Star Wars explained: Is Star Wars: Visions on Disney+ canon?

The world of Star Wars will be taking a brand new turn when the series Star Wars: Visions comes out. The series is set to premiere on Sept. 22 on Disney+, and it will merge the world of Star Wars with the classic (and ever-changing) art style of Japanese anime.

On July 3, more was revealed about this Star Wars project during Anime Expo Lite online, and we got a taste of what to expect from this series. First, the series will be an anthology, meaning each episode will have its own contained story. With that, there are seven studios that were brought on to work on this series’ nine episodes. Those studios include Kamikaze Douga, Geno Studio (Twin Engine), Studio Colorido (Twin Engine), Trigger, Kinema Citrus, Science Saru and Production IG.

For a full list of the episodes and a special-look trailer for the series, you can check out our recap of the Vision’s news here.

Knowing that there is a new TV show on the horizon, then, begs the question of whether or not Star Wars: Visions is canon. It is certainly from Lucasfilm and will have “Star Wars” written all over it, but where does it fit in the Star Wars timeline?

Is Star Wars: Visions canon?

Lucasfilm hasn’t officially stated whether Star Wars: Visions is a part of the canon, but a StarWars.com article seems to heavily suggest the series won’t be canon. In the article, which was a recap of the Visions panel, one of the takeaways they note is that the “storytelling didn’t have to fit in the timeline.”

This sounds like a pretty big, “this won’t be canon,” to us. They added in the article: “Lucasfilm made the decision to let creators tell the stories they wanted to tell — whether they featured established or original characters — without a need to tie into the larger chronology.”

Because of that, this gives the creators a lot more freedom to create what they want without haven’t to be bogged down with continuity checks and the likes. They essentially have free rein to do whatever they want as long as it’s still nestled in the world of Star Wars, and that should make for an interesting set of episodes, even if they don’t necessarily move the Star Wars story forward in an official way.

On Reddit, some think that Star Wars: Visions is paving the way for canon anime content in the future. And they could be right. It simply depends on the fans’ demand and how well Visions will do when it premieres.

Look out for more Star Wars: Visions coverage on Dork Side of the Force’s TV Shows category!