“Intellectual property” probably wasn’t a term anyone thought to apply to “Star Wars” when the first movie premiered in May 1977. More than 40 years of films, books, television series, toys, games, trading cards and theme park rides later, it’s hard to think of George Lucas’ outer-space saga as anything but.

That might have been on the minds of the Lucasfilm executives who came up with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/disney-plus-star-wars-visions-first-look-release-date-unveiled-395856">“Star Wars: Visions,”</a> a set of nine animated short films arriving Wednesday to Disney+. It’s the latest calculated exploitation of the brand, but it won’t wear you out. It’s low-key and small-scale, and it has an original twist: The 13- to 22-minute films were created by a variety of Japanese anime studios, making the project an instance of both cross-cultural collaboration and mutual hommage.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-‘star-wars-the-bad-batch’-renewed-for-season-2-at-disney-403197">Also Read:&nbsp;‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ renewed for season 2 at Disney+</a>

Animation has been a significant segment of the “Star Wars'' business and storyline, primarily through the “Clone Wars” films and series, including the current Disney+ show “Star Wars: The Bad Batch.” But it has never had the two-dimensional, handcrafted beauty you’ll find throughout the chapters of “Visions,” not to mention the visual variety, which makes it easy to take in the films in a single 2 1/2-hour sitting.

The Japanese animators were given free rein to invent characters and depart from “canonical” storylines (hopefully forestalling outrage from overprotective fans). The stand-alone films introduce a raft of new heroes, although at least one incorporates some familiar characters: Bounty hunter Boba Fett shows up in Taku Kimura’s “Tatooine Rhapsody” (Studio Colorido), hunting a Hutt who has fled the family crime business to join a band.

Anime as a genre and “Star Wars” as a franchise are insular, highly formalized creative worlds with traditions and expectations that can be smothering. But they have always influenced each other, and there are intersections that are apparent in the films. Lucas’ core concept of the Force aligns with the eco-romanticism prevalent in science fiction and fantasy anime. The Jedi knights, with their robes and lightsabers, are samurai by another name. And the two traditions share an inordinate fondness for chirping robotic helpmates.

These elements show up in varying configurations throughout the nine films. What varies is the mix: the degree to which the films feel like “Star Wars” shorts that happen to have anime character designs, or like anime shorts that happen to borrow “Star Wars” motifs.

Films on the “Star Wars” end of the spectrum include “The Twins” (directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi for Studio Trigger), about a brother and sister who are darker counterparts of Luke and Leia, battling on a double-hulled star destroyer, and Kenji Kamiyama’s ambitious “The Ninth Jedi” (Production I.G), about a plan to gather a group of hunted Jedi and rearm them with lightsabers.

More interesting for those who are bigger fans of anime than of Lucasfilm are the shorts that put the action in Japanese settings that aren’t a standard part of the “Star Wars” landscape. The planet Tau in Yuki Igarashi’s “Lop &amp;amp; Ocho” (Geno Studio), one of the more exciting films, is a richly detailed urban Japanese world. Masahiko Otsuka’s “The Elder” (Trigger) and Eunyoung Choi’s “Akakiri” (Science SARU) invoke the Japanese countryside as traditionally depicted in anime; “Akakiri” heightens the connection with watercolor and pen-and-ink effects.

“Akakiri” also brings the anime-“Star Wars” connections full circle: Its story about a princess and a samurai making a dangerous journey in the company of two bumptious commoners is the plot of the Akira Kurosawa film “The Hidden Fortress,” which was one of Lucas’ primary inspirations for the original “Star Wars” film.

The most interesting of the shorts are the ones that burrow into those sorts of connections. Takanobu Mizuno’s mostly black-and-white “The Duel” (Kamikaze Douga) also invokes Kurosawa, with a “Yojimbo”-style wandering ronin accompanied by an R2-D2 robot in a traditional straw farmer’s hat. Abel Góngora’s charming, cartoonish “T0-B1” (Science SARU), about an android who wants to be human, is a salute to the classic anime hero Astro Boy.

(The collection poses a practical cultural and aesthetic question for the non-Japanese speaker: subtitles versus dubbing. Subtitles are always the right answer for anime, but with “Visions” the English tracks feature a number of notable voices, including Neil Patrick Harris, Alison Brie and “Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu. The dubbing sounds as artificial as ever, but it’s worth switching on occasionally, such as when George Takei voices one of the commoners in “Akakiri.”)

