Star Wars Forces of Destiny


Star Wars Forces of Destiny is a 2D animated web series by Lucasfilm Animation released through Disney's YouTube channel. Set across multiple eras of the Star Wars franchise, it is a collection of two- to three-minute shorts centering on female characters featured in previous Star Wars installments. The series premiered on July 3, 2017, beginning the daily release of a set of eight episodes; these episodes subsequently began broadcasting on Disney Channel on July 9. An additional eight episodes were released in Fall 2017, and a second season of eight episodes were released in 2018.
First announced and presented in April 2017 during Star Wars Celebration Orlando, Forces of Destiny is part of a franchise expansion initiative by Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media and includes a companion toy line by Hasbro and a series of youth-aimed books. The series is the first 2D animated series produced by Lucasfilm since the 2003 ' series and the first 2D project by Lucasfilm Animation, which formed after the development of '.

Premise

An animated micro-series starring female characters such as Princess Leia Organa, Sabine Wren, Jyn Erso, Rose Tico, Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala, Hera Syndulla, and Rey.

Cast and characters

From both The Clone Wars and Rebels, Matt Lanter reprised his role as Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Tom Kane reprised his role as Jedi Master Yoda, Jim Cummings reprised his role as Hondo Ohnaka, Taylor Gray reprised his role as Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger, Gina Torres reprised her role as bounty hunter Ketsu Onyo and Ritesh Rajan reprised his role as Tristan Wren. Film actor John Boyega reprised his role as defected First Order stormtrooper Finn, Mark Hamill reprised his role as Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin and Padmé and Anthony Daniels reprised his role as the droid C-3PO. Other characters to appear include smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca, droids R2-D2, BB-8 and Chopper.

Production

Forces of Destiny was announced on April 12, 2017, and a special preview of the series presented at Star Wars Celebration Orlando on April 14. The series is the first 2D animated series produced by Lucasfilm since the 2003 ' series and the first 2D animation project created by Lucasfilm Animation; previous 2D animated series such as ', , and early installments of Clone Wars were created before the formation of the studio. The series is part of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media's franchise expansion initiative.
Forces of Destiny was created as a series of web shorts because it was felt to better appeal to children's watching patterns: "The way that kids are consuming content today, they're still watching linear television, but increasingly they're consuming content digitally, online. We've created a story format here that reflects that. It's a combination of digital and linear." Each episode is written by Jennifer Muro and directed by Brad Rau.

Episodes

Season 1 (2017)

Season 2 (2018)

A second season of fifteen additional episodes was announced in September 2017. The episodes were released on March 19, 2018 online and aired on Disney Channel on March 25, 2018.

Chronological order

Distribution

Forces of Destiny premiered on July 3, 2017, through Disney's YouTube channel, beginning the daily release of a set of eight episodes. It was initially announced that this release would culminate in the broadcast premiere of the eight episode set on Disney Channel on July 9 as a thirty-minute special, but on July 9, Disney announced via Twitter that only two episodes were going to be broadcast. A second set of eight episodes was released in October 2017. It was subsequently announced that episodes will air in two half-hour specials on Disney Channel on October 1 and 29. The series is available on the Disney+ streaming service, which launched on November 12, 2019.

Books

A series of youth books adapted the episodes. Daring Adventures: Volume 1 adapted shorts about Sabine, Rey, and Padmé, and Daring Adventures: Volume 2 adapted shorts about Jyn, Ahsoka, and Leia. IDW Publishing published Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, a weekly all-ages five-issue comic book miniseries that ran from January to May 2018.

Merchandising

Alongside the initial series announcement, Lucasfilm also announced a related toy line from Hasbro and an apparel line. The toy line features a new class of figures, adventures figures fill the space between action figures and dolls. These 11-inch articulated figures of the six core female characters and smaller paired figures of other characters launched on August 1, 2017 alongside accessories such as lightsabers. Other characters, including Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren, are intended to be released.

Awards

YearEventAwardRecipientResult
2019ASCAP Screen Music AwardsTop Cable Television SeriesRyan Shore