Star Wars ‘Visions’ Shatters Canon – But That’s What Makes It Great
Star Wars Visions – where canon is ignored and the plot doesn’t matter, but that’s what makes the show so fun.
Whether or not a piece of Star Wars lore is canonical has been a hot topic in the fandom for a little while. Between the previously widely accepted as canon books being stricken from the official story and dubbed “Legends,” and the nearly constant claims that somebody-or-another is in the process of rewriting the entire prequal trilogy, Star Was fans may never stop debating what’s on the official timeline and what deserves to be there. So it was a little strange and a little refreshing when brand new anime anthology, Star Wars Visions, presented a series of short stories so outlandish and canon breaking that they almost can’t exist within the galaxy we’re familiar with.
Misaligned timelines, made up force rules, and lightsaber smiths when Jedi famously make their own lightsabers were just a few examples of details that made us collectively squint at our screens and say, “Wait a minute…” Episode ‘The Twins’ was especially egregious with a force-user cloning project way ahead of the accepted timeline and battle in space on the hull of a Star Destroyer with no space suit or helmet. Meanwhile the protocol droid needed a helmet to survive in the void. Yet it was a fun episode which I found truly delightful to watch. Studio Trigger’s over the top aesthetic wouldn’t have fit into a more realistic or grounded battle and I wouldn’t have wanted it to. And from the beginning, this seems to have been the goal of Star Wars Visions.
In an interview with CNET executive producer James Waugh said that making Visions fit into the continuity of Star Wars wasn’t a priority.
“So are there plans to integrate Visions into the timeline saga storytelling? Not currently, but I have no doubt that we will see things that were in Visions become part of the fabric of Star Wars over the next decades.”
What instead seemed to be most important was creating new pockets for potential storytelling and creativity in the greater story and letting various studios bring their own vision to life because it’s fun. Upcoming novel Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon will expand upon the Ronin character from episode one, but past that Waugh says he wants to see “an ecosystem of storytelling [be built] around Visions and these characters. We’ll have to see what people fall in love with.”
In short, Star Wars Visions is effectively fanfiction that’s been given the official stamp of approval. At times it’s wacky and silly and it is definitely not canonical, but it was never aiming to be. Instead, I like to think of Visions the same way I think of the Legends books; as literal legends. They’re big fish tales that people tell on long hauls through space or around a camp fire. They may posses a core of truth, and some stories are closer to reality while others sound like the end of a long game of telephone, but accuracy isn’t supposed to be the point. Is Star Wars Visions canonical? Definitely not. But Star Wars hasn’t always needed to be canon to be good.
Which was your favorite episode of Star Wars Visions? What was your favorite over the top or canon breaking detail from the show? Which story would you like to see expanded upon like Ronin’s? Let us know in the comments!
May The Force Be With You, Adventurers!
