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Plus, creature & droid FX creative supervisor Neal Scanlan shares his insights on the making of a Wookiee Jedi and the creation of Osha’s droid pal, Pip.

By Kristin Baver

Since the moment The Acolyte took us inside the Ueda noodle shop in the very first scene, the work of the series’ creature shop has been on full display. Panning over the chattering diners, you may glimpse a diminutive alien slurping at a bowl of noodles and other species that would feel just as at-home in the Mos Eisley cantina. Soon, the otherworldly denizens of the galaxy will take a more prominent role when the story returns to Khofar. Here, the Jedi must employ the Tynnan tracker Bazil in their search for the Wookiee Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) deep in the jungle.

Behind the scenes, both tracker and target are the work of creature & droid FX creative supervisor Neal Scanlan and his team, a talented crew of designers, modelers, and fabricators who bring fantastical aliens, creatures, and droids to life in the Star Wars galaxy. The key, however, is creating something that’s just on the verge of our own reality. “A really effective design is one that you somehow feel you wouldn’t be so surprised if you were to open your garage door and the droid was there,” says Scanlan, whose crew was behind such designs as BB-8 and the porgs. “You wouldn’t wake up one morning screaming if you saw a bird in a tree that was from Star Wars. You wouldn’t run a mile.”…

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The co-writer, editor, and director of the moving short speaks with StarWars.com

“Meet the Visionaries” is a StarWars.com series of interviews with the directors of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2, now streaming on Disney+.

Underneath a smog-covered sky, two sisters, Tichina and Koten, survive on a planet ravaged by an Imperial invasion. Not long ago, they played with their mother in the beautiful waters of their home world. But when the Empire arrived, they dug their spears into the land and killed all who resisted, including the girls’ mother. “Mom became a star, everybody did,” the younger sister, Tichina, says. “Now she’s up there, looking down on us from the sky.”

These are the opening moments of “In the Stars,” a deeply moving entry in the international animated anthology series Star Wars: Visions Volume 2. The short comes from a team of creatives at the Chilean animation studio PunkRobot Studio. Pulling together top-notch artistry, and anti-colonial themes, the film is inspired by the cultures of and injustices faced by the First Nations of Patagonia, specifically the Selk’nam people. Studio co-founder Gabriel Osorio, whose previous work “Bear Story” won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2015, co-wrote, edited, and directed the film…

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By Paige Lyman

The director of Studio Mir’s Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 short discusses the themes and lessons learned by the story’s starring odd couple.

South Korea-based Studio Mir, well known for its work on projects like The Legend of Korra, The Boondocks, and Voltron: Legendary Defender, takes us on a new exploration of the dichotomy between light and dark in “Journey to the Dark Head.” The story follows Ara and Toul: a pilot raised among a group who serve as record keepers for prophetic visions on Dolgarak, and a Jedi who’s facing unresolved rage and grief connected to his past, respectively.

The two find themselves paired together when Ara approaches the Jedi Council to warn them about a vision about the Sith’s growing power. Ara and Toul both face their own brand of disillusionment and individual fears as they set off together back to Ara’s planet. Ultimately, their shared journey brings them both the chance to face those fears. And for episode director Hyeong Geun Park, that shared journey sprung from some very familiar stories within Star Wars…

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By Jade Fabello

With a story rooted in real-world history and classic Star Wars themes, Studio La Cachette’s new short strikes a universal chord.

On a rainy night, gleeful stormtroopers pile into an extravagant performance hall. The staff seems to welcome them with warm smiles. But backstage, Loi’e, a dancer from a horned alien race, prepares a set of tracking devices. She and her team gather before the show begins. “To the ones we’ve lost,” they say as the curtain rises. This is the setup of Studio La Cachette’s “The Spy Dancer,” a stunningly animated French entry from the world-spanning anthology Star Wars: Visions Volume 2. The short was directed, designed, and co-written by experienced animator Julien Chheng.

You may recognize Studio La Cachette as the animation house behind the Emmy-award-winning series Primal and the Love Death + Robots episode “Sucker of Souls.” Across projects, its animation and storytelling sensibilities consistently blend exhilaration, charm, and awe. “We share a strong love for 2D animation and the energy and emotion you can convey with a simple line stroke,” Chheng, who also co-founded the studio, tells Starwars.com…

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By Paige Lyman

The director speaks with StarWars.com about the cultural and personal underpinnings of Cartoon Saloon’s haunting short.

Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 has opened the door to explore the galaxy far, far away through unique cultural lenses, and experiment with tone. Created by Cartoon Saloon, an award-winning studio based in Ireland known for films such as The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, “Screecher’s Reach” brings a fresh dose of horror into the Star Wars library as we follow the story of Daal and her friends. They venture from a harsh and bleak Imperial factory out into the wilds of their planet, on the hunt for a ghost of which they’ve heard tales. In classic ghost story fashion, the group comes face to face with the terrifying specter of Screecher’s Reach and its blood curdling screams. But all is not as it seems for the ghost.

“It was a very, very happy collaboration with the team at Lucasfilm,” says Cartoon Saloon CEO and co-founder Paul Young, who served as director on the short. “Jacqui [Lopez], Flannery [Huntley], James [Waugh], and Josh [Rimes] are exceptional producers and great creative collaborators. It made all the difference when setting forth on a project like this. They had a very clear vision themselves for what the series should be and allowed us to bring what we do best to the screen.”…

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By Brandon Wainerdi

The Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 director discusses his ambitious short about a former dark-side devotee who must confront her past.

Meet the Visionaries is a StarWars.com series of interviews with the directors of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2, now streaming on Disney+.

“Sith” is the first new short film that audiences will see when starting their Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 journey. Written and directed by animation veteran Rodrigo Blaas, with incredible work from his Spain-based El Guiri Studios, “Sith” follows the Force-sensitive (and former Sith) Lola and her trusty droid E2, who both live on an isolated world and are searching for artistic inspiration. But this peaceful life does not last; Lola’s old master tracks her down, leading to an ultimate duel between them. Through it all, “Sith” provides an incredible experience that is visually unlike anything seen in Star Wars.

Before work on this project began, Blaas’ career was filled with numerous highlights, with work on movies at Pixar, including WALL-E, Up, and Brave, as well as creating Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia with Guillermo del Toro. The path to a galaxy far, far away, however, began with a simple phone call. …

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