Star Wars: The Ninth Jedi Review — A New Hope for the Franchise from an Unexpected Source

It is a dark time for Star Wars. The Mandalorian and Grogu flopped at the box office, earning less than low-budget horror films Obsession and Backrooms, while Ahsoka season 2 has been pushed to 2027 and The Acolyte was canceled outright. Against that backdrop, The Ninth Jedi feels like the refresh Lucasfilm desperately needed. Developed by Production I.G. for the Star Wars: Visions anthology, this eight-episode anime series remixes the franchise's most iconic elements into something that feels vital after decades of iterating on the Skywalker Saga. For viewers exhausted by live-action missteps, the show proves animation remains the medium where Star Wars takes its boldest creative risks.

The Ninth Jedi is set in a distant future where both the Jedi and Sith have faded into decline. Jedi Master Margrave Juro, voiced by Andrew Kishino in the English dub, seeks to rebuild the Order to confront the warlord Nawaam, played by Young Mazino. That plan hinges on saber-smith Lah Zhima, voiced by Shang-Chi star Simu Liu, one of the few who still knows the secret of forging lightsabers. Nawaam has captured Zhima, intending to build a kyber crystal cannon powerful enough to dominate the galaxy — a reimagined Death Star that manifests as a black hole tearing through the fabric of space. Even a failed test leaves a planet scarred and burning, establishing stakes that feel genuinely cosmic rather than merely procedural.

Why Production I.G. Just Saved Star Wars

Produced by Production I.G. and published by Lucasfilm, The Ninth Jedi streams on Disney Plus as an anime science-fiction action series. Writer Mitsuyasu Sakai, supervising director Kenji Kamiyama, and series director Shunsuke Tada crafted an eight-episode singular story arc that avoids the narrative sprawl plaguing recent live-action entries. The English voice cast includes Kimiko Glenn as Lah Kara, Patrick Seitz as Homen, and Simu Liu as Lah Zhima.

For Star Wars fans, the premise offers something the franchise has struggled to deliver: a story unburdened by established lore. Setting the narrative in the far future disentangles The Ninth Jedi from the Skywalker timeline while reinforcing the endless cosmic struggle between light and dark. Nawaam's goal is to break that cycle through conquest — a twisted zen master seeking to embrace nothingness through his riff on the Death Star. That conceptual boldness, paired with a contained eight-episode structure, makes the series accessible to newcomers while rewarding longtime viewers with thematic echoes of George Lucas's Kurosawa-inspired foundations.

The Lightsaber Combat That Finally Gets It Right

The Ninth Jedi embraces the marriage of pathos and action that defines the best Star Wars stories. Giant space battles take place concurrently with daring escapes and acrobatic lightsaber duels between warriors with unfinished business. These elements stack into a layered narrative rather than pulling the story in competing directions.

The series deepens Nawaam's threat in ways that hit home: the way he crushes lights as he strides through a Jedi ship, and later when he speaks to a whole army, showing he won't back down from anyone foolish enough to face him. Like Vader, the mere presence of Nawaam raises the stakes. The show even borrows Kylo Ren's character design and some of his motivations, but keeps a single arc over eight episodes, avoiding the cheap twists that would have left the character hanging in the franchise's unfinished trilogy. That's a new direction that feels earned. Players will notice how every cut is tied to Nawaam's looming presence, adding a layer of tension that feels fresh.

Star Wars Finally Looks Like a $200M+ Movie

Production I.G.'s animation quality shines throughout, with fluid combat choreography and detailed mechanical designs that make the kyber crystal cannon feel like a plausible evolution of Star Wars superweapon lore. The far-future aesthetic distinguishes itself from both the prequel and original trilogy eras while remaining recognizably Star Wars — ships, architecture, and costume design all suggest a galaxy that has continued evolving. Space battles carry genuine scale, and the black hole weapon effect is visually arresting without descending into visual noise.

The English voice cast delivers strong performances across the board. Andrew Kishino brings weary wisdom to Margrave Juro, while Young Mazino's Nawaam projects quiet menace that makes his philosophical extremism feel grounded rather than theatrical. Simu Liu's Lah Zhima carries the burden of a craftsman whose knowledge has become a curse, and Kimiko Glenn's Lah Kara occupies a compelling space between Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker — a Force prodigy fiercely devoted to the Jedi mission even as she confronts dark truths and terrible loss. The show even finds a brilliant way to evoke the Ewoks, stripping away Return of the Jedi's goofiest elements while using adorable aliens to demonstrate Kara's strength and the stakes of her struggle.

A Story That Feels Like Fanfic

Not all characters receive the same care. Homen, one of the aspiring Jedi who appeared in the original Ninth Jedi short, has nothing meaningful to do in the expanded series. That's especially disappointing since he's one of the few main characters with a truly alien design. Rather than drawing on classic Star Wars species, the creators introduced characters who resemble dwarves and elves with little personality beyond standard fantasy tropes. The decision to lean on Lord of the Rings archetypes instead of the franchise's rich bestiary feels like a missed opportunity in a medium unconstrained by prosthetic budgets.

These shortcomings remain minor against the series' achievements. The Ninth Jedi joins Matt Michnovetz's stylish noir Maul – Shadow Lord, which premiered in April 2024, in charting a bold new path for the franchise even as live-action projects falter. Just as the heroes dream of restoring the Jedi Order, the show itself stands as evidence that Star Wars can still have a bright future with fresh creative voices. The spectacle and big emotions of anime prove a perfect match for the space opera George Lucas created by borrowing from Akira Kurosawa's films — a reminder that you can have young protagonists without juvenile storytelling.

The Ninth Jedi is now streaming on Disney Plus.