two of Disney+’s most popular series, as well as the reveal of a new LEGO Star Wars animated project: LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy – Pieces of the Past. Ahmed Best, the actor behind Jar Jar Binks, introduced the project and a new teaser poster.
In Pieces of the Past, a new threat rises in the galaxy, and Sig Greebling and Darth Dev must combine their powers of Force Building and Sith Breaking to stop it. Alongside Jedi Bob, Yesi Scala, and Servo, they will journey into the deepest corners of LEGO Star Wars lore, uncovering pieces of all the galaxies that have come before…
Friday’s festivities also included a special panel to celebrate Industrial Light & Magic’s contributions to the entertainment industry, as 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking visual effects company.
The filmmakers from Light & Magic came to the stage to talk about the second season of the acclaimed Lucasfilm documentary series, which first premiered in 2022 and is now streaming on Disney+. Season 2 is a three-part series produced by Imagine Documentaries that follows ILM as it enters its most challenging and revolutionary period: the dawn of digital. From creating the first fully realized CG character to solving the challenge of digital water, it is an era that finds ILM scaling new heights of innovation despite dramatic setbacks.
The director for Light & Magic S2 is Joe Johnston, and the executive producers are Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Justin Wilkes, Sara Bernstein, Joe Johnston, Lawrence Kasdan, Kathleen Kennedy and Carrie Beck. Jacqui Lopez, Ted Schillinger and Michael Garcia serve as co-executive producers. The series producers are Meredith Kaulfers and Christopher St. John, and Nicole Pusateri is the supervising producer.
Attendees heard from director Johnston and Howard via videotaped greetings, and Sam Witwer (voice of Maul) moderated a panel discussion comprised of Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks), Lynwen Brennan (President and General Manager, Lucasfilm Business), Doug Chiang (SVP and Dxecutive Design Director, Lucasfilm), Janet Lewin (SVP, General Manager and Head of ILM), John Knoll (ILM Executive Creative Director, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor) and Rob Coleman (ILM Creative Director and Senior Animation Supervisor). Filmmakers then unveiled the trailer and key art.
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