Star Wars: Visions is back later this year for Season 3, and we got our first look at one of the shorts.
Revealed on the Annecy Film Festival website, via ScreenRant and Catsuka, the short titled "Black" will be directed by One Piece and Studio Ghibli legend Shinya Ohira. The summary for the short says it's "A psychedelic battle between the past and the present, light and darkness, life and death, rages in the tormented psyche of an imperial soldier close to defeat."
We also got the first look at "Black," shared on Catsuka's Twitter account.
Legendary japanese animator Shinya Ohira is directing an animated short called "Black" for the next season of "Star Wars: Visions", and here is the first image. https://t.co/2ydKatOt71 pic.twitter.com/Z9Cu5zOKMU
— Catsuka (@catsuka) March 17, 2025
Visions is my favorite piece of Star Wars ever made, and I am stoked to see such a giant coming to a galaxy far, far away. If you don't recognize Ohira's name, I'm sure you would know some of his work. Along with One Piece, his resume includes Akira, Spirited Away, The Animatrix, The Boy and the Heron, and Kill Bill: Vol. 1.
The premise for the short is interesting too, as we so rarely get to see the point of view of stormtroopers on screen. Usually when it's an imperial, they're almost always on a redemption arc like Agent Kallus from Star Wars Rebels or Finn from the sequel trilogy. The closest I can think of for a different kind of story is the radicalization of Tam Ryvora in Star Ware Resistance, but even then, she comes back to the good guys at the end. Now, the books and comics are full of stories about stormtroopers. From A Certain Point of View and Lost Stars are two that come to mind.
It also sounds like it might be the final moments of this trooper's life, and his "tormented psyche" could be fascinating to watch. Stormtroopers are so closely tied with the story of fascism, so "Black" might delve into how someone is radicalized and the regrets that go into that, sort of like Tam's story in Resistance.
For now, we'll just have to wait and see. Star Wars Celebration Japan is just weeks away, and Star Wars: Visions has a few panels slated for the weekend. You can see the Celebration schedule highlights here. Visions is slated to be released later this year.