That “Star Wars: Visions” is, finally, more of a pleasant diversion than a really fulfilling experience isn’t a factor of running time or talent. It’s because all of the films — and you may realize this with a sinking sensation as you watch — play like auditions for continuing series rather than organic wholes; none feel really self-contained, and some even end with obvious cliffhangers. To paraphrase Yoda, there is no do. Only try for future residuals.

<h2><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/netflix-ceo-meets-up-with-ib-minister-anurag-thakur-gets-bhagvad-gita-as-gift-414911" hreflang="en">Netflix CEO meets up with I&amp;B minister Anurag Thakur, gets Bhagvad Gita as gift</a></h2>

“Intellectual property” probably wasn’t a term anyone thought to apply to “Star Wars” when the first movie premiered in May 1977. More than 40 years of films, books, television series, toys, games, trading cards and theme park rides later, it’s hard to think of George Lucas’ outer-space saga as anything but.

“Intellectual property” probably wasn’t a term anyone thought to apply to “Star Wars” when the first movie premiered in May 1977. More than 40 years of films, books, television series, toys, games, trading cards and theme park rides later, it’s hard to think of George Lucas’ outer-space saga as anything but. That might have been on the minds of the Lucasfilm executives who came up with “Star Wars: Visions,” a set of nine animated short films arriving Wednesday to Disney+. It’s the latest calculated exploitation of the brand, but it won’t wear you out. It’s low-key and small-scale, and it has an original twist: The 13- to 22-minute films were created by a variety of Japanese anime studios, making the project an instance of both cross-cultural collaboration and mutual hommage. Also Read: ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ renewed for season 2 at Disney+ Animation has been a significant segment of the “Star Wars'' business and storyline, primarily through the “Clone Wars” films and series, including the current Disney+ show “Star Wars: The Bad Batch.” But it has never had the two-dimensional, handcrafted beauty you’ll find throughout the chapters of “Visions,” not to mention the visual variety, which makes it easy to take in the films in a single 2 1/2-hour sitting. The Japanese animators were given free rein to invent characters and depart from “canonical” storylines (hopefully forestalling outrage from overprotective fans). The stand-alone films introduce a raft of new heroes, although at least one incorporates some familiar characters: Bounty hunter Boba Fett shows up in Taku Kimura’s “Tatooine Rhapsody” (Studio Colorido), hunting a Hutt who has fled the family crime business to join a band. Anime as a genre and “Star Wars” as a franchise are insular, highly formalized creative worlds with traditions and expectations that can be smothering. But they have always influenced each other, and there are intersections that are apparent in the films. Lucas’ core concept of the Force aligns with the eco-romanticism prevalent in science fiction and fantasy anime. The Jedi knights, with their robes and lightsabers, are samurai by another name. And the two traditions share an inordinate fondness for chirping robotic helpmates. These elements show up in varying configurations throughout the nine films. What varies is the mix: the degree to which the films feel like “Star Wars” shorts that happen to have anime character designs, or like anime shorts that happen to borrow “Star Wars” motifs. Films on the “Star Wars” end of the spectrum include “The Twins” (directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi for Studio Trigger), about a brother and sister who are darker counterparts of Luke and Leia, battling on a double-hulled star destroyer, and Kenji Kamiyama’s ambitious “The Ninth Jedi” (Production I.G), about a plan to gather a group of hunted Jedi and rearm them with lightsabers. More interesting for those who are bigger fans of anime than of Lucasfilm are the shorts that put the action in Japanese settings that aren’t a standard part of the “Star Wars” landscape. The planet Tau in Yuki Igarashi’s “Lop &amp; Ocho” (Geno Studio), one of the more exciting films, is a richly detailed urban Japanese world. Masahiko Otsuka’s “The Elder” (Trigger) and Eunyoung Choi’s “Akakiri” (Science SARU) invoke the Japanese countryside as traditionally depicted in anime; “Akakiri” heightens the connection with watercolor and pen-and-ink effects. “Akakiri” also brings the anime-“Star Wars” connections full circle: Its story about a princess and a samurai making a dangerous journey in the company of two bumptious commoners is the plot of the Akira Kurosawa film “The Hidden Fortress,” which was one of Lucas’ primary inspirations for the original “Star Wars” film. The most interesting of the shorts are the ones that burrow into those sorts of connections. Takanobu Mizuno’s mostly black-and-white “The Duel” (Kamikaze Douga) also invokes Kurosawa, with a “Yojimbo”-style wandering ronin accompanied by an R2-D2 robot in a traditional straw farmer’s hat. Abel Góngora’s charming, cartoonish “T0-B1” (Science SARU), about an android who wants to be human, is a salute to the classic anime hero Astro Boy. (The collection poses a practical cultural and aesthetic question for the non-Japanese speaker: subtitles versus dubbing. Subtitles are always the right answer for anime, but with “Visions” the English tracks feature a number of notable voices, including Neil Patrick Harris, Alison Brie and “Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu. The dubbing sounds as artificial as ever, but it’s worth switching on occasionally, such as when George Takei voices one of the commoners in “Akakiri.”) That “Star Wars: Visions” is, finally, more of a pleasant diversion than a really fulfilling experience isn’t a factor of running time or talent. It’s because all of the films — and you may realize this with a sinking sensation as you watch — play like auditions for continuing series rather than organic wholes; none feel really self-contained, and some even end with obvious cliffhangers. To paraphrase Yoda, there is no do. Only try for future residuals. Netflix CEO meets up with I&B minister Anurag Thakur, gets Bhagvad Gita as gift

