Star Wars: Visions / The Ninth Jedi, the first full-length series to spin out of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Visions anthology project, will launch exclusively on Disney+ with all episodes dropping simultaneously in Japan and the United States on August 5, 2026. The series is helmed by chief director Kamiyama Kenji and produced by Production I.G, the studio behind Ghost in the Shell and Kaiju No. 8.
A Galaxy Without Jedi or Sith
The story is set in a war-torn galaxy from which both the Jedi and the Sith have vanished. A young girl named Kara, who harbors a powerful hidden connection to the Force, sets off alongside companions who dream of restoring the Jedi Order. Their mission: find a new Jedi and rescue her father Jima, a Saber Smith who has been kidnapped.
Standing in their way is Nawam, a mysterious general clad in a black mask and cape who bears a striking resemblance to Darth Vader. Believing that power alone defines justice, Nawam seeks to reshape the galaxy’s order through sheer Force dominance.
A “Wa-fu” Design Born from NARUTO’s Character Designer
Director Tada Shunsuke has spoken candidly about the challenge of designing Nawam. The team needed to pay homage to the legendary Darth Vader while ensuring the new villain felt distinctly different.
“Darth Vader himself was created by George Lucas with a helmet in mind, so designing a new ‘enemy’ that kept that same motif while looking like something else entirely was really difficult,” Tada explained.
To infuse a Japanese sensibility into what is the latest Star Wars work to come from Japan, the production collaborated with Nishio Tetsuya — the character designer behind the NARUTO series — to refine Nawam’s look through extensive trial and error. “When we were thinking about the helmet design, we were very conscious of making it feel distinctly wa-fu [Japanese-style],” Tada said. “Nishio-san drew around seven or eight different designs for us to choose from.”
The Mystery of the Blue Lightsaber
Since the worldwide release of the trailer, one detail has dominated fan discussion: Nawam, a black-armored villain, wields a blue lightsaber — not the red blade traditionally associated with Sith antagonists in the Star Wars universe.
In The Ninth Jedi, lightsabers carry a new in-universe rule: their color shifts in response to the Force and qualities of their wielder. Reactions on social media have ranged from “It’s unexpected to see the guy in black armor using a blue saber” to “A lightsaber that reflects its owner’s heart — interesting concept, but where does that lead?” and “An enemy character who was once a Jedi? I’m already hooked.”
Tada confirmed this was all by design. “The lightsaber was actually crucial,” he said. “With Sith characters like Darth Vader or Darth Maul, adding red as an accent immediately tells the audience, ‘That’s the enemy — a Sith against the Jedi.’ But in Episode 1 of The Ninth Jedi, the lightsaber Nawam uses when he cuts down a spy who has infiltrated his ranks isn’t red. We deliberately wanted viewers to think, ‘Wait — it’s not red. He looks just like Vader, but he’s not a Sith?’ — to make that first impression stick.”
Production Details
- Title: Star Wars: Visions / The Ninth Jedi
- Premiere: August 5, 2026 on Disney+ (simultaneous Japan/US release, all episodes at once)
- Chief Director: Kamiyama Kenji
- Director: Tada Shunsuke
- Studio: Production I.G
- Cast: Akasaki Chinatsu (Kara), Omori Nao (Nawam), Miki Shinichiro (Jima), and others
© 2026 Lucasfilm Ltd.
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