Since the galaxy far, far away began in 1977 with A New Hope—originally just called Star Wars—Star Wars has been a movie-forward franchise. Over time, especially after Disney’s acquisition of the property in 2012, that has changed somewhat, with particularly live-action shows becoming much more prominent following the release of the sequel trilogy (which largely continue to be seen as some of Star Wars’ worst movies). Animated shows have had their time to shine in the Star Wars franchise too, though, with Star Wars: The Clone Wars and even Star Wars Rebels consistently ranking highly among Star Wars’ best TV shows.
Now, another new show has been released, this one not only an animated show but also a true anime, complete with a full anime studio and staff. Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi, a spin-off of Star Wars’ very first anime, Star Wars: Visions, hit Disney+ today, and it was very quickly met with positive reception. Notably, this includes a staggering 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes currently, and while that’s likely to change over the next several days as reviews roll in, it’s a sign that this show will likely be a major Star Wars success. That’s exciting for a host of reasons, including the fact that it’s not canon, which means Star Wars audiences may be growing more ready to accept such stories. However, this success also underlines a growing concern about the franchise.
Although it might sound shocking at first that The Ninth Jedi has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, this actually isn’t becoming all that unusual for Star Wars—at least, not for certain types of Star Wars projects. As mentioned, The Ninth Jedi is a spin-off series of Star Wars: Visions, and that show, too, has performed very well with critics. Currently, the overall show, comprising three seasons thus far, has a 98% score with critics. Another animated show, though not an anime, Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord actually has an identical critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and season 2 is in the works now.
Clearly, Star Wars’ animated shows have found success of late, but that sadly hasn’t translated to the movies Disney Star Wars has put out. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is an anomaly, as that movie is generally considered a solid addition to the franchise and remains a fan favorite, but most other Disney Star Wars movies have struggled to find success with audiences. Most notably, both Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Solo: A Star Wars Story were heavily criticized. Unfortunately, while Star Wars’ newest movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, didn’t receive quite the same flaming that especially The Rise of Skywalker did, it didn’t perform well at the box office.
There is a chance that the next big screen release for the franchise, Star Wars: Starfighter, will change things. That movie, slated for May of 2027, has garnered plenty of interest because Ryan Gosling is playing the leading character, and the movie overall seems to be taking the franchise in a different direction than what has been done before. Even so, the responses to Star Wars shows and movies over the last decade or so have certainly raised questions about whether movies are really The Way anymore. It’s unlikely that Star Wars will ever fully walk away from movies, as they have been the franchise’s bread and butter for so long, but critic responses certainly suggest that it’s with animated shows that Star Wars is really finding success.