Review: What if ‘Star Wars’ really were Japanese?

A YouTuber famous for making "deepfakes" of scenes from iconic film and television shows including "Star Wars" has landed a job at Lucasfilm after wowing bosses at the Disney-owned company.

The digital artist known only as "Shamook" is famous online for using cutting-edge technology to seamlessly map the faces of famous stars onto other actors' bodies.

Popular videos created by the technical whiz include pasting Robert Pattinson's visage onto Christian Bale's Batman, and imagining a young Mel Gibson had returned in place of Tom Hardy in 2015's "Mad Max: Fury Road."

But his work on the climactic scene of "The Mandalorian" season two appeared to particularly impress Lucasfilm.

The "Star Wars" TV series set five years after the 1983 film "Return of the Jedi" concluded with a surprise appearance from Mark Hamill, who was digitally de-aged to play a young Luke Skywalker once again.

Many of Shamook's 90,000 followers felt his amateur reworking of the scene surpassed the official version now streaming on Disney+.

Lucasfilm's visual effects team Industrial Light and Magic "is always on the lookout for talented artists and have in fact hired the artist that goes by the online persona 'Shamook'," a spokesman said in a statement sent to AFP.

"Over the past several years ILM has been investing in both machine learning and A.I. as a means to produce compelling visual effects work and it's been terrific to see momentum building in this space as the technology advances."

Shamook first revealed the hire on YouTube, telling followers his new title was "Senior Facial Capture Artist."

Disney is working on around 10 new "Star Wars" TV series, buoyed by the success of "The Mandalorian," which was nominated for a whopping 24 Emmys and introduced viewers around the world to the adorable fan favorite Baby Yoda.

Several "Star Wars" films are in the works too, including "Rogue Squadron" from "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins, and another currently being written by Taika Waititi ("Jojo Rabbit").

While similar technology is increasingly employed for mainstream uses such as Hollywood productions, "deepfakes" can also be used to spread deliberate misinformation.

A YouTuber famous for making "deepfakes" of scenes from iconic film and television shows including "Star Wars" has landed a job at Lucasfilm after wowing bosses at the Disney-owned company.

A YouTuber famous for making "deepfakes" of scenes from iconic film and television shows including "Star Wars" has landed a job at Lucasfilm after wowing bosses at the Disney-owned company. The digital artist known only as "Shamook" is famous online for using cutting-edge technology to seamlessly map the faces of famous stars onto other actors' bodies. Popular videos created by the technical whiz include pasting Robert Pattinson's visage onto Christian Bale's Batman, and imagining a young Mel Gibson had returned in place of Tom Hardy in 2015's "Mad Max: Fury Road." But his work on the climactic scene of "The Mandalorian" season two appeared to particularly impress Lucasfilm. The "Star Wars" TV series set five years after the 1983 film "Return of the Jedi" concluded with a surprise appearance from Mark Hamill, who was digitally de-aged to play a young Luke Skywalker once again. Many of Shamook's 90,000 followers felt his amateur reworking of the scene surpassed the official version now streaming on Disney+. Lucasfilm's visual effects team Industrial Light and Magic "is always on the lookout for talented artists and have in fact hired the artist that goes by the online persona 'Shamook'," a spokesman said in a statement sent to AFP. "Over the past several years ILM has been investing in both machine learning and A.I. as a means to produce compelling visual effects work and it's been terrific to see momentum building in this space as the technology advances." Shamook first revealed the hire on YouTube, telling followers his new title was "Senior Facial Capture Artist." Disney is working on around 10 new "Star Wars" TV series, buoyed by the success of "The Mandalorian," which was nominated for a whopping 24 Emmys and introduced viewers around the world to the adorable fan favorite Baby Yoda. Several "Star Wars" films are in the works too, including "Rogue Squadron" from "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins, and another currently being written by Taika Waititi ("Jojo Rabbit"). While similar technology is increasingly employed for mainstream uses such as Hollywood productions, "deepfakes" can also be used to spread deliberate misinformation.

