Star Wars: Visions is returning for a second 'season,' this time with a more international scope — including a studio you might not have expected. Disney has announced that Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 will premiere May 4th (aka Star Wars Day) with shorts from nine countries, including one from UK stop-motion legend Aardman. Details of the project ("I Am Your Mother") aren't available, but it's directed by Wallace & Gromit veteran Magdalena Osinska.
Other titles come from 88 Pictures (India), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), D'art Shtajio (Japan), El Guiri (Spain), Punkrobot (Chile), Studio La Cachette (France), Studio Mir (South Korea) and Triggerfish (South Africa). Some of the creators have illustrious credentials. El Guiri's Rodrigo Blaas is a Pixar alumnus, for example, while Triggerfish has worked on BBC titles like The Highway Rat and Stick Man.
The first Visions focused on Japanese anime studios' approach to the Star Wars universe, including well-known names like Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) and Trigger (Kill la Kill). Creators were given more creative freedom than those producing canonical movies and TV shows — they were free to not only pursue different art styles and themes, but to break continuity with the official storyline. That's likely to continue with Volume 2, as series executive producer James Waugh says the anthology is about "celebratory expressions" of Star Wars that open "bold new ways" of telling stories in the space fantasy setting.
The Visions release date bolsters an increasingly packed Star Wars release schedule at Disney+. It starts with The Mandalorian season three on March 1st, but will also include Young Jedi Adventures (spring), Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew. You'll have plenty to watch, then, even if the animated shorts aren't to your liking.