Star Wars Officially Introduces A New Jedi Order & The Future Looks Bright Again

Published Oct 23, 2026, 12:46 PM EDT

El is a Junior TV Features Editor for ScreenRant, with previous experience as The Mary Sue's UK and Weekend Editor. She holds a Bachelor's in International Media and Entertainment Management, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in Creative Writing. There is little she loves more than discussing her favorite TV shows with fellow fans. One day, she hopes to publish an original fantasy novel.

Years after the prequel trilogy chronicled the Jedi's downfall, Star Wars has introduced a new Jedi Order — and it's not Rey Skywalker's. This is a pivotal time for Star Wars. Lucasfilm has new creative leadership. The Mandalorian and Grogu wasn't the box office splash the galaxy needed, and it remains to be seen how Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling's Star Wars: Starfighter will fare. Disney+'s New Republic saga seems to be slowing down, too; only Ahsoka season 2 is confirmed, with no other live-action shows officially in the works (though this could certainly change when Star Wars celebrates its 50th anniversary next year).

For now, Star Wars' animated output is its brightest future. Two great animated series premiered this year. Dave Filoni's Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord was a triumph, a dark, psychological exploration of one of Star Wars' greatest villains. The series will return for season 2 in 2027, as Maul finally gets to train the apprentice he's always wanted. The most pleasant surprise, however, was Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi, Star Wars' first full anime series and its first official spinoff under the newly coined Star Wars: Visions Presents banner.

Animation has always been an important part of Star Wars' storytelling and brand identity. Between Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: Resistance, and now Shadow Lord, many of the galaxy's most important characters and stories appear in animated form. The Ninth Jedi is different, though. It benefits from the freedom and creativity of being technically non-canon — Visions functions similarly to the old Expanded Universe, now known as Star Wars Legends — though its story is set so far in the future that it could well be considered canon anyway.

Most importantly, as Star Wars struggles to launch a new era of the Jedi with Daisy Ridley's in-limbo Star Wars: New Jedi Order movie, The Ninth Jedi offers a surprising but undeniably compelling view of what the Jedi can and should be. The prequel Jedi fell because of their pride, blinded to the darkness that was brewing alongside them. Luke Skywalker's vision for the Order never even came to fruition. The Ninth Jedi's Order can be everything they wanted to be and more.

The Ninth Jedi's Unexpected New Jedi Order Is Exactly What Star Wars Needs

Image via Disney+

Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi's new Jedi Order didn't appear out of thin air. In this timeline, anyone who can wield the Force, Jedi or Sith, is scattered across a galaxy being terrorized by a conquering general known as Nawaam. A former Jedi learner, Nawaam believes that true balance and power in the Force means feeling nothing at all; he believes that is the key to lasting, repressed peace. To match his immense strength and unusual power, Jedi prodigy Lah Kara assembles an equally unusual, but no less impressive council meant to mimic the Knights of the Round Table.

Their journey is about bravery in the face of great danger and finding hope, whatever the cost. It's everything the Jedi practice, but Kara's Jedi are freer. They aren't punished when the dark side temporarily takes hold. Some aren't even truly connected to the Force, but are chosen for their undeniable bravery, integrity, and innate desire to do what's right. Kara's Force-sensitive Jedi don't feel invincible because they wield the Force. If anything, they acknowledge how it makes them more vulnerable. They feel their emotions and learn from them.

The Ninth Jedi Watch Order

Star Wars: Visions season 1, episode 5, "The Ninth Jedi"

Star Wars: Visions season 3, episode 3, "The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope"

Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi

This version of the Jedi and Star Wars in general is inventive, fun, and thoughtful. It explores everything that makes Star Wars so unique while showing how much the galaxy far, far away still has to offer. One reason Star Wars is struggling is that it's stuck in the past, relying on overly explored eras and characters to remind people of what they once loved about the franchise. When the first Star Wars movie premiered in 1977, however, everything was new and exciting.

The Ninth Jedi recaptures that feeling. It changes how the audience sees the Force, the Jedi, and even how lightsabers work. In this reality, lightsabers change color depending on what's in the wielder's heart. When Nawaam reaches his state of nothingness, his lightsaber becomes silver. Ideas like that make Star Wars feel fresh, more surprising.

Luckily, there's a good chance Lucasfilm and its international animation partners will produce more stories like The Ninth Jedi, and perhaps even a second season of The Ninth Jedi itself, in the future. Star Wars: Visions Presents is now an independent banner, meant to create more spinoffs of other equally intriguing Star Wars: Visions shorts. That's the creative freedom Star Wars needs more of right now.

Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi is streaming on Disney

Question 1 of 3

Cast

• 

  Chinatsu Akasaki

  Lah Kara (voice)

• Hiromu Mineta

  Ethan (voice)