Lucasfilm hires YouTube artist behind 'Star Wars' deepfake

The 'Star Wars'&nbsp;Legends books are home to some of the best and most beloved stories in the Star Wars universe, which is why some of them are getting new re-releases. 
 
In celebration of Lucasfilm’s 50th anniversary, some of the best Star Wars Legends books are getting new trade paperback editions, complete with new cover art. 
 
&nbsp;

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As Lucasfilm celebrates its 50th anniversary, we’re curating a collection of essential <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StarWars?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StarWars</a> Legends novels in trade paperback with new covers. Shatterpoint will also receive a fully unabridged audio edition, for the first time. Available June 15th 
 
(read on for more) <a href="https://t.co/Ausyvsvb6A">pic.twitter.com/Ausyvsvb6A</a>
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) <a href="https://twitter.com/DelReyStarWars/status/1377981111263973379?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

The new run of books will be part of&nbsp;Del Rey and Lucasfilm's&nbsp;'The Essential Legends Collection.'&nbsp;The new line will pull in some of the fan-favourite novels from the last 40 years of Star Wars books. 
 
The first batch of novels in the new collection will include three classics: 'Heir to the Empire', 'Path of Destruction', and 'Shatterpoint'.

The new editions of all three books will be available starting on June 15.

The 'Star Wars' Legends books are home to some of the best and most beloved stories in the Star Wars universe, which is why some of them are getting new re-releases.

The 'Star Wars' Legends books are home to some of the best and most beloved stories in the Star Wars universe, which is why some of them are getting new re-releases. In celebration of Lucasfilm’s 50th anniversary, some of the best Star Wars Legends books are getting new trade paperback editions, complete with new cover art. As Lucasfilm celebrates its 50th anniversary, we’re curating a collection of essential #StarWars Legends novels in trade paperback with new covers. Shatterpoint will also receive a fully unabridged audio edition, for the first time. Available June 15th (read on for more) pic.twitter.com/Ausyvsvb6A — Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) April 2, 2021 × The new run of books will be part of Del Rey and Lucasfilm's 'The Essential Legends Collection.' The new line will pull in some of the fan-favourite novels from the last 40 years of Star Wars books. The first batch of novels in the new collection will include three classics: 'Heir to the Empire', 'Path of Destruction', and 'Shatterpoint'. The new editions of all three books will be available starting on June 15.

Classic 'Star Wars' books to re-release for Lucasfilm’s 50th anniversary

The next chapter of the Star Wars will be named &#39;The Last Jedi&#39;.

Lucasfilm announced Monday that Episode VIII of the billions-dollar saga will tell the tale of &#39;The Last Jedi&#39; but did not reveal the reason behind its name.

The cryptic announcement has spurred fans worldwide to guess who the &#39;The Last Jedi&#39; will be --&nbsp;would it be Skywalker, Rey or both (as Jedi can be singular AND plural).

&quot;We have the greatest fans in this or any other galaxy. In appreciation of the fans, we wanted them to be the first to know the title of the next chapter in the Skywalker saga:&nbsp;Star&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;-- The Last Jedi,&quot; the studio said in a statement.

&quot;Star&nbsp;Wars: The Force Awakens,&quot; released in late 2015, earned more than $2 billion worldwide, according to boxofficemojo.com.

&quot;Rogue One: A&nbsp;Star&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;Story,&quot; a standalone movie in the saga released late last year, has so far raked in more than $1 billion at theaters around the world.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The new title has triggered palpable excitement among fans worldwide as to who the last Jedi will be

The next chapter of the Star Wars will be named 'The Last Jedi'. Lucasfilm announced Monday that Episode VIII of the billions-dollar saga will tell the tale of 'The Last Jedi' but did not reveal the reason behind its name. The cryptic announcement has spurred fans worldwide to guess who the 'The Last Jedi' will be -- would it be Skywalker, Rey or both (as Jedi can be singular AND plural). "We have the greatest fans in this or any other galaxy. In appreciation of the fans, we wanted them to be the first to know the title of the next chapter in the Skywalker saga: Star Wars -- The Last Jedi," the studio said in a statement. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," released in late 2015, earned more than $2 billion worldwide, according to boxofficemojo.com. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," a standalone movie in the saga released late last year, has so far raked in more than $1 billion at theaters around the world. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Next Star Wars movie to be titled 'The Last Jedi'

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