Studio Ghibli teases surprise Lucasfilm collaboration

Studio Ghibli has teased a potential surprise collaboration with Lucasfilm. The studio's official Twitter account shared a silent, 15-second video that flashes both the Lucasfilm and Studio Ghibli logos.

Many were quick to speculate that the announcement was about season 2 of Star Wars: Visions, an animated anthology series created for Disney Plus consisting of nine anime short films produced by seven different Japanese animation studios.

Visions paid homage to Studio Ghibli, specifically founder Hayao Miyazaki, in the Kinema Citrus short The Village Bride. The film takes place years after the Great Jedi Purge, and follows a former Jedi Padawan named F who journeys to a remote planet.

"I think that one rose to the top with a lot of us,” Lucasfilm Vice President Jacqui Lopez said of the short. "We started seeing the storyboards and then seeing the color, it was like, ‘Wow, this is really special.’ It was so ethereal and it was that Ghibli style, the slow pacing. It’s amazing how much you get immersed in that story, even though it’s, you know, 12-14 minutes long."

Visions season 2 was announced at Star Wars Celebration in May 2022 and is set to include shorts from studios based all around the world including Ireland, Spain, Chile, South Africa, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan – which may very well include a short from Studio Ghibli. It's set to premiere sometime in 2023.

For everything else coming soon from the galaxy far, far away, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.