The best-loved short of Star Wars: Visions is getting the full series treatment. Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi premieres summer 2026 on Disney+, animated by Production I.G, with Anime Expo screening episode 1 on July 2.
Quick answer According to SenpaiRanks, Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi is a limited anime series premiering summer 2026 exclusively on Disney+, animated by Production I.G. Shunsuke Tada directs, with Kenji Kamiyama as supervising director and series script supervisor and Hitoshi Itō producing; Lucasfilm's Jacqui Lopez and Josh Rimes executive produce. It expands the standalone "The Ninth Jedi" short from the original Visions anthology. Anime Expo screens the first episode July 2, 2026. SenpaiRanks tracks it on the summer 2026 board across Consensus and Quality.
Where it comes from When Disney handed Star Wars to Japanese studios for the 2021 Visions anthology, "The Ninth Jedi" — Production I.G's entry about a young saber-smith's daughter and a gathering of would-be Jedi — was the one viewers kept asking to see expanded. Five years on, that's exactly what's happening: a dedicated series, same studio, building the world the short only sketched.
Who's making it Shunsuke Tada directs. Kenji Kamiyama — Ghost in the Shell: SAC, the Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim anime film — supervises and oversees series scripts, which is a heavyweight signal for a project like this. Hitoshi Itō produces, with Lucasfilm's Jacqui Lopez and Josh Rimes as executive producers. Production I.G handles the animation.
Where to watch it Here's the honest part a streaming-first source won't lead with: The Ninth Jedi is a Disney+ exclusive. It is not on Crunchyroll. If you searched "where to watch The Ninth Jedi anime" expecting the usual anime home, the answer is Disney+ — full stop. That's the kind of platform-neutral call SenpaiRanks exists to make: we tell you where a show actually lives, not where it'd be convenient to say it lives. Anime Expo gets the first episode early on July 2, in Japanese with English subtitles.
Line it up against the season's other action and sci-fi picks on our best summer 2026 action anime board and the what to watch this summer hub. Catalog page: Star Wars: Visions — The Ninth Jedi on SenpaiRanks.
The read A Visions short becoming a full series is a rare vote of confidence from Lucasfilm, and Kamiyama's name on it raises the floor. Whether it clears the bar is what the board is for. Per SenpaiRanks it's unranked until it streams; rate it once it lands on Disney+ and your score helps set where it sits on the Consensus rank versus the Quality rank — two reads, not one star average.
Frequently asked questions Q: When does Star Wars: Visions — The Ninth Jedi premiere? A: Summer 2026 on Disney+. Anime Expo screens the first episode on July 2, 2026.
Q: Where can I watch The Ninth Jedi anime?
A: Disney+, exclusively. It is not streaming on Crunchyroll.
Q: Who is animating it?
A: Production I.G, with Shunsuke Tada directing and Kenji Kamiyama as supervising director.
Q: Is it based on the original Star Wars: Visions short?
A: Yes — it expands Production I.G's "The Ninth Jedi" short from the original Visions anthology.
Q: How many episodes is it?
A: It's a limited series; a specific episode count hasn't been announced.
Q: How does SenpaiRanks rank it?
A: It enters the summer 2026 board on the Consensus and Quality axes once it streams — rate it on Disney+ to place it.