'Star Wars: Visions' Executive Producer James Waugh Talks About The Vision Of The Show
Image Source: But Why Tho
Though still being a “niche product”, Star Wars Visions has become a kind of its own sub-brand within the franchise, spanning, so far, three “volumes”, a novel, several comic adaptations, art books, and even an upcoming spin-off series.
While the existing 27 episodes include some known characters like Jabba the Hutt or Boba Fett, the show’s executive producer, James Waugh, stresses that such appearances are intentionally rather the exception than the norm, as the show doesn’t want to be a sort of “What if” to Star Wars canon.
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Due to the variety of stories, animation styles, and artists working on the show, he describes Visions as a “mixtape” that could sprawn and evolve into anything, which is also the reason the seasons are called “volumes”.
While Volume 1 and Volume 3 are very anime-focused, Volume 2 included stories from other cultures and, according to Waugh, this was also very deliberate:
“At the end of the day, the beauty of Star Wars is that, I think, at its best, the themes are universal. The themes are culturally agnostic.”
Regarding the scope of the show, it has expanded beyond its initial focus on Jedi and lightsabers. These are still present in Volume 3 but amended by stories about rebels and bounty hunters. “But in comparison to the first volume, I think we get a broader picture of what the galaxy can be,” adds Waugh.
When deciding on which animation studios they want to work with on Star Wars Visions, the producer acknowledges that “fanboy moments” often play an important role: “We have a list. I mean, we’re fans too, right? Some of it has come from [us going], “Wow, we really loved that work. We should meet with these people.” More often than not, it turns out that the creatives they approach are Star Wars fans themselves and more than happy to contribute to Visions, like Magdalena Osinska who directed the Aardman Animation episode “I Am Your Mother” in Volume 2 or Shinya Ohira, who wrote and directed the Volume 3 episode “Black,” which Waugh describes as “a piece of modern art in a way.”
When working with the animation studios, he is not looking for Star Wars stories per se, but for something deeply personal: “We’re really good at helping people find the Star Wars in [them]. The scope of it all — the Star Wars stuff — will come.”
On the subject of whether he wanted to remake the Original Trilogy via animation, Waugh would rather use this medium to continue these stories than to redo them.
“Those films are sort of my Bible — I don’t know if I’d want to redo them personally. [That] doesn’t mean that shouldn’t happen.”
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Source: Antitrendz
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