‘Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi’ Release Date, Time, & Preview
Kara’s story is finally getting the space it always deserved. ‘Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi’ picks up not long after the events of the Visions shorts, with the new series following Lah Kara as she continues to train in the ways of the Jedi under Margrave Juro amid an epic journey.
The show is part of an upcoming collection of anime anthology television series created for Disney+, serving as a spinoff from ‘Star Wars: Visions.’ After two acclaimed short films introduced audiences to Kara’s world, the character now headlines a full length series built around her search for answers, her missing father, and her place in a galaxy where the Jedi have all but disappeared.
The Ninth Jedi Release Date And Streaming Details
The first eight episode series, subtitled ‘The Ninth Jedi,’ premiered at Anime Expo on July 1, 2026, and is scheduled to be released in its entirety on Disney+ and Hulu on August 5. This marks the franchise’s first full length anime series and the debut project under the new Visions Presents banner.
Rather than rolling out weekly, all eight episodes are scheduled to be released in their entirety on Disney+ and Hulu on August 5, dropping at once instead of on a weekly schedule. That structure gives viewers the option to binge the season in one sitting, a departure from the anthology format that defined the original ‘Visions’ shorts.
‘Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi’ premieres Wednesday, August 5 on Disney+ and Hulu, and it stands as the first full length ‘Visions’ spinoff series under the franchise’s new ‘Star Wars: Visions Presents’ banner. That label is designed to function somewhat like the existing Star Wars Legends distinction, separating Disney’s confirmed canon projects from stories that occupy their own corner of the galaxy.
Because Production I.G’s version of the galaxy includes elements that diverge from established Star Wars canon rules, particularly around how lightsabers work, the series occupies a somewhat unique space within the franchise despite technically being set in the galaxy’s far off future. That distinction has become part of the conversation around how the show fits into the broader Star Wars universe.
The Ninth Jedi Story And Where It Picks Up
Set roughly 1,000 years after the events of ‘The Rise of Skywalker,’ the series follows Lah Kara, the Force sensitive daughter of legendary lightsaber smith Lah Zhima. In this distant future, the Jedi Order has nearly disappeared, leaving the galaxy vulnerable to powerful dark forces.
Kara’s journey began in the original ‘The Ninth Jedi’ short, where she searched for her kidnapped father while discovering her own connection to the Force, and the new series continues directly from the sequel short, ‘The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope.’ Kara remains on the run from relentless hunters while searching for her father and uncovering the secrets behind his extraordinary lightsabers, which change color depending on the wielder.
The official series description frames it simply, with Kara and her ragtag Jedi crew seeking out worthy Jedi to fight against an increasingly powerful warlord. That framing positions the season less as a solo quest and more as an ensemble story built around recruitment and resistance.
The series continues Lah Kara’s story as she takes on greater challenges than ever before, according to the official announcement from Disney. That announcement also notes that in the new series, Lah Kara continues to train in the ways of the Jedi under Margrave Juro.
The Ninth Jedi Cast And Creative Team Behind The Series
Production I.G, the acclaimed anime studio behind ‘Ghost in the Shell,’ brings this new chapter of Kara’s story to the screen in collaboration with Lucasfilm. Shunsuke Tada directs ‘The Ninth Jedi,’ Mitsuyasu Sakai writes the series, and Kenji Kamiyama serves as supervising director.
Executive producers on the project include James Waugh, Jacqui Lopez, Josh Rimes, Justin Leach, and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, with Hitoshi Ito and Kanako Shirasaki serving as producers and Caroline Keller as co-producer. That lineup reflects a joint effort between Lucasfilm’s American side and Production I.G’s Japanese creative team.
In July 2026, the voice cast was revealed for the series, including Chinatsu Akasaki, Tetsuo Kanao, Hiromu Mineta, Hinata Tadokoro, Chō, and Shin-ichiro Miki. The franchise’s connection to Kamiyama runs deep, since he also wrote and directed the original ‘The Ninth Jedi’ short that premiered on Disney+ on September 22, 2021.
The series’ first episode previewed at a First Look panel during the 2026 Anime Expo convention on July 2, 2026, giving early attendees a preview well ahead of the wide streaming release. That early look helped build momentum heading into the full season debut.
The Ninth Jedi Reception And What Comes Next
Coverage around the release has noted that while the broader theatrical side of the franchise has drawn a more mixed response lately, the galaxy far, far away remains capable of creative swings, especially with its more offbeat projects. ‘The Ninth Jedi’ has been cited as one example of that experimentation paying off.
Star Wars: Visions’ executive producer James Waugh has spoken about the creative freedom the anthology format allows, explaining that the nice thing about ‘Visions’ is that the team isn’t trying to make it part of the ongoing canonical narrative. That freedom appears to extend into how ‘The Ninth Jedi’ handles its own internal rules around the Force and lightsaber lore.
The original ‘The Ninth Jedi’ short and its ‘Child of Hope’ sequel were already considered fan favorites within the ‘Visions’ anthology before this expansion was announced, which helped set expectations for the full series. With all eight episodes landing simultaneously, that existing goodwill now gets tested against a much longer format.
Now that Kara’s journey has expanded from two short films into a full eight episode season, fans have plenty to weigh in on when it comes to how ‘The Ninth Jedi’ handles the jump from anthology to serialized anime.
