It appears as though the popularity of a certain Star Wars animated anthology series may have inspired Lucasfilm and Disney to keep that train running on more than one track. Now, a leaked schedule from the upcoming Star Wars Celebration Anaheim event has seemingly preemptively confirmed a new batch of tales, and it could be just what the franchise needs.
The upcoming Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California is already seen by many as a potentially big opportunity to hear about new projects in a galaxy far, far away. But it appears that one such project has jumped the gun thanks to a schedule listed on the event's official site. The page lists a huge number of panels, presentations, and other such curiosities set to take place during Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in May. But while most of them seem to be pretty standard, one entry jumped out with the enticing possibility of a new animated series.
Titled Tales of the Jedi, this particular event appears to introduce a brand new series under the same name. The description seems pretty cut and dry as well. "Introducing Tales of the Jedi, animated anthology shorts. Hosted by Amy Ratcliffe with special guest Dave Filoni." Comic book fans will note that it shares a title with a series of comics set during the Old Republic featuring notable characters like Nomi Sunrider and Ulic Qel-Droma, which might indicate what to expect. While this is currently the only information regarding the new series, it seems pretty clear that the event itself will have plenty of elaboration on the topic. Plus, the wording of it could indicate where the idea for this new collection of animated shorts came from.
Many fans will note the description as "animated anthology shorts," which sounds almost exactly like what the Star Wars: Visions anime anthology series offers. Given how Visions is rumored to receive a second season this year, it was apparently well-received enough to warrant another look. On that note, perhaps the popularity of the anime series has inspired Disney to continue thinking outside the box for some of its new projects. But Tales of the Jedi may be a bit different than Visions, and it could all be due to the special guest at the event itself.
The mere mention of Filoni should be more than enough to perk up the ears of many a Star Wars fan these days. He's the mind behind hits like The Clone Wars and Rebels and his collaboration with Jon Favreau on The Mandalorian pretty much speaks for itself. As Lucasfilm's Executive Creative Director with his own action figure, he's clearly got the passion needed for the job. Based on his name on the schedule, Tales of the Jedi may be more of a consolidated effort under the watchful eye of Filoni rather than a collection of stories from different studios like Visions.
Naturally, this is all just speculation. Hopefully, all will be revealed at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim. But the presence of Filoni combined with the Tales of the Jedi title that many remember fondly from the comic series is already more than enough to get that hype train running full steam.
Star Wars Celebration Anaheim will take place May 26th-29th, 2022.