STAR WARS: FORCES OF DESTINY

 

STAR WARS: FORCES OF DESTINY
(YouTube, July 3, 2017-May 25, 2018)
 
Lucasfilm, Lucasfilm Animation, Ghostbot

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Ashley Eckstein – Ahsoka Tano, little girl
Olivia Hack – Qi’ra
Felicity Jones (season 1) & Helen Sadler (season 2) – Jyn Erso
Vanessa Marshall – Hera Syndulla, mother, vendor
Lupita Nyong’o – Maz Kanata
Daisy Ridley – Rey
Tiya Sircar – Sabine Wren
Catherine Taber – Padmé Amidala, child
Gina Torres – Ketsu Onyo, Cato Parasitti
Kelly Marie Tran – Rose Tico
Shelby Young – Leia Organa, Kneesaa

 

For the history of Star Wars, check out the post here. 

            Set in and around the various eras of Star Wars, Forces of Destiny was an animated anthology web series that focused on the female characters of the franchise. It was part of a multimedia initiative by Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media that included a companion toy line from Hasbro, a comic series by IDW Publishing, and youth-oriented books. It was also the first 2D-animated series produced by Lucasfilm since 2003’s Star Wars: Clone Wars and the first since Lucasfilm Animation’s formation. The series was announced on April 12, 2017 in an article in Entertainment Weekly and a special preview was shown at Star Wars Celebration Orlando on April 14^th.

Ahsoka and Padmé in the thick of it.

            The series was developed by Dave Filoni, Carrie Beck and Jennifer Muro. The most notable aspect of Forces of Destiny was the number of actors reprising their respective roles from the various Star Wars films; adding what the producers felt was a bit of legitimacy to its place in the franchise canon. Among them was Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso (for season 1) from Rogue One; Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata from The Force Awakens; Daisy Ridley as protagonist Rey from the sequel trilogy; Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico from The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker; John Boyega as defected First Order Stormtrooper Finn from the sequel trilogy; Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker from the original trilogy; and Anthony Daniels as C-3PO from the entire Skywalker Saga. Additionally, Ashley Eckstein reprised Ahsoka Tano from The Clone Wars; Vanessa Marshall as Hera Syndulla from Rebels and later The Bad Batch; Tiya Sircar as Sabine Wren and Gina Torres as Ketsu Onyo from Rebels; Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker and Jim Cummings as space pirate Hondo Ohnaka from The Clone Wars and Rebels; Tom Kane as Yoda and Catherine Taber as Padmé Amidala from The Clone Wars; and Taylor Gray as Jedi Padawan Ezra Berger and Ritesh Rajan as Mandalorian warrior Tristan Wren from Rebels. Additionally, Olivia Hack took over the role of Qi’ra; Helen Sadler as Jyn in season 2; and Shelby Young as Leia Organa. Many of these characters would interact on screen for the first time together, and the stories were designed to have more contained, personal moments rarely seen in the franchise.

Rey, Chewbacca, BB-8, Finn and Han Solo in the Millennium Falcon.

            Star Wars: Forces of Destiny debuted on Disney’s official YouTube channel on July 3, 2017 and released a new episode daily for a total of 8; each one running about 3-minutes. The format was chosen to accommodate the changing viewing habits of children. Following the last digital release, the shorts were then shown on Disney Channel. On October 1, the special Star Wars: Forces of Destiny Volume 1 was broadcast on the network, including 4 of the original episodes and 4 all-new ones, as well as new narration by Maz Katana between them. On October 29, Volume 2 was released with the remaining original episodes and 4 additional new ones. A second season released 8 episodes on YouTube on March 19, 2018, with 7 more being uploaded on Star Wars Day, May 4^th. They were again combined into the specials Volume 3 on March 25^th and Volume 4 on May 25^th, with 1 new episode being exclusive to Volume 4. It became one of the launch titles for the streaming service Disney+ The series’ music was composed by Ryan Shore, while also utilizing the theme by John Williams. Animation was handled by Ghostbot, Inc.