How The Ninth Jedi brings Star Wars back to basics by reinventing everything

When Kenji Kamiyama, director of “The Ninth Jedi,” first watched the entire Star Wars anime anthology series Visions, his episode surprisingly stuck out from the rest. It wasn’t because it had any noticeable issues, failed to capture his vision properly, or was poorly made. Compared to the other shorts — many of which embraced the limitless possibilities of animation with bold visual styles, exaggerated action, and striking new interpretations of the galaxy far, far away — his interpretation felt almost understated. “I remember thinking, ‘The Ninth Jedi' is kind of plain,” Kamiyama tells Polygon. Kamiyama’s understated approach was intentional. When the acclaimed anime writer and director best known for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex first created the original Visions short, he wasn't trying to make the most exaggerated version of a Star Wars anime. Instead, he approached the project with the mindset of a live-action filmmaker, hoping to capture the grounded realism and sense of discovery that had defined the franchise for him since childhood. “When I made the original short, I approached it as if I were directing a live-action movie,” Kamiyama says. “I wanted to make it as realistic as possible rather than approaching it like a standard anime action project.” That vision clearly paid off. The Ninth Jedi wasn't just a standout entry in Visions season 1, it's also the first short from the anthology series to become a full-blown series. Star Wars: Visions — The Ninth Jedi premieres August 5 on Disney Plus. And ahead of its debut, Polygon spoke with Kamiyama, along with director Shunsuke Tada and producer Hitoshi Ito, about perfecting lightsaber duels in animation, collaborating with Lucasfilm, and nailing that familiar Star Wars feeling. Fitting The Ninth Jedi into a galaxy far, far away For Kamiyama, the inspiration came back to Episode IV — A New Hope, the first Star Wars movie he ever saw and still his favorite among them. Although the film introduced audiences to a galaxy filled with fantastical worlds, mystical phenomena, and distant civilizations, Kamiyama was struck by how familiar it all felt. “When I watched Episode IV, even though it was somewhere in space that I had never seen before, there was something nostalgic about it,” Kamiyama says. “It felt somehow close to my own hometown. The sunset, the sunlight, the atmosphere, it didn’t feel completely different from the world I grew up in. I wanted to capture that feeling.” That contradictory feeling of a place that feels impossibly far away yet strangely familiar became the foundation for the world of "The Ninth Jedi," which picks up after the events of “Child of Hope,” with Kara embarking on a quest to save her sabersmith father while serving as a Jedi apprentice under Margrave Juro in a distant Star Wars future where the Jedi Order is all-but forgotten. As Kamiyama and his team expanded that original short into a longer, eight-episode arc in Star Wars Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi, they carried forward the same desire to create a corner of the galaxy that felt lived-in rather than simply fantastical. Everything from the show’s environments to the action is filtered through that same lens, that sense of familiarity on the edge of a mystical plane. While animation allows filmmakers to push movement and visuals beyond the limits of live action, Kamiyama intentionally looked for restraint. Even the lightsaber battles were designed around physicality rather than spectacle. “I asked the animators to keep their feet firmly on the ground,” Kamiyama says. How a kendo master perfected lightsaber combat For director Shunsuke Tada, that same philosophy extends to how the series treats one of the foundational elements of Star Wars itself: lightsabers. Even though they function slightly differently in The Ninth Jedi, where the iconic blades change color and length depending on the user’s closeness with the Force, Tada approached them as a traditional sword rather than a fantastical weapon — something with weight and danger that deserves discipline. “I wanted to treat lightsabers as Japanese swords, just as George Lucas originally intended,” Tada tells Polygon. “Of course, I wanted the action to have excitement and a sense of catharsis, but at the same time, like a Japanese sword, I wanted there to be a clear sense that if it touches you, it cuts.” Tada's own background as a kendo (Japanese swordsmanship) master shaped the way he approached the choreography. He wasn't interested in fights where characters simply exchange flashy strikes for the sake of animation; movement needed to communicate intent. “Because I have experience practicing kendo, I can tell when characters are just hitting swords against each other instead of actually trying to cut their opponent,” Tada says. The goal was not simply to make the fights look impressive, but to restore the sense of danger that comes with a real blade. A bit of darkness is all a Jedi needs The Jedi are approached with a similar level of care and authenticity, owing to Kamiyama’s belief that the ancient order's pursuit of perfection sometimes makes the characters feel less human.“I felt the Jedi Order itself had become restrictive,” he says. For Kamiyama, true strength comes from acknowledging those contradictions rather than denying them. “If a Jedi doesn’t contain their own darkness, I don’t think you can portray them as truly strong.” That idea became central to Ninth Jedi's protagonist, Kara, the teenage heroine whose quest to save her sabersmith father propels the narrative forward. “I wanted her to embody what a new generation of Jedi should be,” Kamiyama says. Unlike the idealized Jedi who often appear fully formed and unwavering, Kara is a character caught between who she is and who she hopes to become. She carries doubt alongside her determination, making her feel less like a Jedi who has mastered the Force and more like someone discovering what that responsibility truly means. She represents a different possibility for what a Jedi can look like — one that acknowledges internal conflict and lives above it. A pact forged in the Outer Rim Bringing that new perspective to life also required a close collaboration with Lucasfilm. While the team was given the freedom to explore a new corner of the Star Wars universe, the process was anything but easy. Collaborations of this scale involve plenty of back-and-forth discussion and tons of refinement, but it’s interesting how much trust was shared between both sides of the table. “We were given the freedom to create something new. There were many discussions with Lucasfilm, and there were times where our ideas did not completely align,” producer Hitoshi Ito tells Polygon. Those conversations became part of the creative process rather than an obstacle. “When we explained why we wanted a scene to be a certain way, they understood. There was mutual respect on both sides.” For Kamiyama, that collaboration represents something special for anyone who grew up loving Star Wars: the opportunity to contribute a new chapter in a universe that shaped generations of fans. “Being able to create ‘our own Star Wars’ is an incredibly luxurious experience," he says. "Fans around the world all have their own versions of Star Wars that they carry with them, and we were able to create ours.” Maybe that’s why, of all the chapters in that first season of Star Wars: Visions, "The Ninth Jedi" always felt the most like Star Wars. And with a full season, The Ninth Jedi is primed to capture that same feeling with a cast of complex villains, canon-shaking reveals about the nature of the Force, and a mythical mystery at the heart of it all. In true Star Wars fashion, Kamiyama's new anime explores a galaxy that feels larger than the narrative itself. Few stories get the chance to continue in such a way, but Kamiyama and his team’s commitment to the authenticity of George Lucas’s original vision is exactly what makes it stand as a treasured entry in the franchise. Star Wars Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi looks to only amplify that success, putting at the forefront of Kara’s quest a galaxy far, far away that still feels a little like home. Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi premieres August 5th on Disney Plus.