Star Wars is navigating a difficult period. The Mandalorian and Grogu underperformed at the box office, earning less than the low-budget horror films Obsession and Backrooms. Ahsoka season 2 has been delayed until 2027, while The Acolyte has been cancelled. Against that backdrop, The Ninth Jedi arrives as a welcome creative reset.
Originally developed by Production I.G. for the Star Wars: Visions anthology, the anime expands its premise into an eight-episode story. It keeps the franchise’s most recognisable ingredients—Jedi, Sith, lightsabers and the eternal conflict between light and darkness—while moving far beyond the familiar Skywalker-era timeline.
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A distant future with a dangerous new enemy
The series takes place in a future where both the Jedi and Sith have dwindled. Jedi Master Margrave Juro, voiced by Andrew Kishino in the English dub, wants to rebuild the Jedi Order and challenge the warlord Nawaam, played by Young Mazino.
Central to that plan is Lah Zhima, voiced by Simu Liu, the sabersmith whose rare knowledge allows him to create lightsabers and their kyber crystals. Nawaam has captured Zhima and intends to build a kyber crystal cannon capable of bringing the galaxy under his control.
Placing the story so far from established continuity gives the writers room to reshape Star Wars mythology. Nawaam wants to end the recurring struggle between light and dark through conquest. His weapon is a sinister variation on the Death Star: a black hole that tears through space itself. Even an unsuccessful test leaves a planet burned and scarred.
Nawaam makes every scene feel threatening
Writer Mitsuyasu Sakai, supervising director Kenji Kamiyama and series director Shunsuke Tada understand that a memorable villain needs more than an imposing design. Nawaam’s visual language borrows elements from Kylo Ren, including aspects of the character’s design and motivations, but the eight-episode structure gives him a consistent and forceful arc.
Like Darth Vader, Nawaam can raise the tension simply by entering a scene. His introduction establishes his power as he addresses his army and deals with anyone reckless enough to challenge him. Later, his advance through a Jedi vessel becomes a display of almost unavoidable danger as each step shatters the lights around him.
The series also shows that a young cast does not require childish storytelling. Lah Kara, Zhima’s daughter, is voiced by Kimiko Glenn, known for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Hazbin Hotel. She combines qualities associated with Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker: a Force-sensitive prodigy who remains committed to the Jedi mission while confronting painful truths and devastating loss.
The anime even revisits the spirit of the Ewoks without repeating the broadest comedy of Return of the Jedi. Its cute alien characters help reveal Kara’s determination and make the danger surrounding her more immediate.
Big action, measured storytelling
Not every character receives the same attention. Homen, voiced by Patrick Seitz, appeared among the aspiring Jedi who came to receive a lightsaber from Zhima in the original short, but has little meaningful role in the new series. That is disappointing because he is one of the few principal characters who is genuinely alien.
Instead, the anime introduces figures resembling dwarves and elves. Several have limited personalities beyond familiar fantasy archetypes, making them less distinctive than the central cast. These weaknesses remain relatively minor, however.
The Ninth Jedi succeeds when it combines emotional stakes with kinetic action. Large-scale space battles unfold alongside escapes and acrobatic lightsaber duels involving characters with unresolved history. Rather than competing for attention, these threads build towards a layered narrative.
The show also knows when restraint creates greater suspense. A single destroyer droid becomes terrifying because the Jedi must identify its weaknesses while under pressure. That balance between spectacle and vulnerability suits anime particularly well, matching the heightened emotion of space opera with the visual influence of Akira Kurosawa’s films.
A hopeful future for Star Wars
Animation has helped Star Wars recover its footing before. Dave Filoni’s The Clone Wars added depth and nuance to Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, helping audiences reassess the prequel era. The Ninth Jedi now joins Matt Michnovetz’s stylish noir series Maul – Shadow Lord, which premiered in April, as another animated project pursuing a different direction while live-action production struggles.
The show’s heroes dream of restoring the Jedi Order. In its own way, The Ninth Jedi makes a similar argument for the franchise: fresh creative voices can revisit familiar ideas, take meaningful risks and make the galaxy feel expansive again.
For viewers inspired by its lightsabers, battles and space-opera spectacle, RETROCADE’s arcade machines offer a dedicated way to bring classic gaming into the home. Smaller rooms may suit the compact bartop arcade range, while hands-on builders can explore DIY arcade kits.
The Ninth Jedi is now streaming on Disney Plus.
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