In November of 2018, Lucasfilm kicked off its Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures sub-brand with a series of animated shorts that premiered exclusively on the Star Wars Kids YouTube channel. According to StarWars.com, the goal of these cartoons (which utilize actual audio from the theatrical Star Wars releases) is “to present Star Wars in a fresh way that could be enjoyed by all ages.”
Now, after 36 episodes released through July of last year, the Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures series of shorts has made a surprise return for a second season, the first three installments of which made their debut on Friday, along with a trailer for the remainder of the episodes.
Watch Official Season Two Trailer | Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures:
What’s happening:
- Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures has returned for a second season with more kid-focused animated shorts using original audio from the Star Wars films and recontextualizing it in a “in a very heightened, kinetic way.”
- This new batch of episodes will feature characters and situations from the Star Wars sequel trilogy, as well as some tales incorporating Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the Star Wars-themed land at Disney Parks. This will be the first season to develop original stories, in addition to adapting events from the films.
- As with the first season, Lucasfilm developed Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures season two with the Titmouse animation studio. The studios have had discussions about doing a feature-length story in this style, in addition to episodes inspired by the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
- The first three episodes of season two– “Rey and Friends vs. The First Order,” “Kylo Ren and Darth Vader,” and “The Force Called to Rey”– made their surprise debut on Friday, April 13.
- There is also a Hasbro toy line dedicated to the Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures brand.
What they’re saying:
- James Waugh, VP, content and strategy at Lucasfilm: “The first month of that release, it was really fun to look at Twitter and see people posting videos of their kids watching it and just kind of being in awe and wonder. That co-viewing is what we were always hoping to achieve. We really took to heart the idea of, ‘There’s a Star Wars for every generation.’ We wanted to be very focused on the fact that to a whole generation, the new trilogy will be their Star Wars, and we wanted to treat it with the same reverence as past trilogies. With the first season, we were really expanding upon moments you knew and finding an anchored way to retell them in a minute. With this, it gave us an opportunity to say, ‘Okay, we’ve done that with the form. Can we do new storytelling?’”
- Josh Rimes, director, animation series development at Lucasfilm: “We’re moving into the new trilogy. It’s really exciting to explore the now-iconic characters of Rey and Kylo Ren and Finn and Poe, and their stories. So we really look at it through those characters in the same way we did with Luke and Leia and Han and Chewie in the first season and applied the same kind of style, the same kind of fun. Star Wars, thematically, echoes the past a lot, so we stylistically looked at Rey’s introductory piece the same way we looked at Luke’s introductory piece in Season One, and came up with a visual language and style that’s totally Rey. But when you see it, it links up thematically to Luke’s piece when he discovers Obi-Wan on Tatooine. It is going to be nice for this new generation who grew up with these movies to see these characters in Galaxy of Adventures. The fans of Finn and Poe and Rey and BB-8 and Kylo Ren, to see them in the spotlight in Galaxy of Adventures is going to be quite cool, I think.”
- Titmouse’s Barry Kelly, Galaxy of Adventures director: “I love seeing new characters adapted in our style. We had a little tease of Kylo and Rey in wave one. But when Joanna Park, our designer, starts sending sketches and ideas for Finn, Poe, BB-8, and more, it’s a treat. I love seeing the characters translated to different mediums. They’re not just for kids. They’re made for everyone, new and longtime fans alike. If these shorts are your first time encountering Star Wars, I hope that they entice you to explore the magical world of the films.
- Sung Jin Ahn, supervising director at Titmouse: “Season Two of Galaxy of Adventures seemed like a great opportunity to learn more about these new characters. A chance to elaborate on them further than what the trilogy touched on.”
Watch Rey and Friends vs. The First Order | Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures:
Watch Kylo Ren and Darth Vader – A Legacy of Power | Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures:
Watch The Force Calls to Rey | Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures:
The first three episodes of Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures season two are now available to stream on the Star Wars Kids YouTube channel, with more on the way.
