Lucasfilm handed 7 legendary anime studios Star Wars and let them run wild and I don’t understand how we’re so lucky to have Star Wars Visions this September. The trailer above pretty much left me speechless, as while I’ve been excited for Visions’ potential, never in my wildest hyperspace-induced dreams did I imagine something so stunning and absolutely eye-catching as what we have in store when this hits Disney+ September 22. Check out the trailer again in original Japanese below and see the star-studded voice cast for both the English Dub and original cast!
I’ll be watching each Star Wars Visions short in both the English Dub and with the original Japanese cast, and judging by the trailer, there’ll be a lot more views after that because wow these look incredible, strange, unique, visionary, fun as hell, and so much more. Each anime studio seems to have taken the assignment and blew it out of the galaxy, as hinted at from the little glimpses we had from the panel last month. I cannot wait to check these out Sept 22, and you’ll find reviews for each short individually on the site, while I’m excited to read the upcoming tie-in novel Ronin: A Visions Novel, out October, which follows the Ronin from “The Duel.”
For the English Dub, they’ve arrayed quite the cast, from familiar faces to new ones, with some highlights including: legendary Lucy Liu as the Bandit Leader, who myself and many others assume is the woman in “The Duel” portions of the trailer with the spinning lightsaber amazingness; Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who technically had a voice cameo in long-time collaborator Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi; Temuera Morrison killing it as Boba Fett everywhere now; Neil Patrick Harris and Alison Brie as the titular twins in “The Twins”; Karen Fukuhara from The Boys and both Suicide Squad films; Christopher Sean, who voiced Kazuda Xiono in both season of Star Wars Resistance; Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who shouldn’t need much introduction, but has been in a lengthy list of roles including The Man in the High Castle and the original Mortal Kombat; Andrew Kishino, who stars in two shorts, voiced Saw Gerrera in The Clone Wars and most recently for the character’s appearance in The Bad Batch; Simu Lu is leading the next big Marvel movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; David Harbour should be familiar to Stranger Things fans, as well as from the recent Black Widow movie; James Hong’s exceptional career shouldn’t need much introduction, he’ll be perfect for the role of titular Elder in “The Elder,” and he’s been in Star Wars before, in both an unproduced The Clone Wars arc and as the Azmorigan in Star Wars Rebels, the hilarious Anna Cathcart from the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series as adorable Lop sounds like a perfect combination; Jamie Chung, who’s recent role in Lovecraft Country was phenomenal; George Takei making his second Star Wars appearance; and Henry Golding from Snake Eyes and Crazy Rich Asians…to name a few! Check out the full list:
The Duel (by Kamikaze Douga): Brian Tee (Ronin), Lucy Liu (Bandit Leader), Jaden Waldman (Village Chief)
Tatooine Rhapsody (by Studio Colorido {Twin Engine}): Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Jay), Bobby Moynihan (Geezer), Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett), Shelby Young (K-344), Marc Thompson (Lan)
The Twins (by TRIGGER): Neil Patrick Harris (Karre), Alison Brie (Am), Jonathan Lipow (B-20N)
The Village Bride (by Kinema Citrus): Karen Fukuhara (F), Nichole Sakura (Haru), Christopher Sean (Asu), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Valco), Andrew Kishino (Izuma), Stephanie Sheh (Saku)
The Ninth Jedi (by Production I.G.): Kimiko Glenn (Kara), Andrew Kishino (Juro), Simu Liu (Zhima), Masi Oka (Ethan), Greg Chun (Roden), Neil Kaplan (Narrator), Michael Sinterniklaas (Hen Jin)
T0-B1 (by Science Saru): Jaden Waldman (T0-B1), Kyle Chandler (Mitaka)
The Elder (by TRIGGER): David Harbour (Tajin), Jordan Fisher (Dan), James Hong (The Elder)
Lop & Ochō (by Geno Studio {Twin Engine}): Anna Cathcart (Lop), Hiromi Dames (Ocho), Paul Nakauchi (Yasaburo), Kyle McCarley (Imperial Officer)
Akakiri (by Science Saru): Henry Golding (Tsubaki), Jamie Chung (Misa), George Takei (Senshuu), Keone Young (Kamahachi), Lorraine Toussaint (Masago)
The Japanese cast looks as prolific as the English Dub, as a quick look at many of the names involved show tons of voice acting credits from anime series and video games. I thought it neat the two main characters Karre and Am from “Tatooine Rhapsody” are voiced by Junya Enoki, who’s dubbed for many of Tom Holland’s roles, and Ryoko Shiraishi, who’s dubbed for some Miley Cryus roles, so Neil Patrick Harris and Allison Brie in the English Dub fall along similar lines. And there are several alums from the Japanese Dub of the excellent Ghost of Tsushima game for PlayStation I’ve been enjoying for awhile now: Kazuya Nakai, who plays main character Jin Sakai in the game, voices Roden in “The Ninth Jedi”; Akio Ōtsuka, who played Jin’s uncle, voices “The Ninth Jedi” narrator; Tsutomu Isobi played Khotun Khan, the game’s main villain, and will voice Mitaka in “T0-B1”. Also, Wataru Takagi, voicing Kamahachi in “Akakiri,” is the official Japanese voice of Daffy Duck! Here’s the full original Japanese cast:
The Duel (by Kamikaze Douga): Masaki Terasoma (Ronin), Akeno Watanabe (Bandit Leader), Yūko Sanpei (Village Chief)
Tatooine Rhapsody (by Studio Colorido {Twin Engine}): Hiroyuki Yoshino (Jay), Kōsuke Gotō (Geezer), Akio Kaneda (Boba Fett), Masayo Fujita (K-344), Anri Katsu (Lan)
The Twins (by TRIGGER): Junya Enoki (Karre), Ryoko Shiraishi (Am), Tokuyoshi Kawashima (B-20N)
The Village Bride (by Kinema Citrus): Asami Seto (F), Megumi Han (Haru), Yūma Uchida (Asu), Takaya Kamikawa (Vaan), Yoshimitsu Shimoyama (Izuma), Mariya Ise (Saku)
The Ninth Jedi (by Production I.G.): Chinatsu Akasaki (Kara), Tetsuo Kanao (Juro), Shin-ichiro Miki (Zhima), Hiromu Mineta (Ethan), Kazuya Nakai (Roden), Akio Ōtsuka, (Narrator), Daisuke Hirakawa (Hen Jin)
T0-B1 (by Science Saru): Masako Nozawa (T0-B1), Tsutomu Isobe (Mitaka)
The Elder (by TRIGGER): Takaya Hashi (Tajin), Kenichi Ogata (The Elder), Yuichi Nakamura (Dan)
Lop & Ochō (by Geno Studio {Twin Engine}): Seiran Kobayashi (Lop), Risa Shimizu (Ocho), Tadahisa Fujimura (Yasaburo), Taisuke Nakano (Imperial Officer)
Akakiri (by Science Saru): Yū Miyazaki (Tsubaki), Lynn (Misa), Chō (Senshuu), Wataru Takagi (Kamahachi), Yukari Nozawa (Masago)
Star Wars Visions arrives in its entirety September 22 on Disney+, while Ronin: A Visions Novel releases October 12. After enjoying them, be sure to check back to the Manor for our reviews!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.