Disney+ has confirmed that five Star Wars Jedi are returning in the franchise’s next TV show, Star Wars Visions Presents: The Ninth Jedi. The upcoming anime is the first series released under the new Star Wars: Visions Presents banner, a label Lucasfilm created to expand fan-favorite stories from its Visions anthology into longer adventures. Japanese studio Production I.G, which animated the original shorts, is once again handling the animation.
Lucasfilm revealed the returning Jedi through the show’s official trailer, which debuted at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles, and the full cast rundown that followed. All eight episodes of the limited series will premiere on August 5 on Disney+ and Hulu.
The story picks up shortly after the events of two earlier shorts, The Ninth Jedi from Star Wars: Visions Volume 1 and The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope from Volume 3. Kenji Kamiyama, who wrote and directed the first short, oversees the series as supervising director, while Shunsuke Tada directs from a script by Mitsuyasu Sakai. Newcomers Feodor Chin, Young Mazino, Chase Sui Wonders, and Keone Young join the voice cast alongside the familiar faces below.
All 5 Jedi Returning in The Ninth Jedi
Lah Kara
Kimiko Glenn is back as the voice of Lah Kara, the young hero at the heart of the whole Ninth Jedi saga. In the original short, Kara hastily took a bundle of newly forged lightsabers to Jedi Master Margrave Juro’s floating temple, where most of the waiting Jedi candidates turned out to be Sith in disguise. Her blade, a dull gray when the story began, glowed green as her connection to the Force grew during the battle, and Juro told her she was destined to become the ninth Jedi.
The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope tested her further. Blasted into space and separated from her allies, Kara took refuge on an abandoned ship kept by a lonely service droid named Teto, whose sacrifice pushed her to vow she would bring peace back to the galaxy. The new series follows her as she trains under Juro and leads the search for her missing father. A Darksaber-wielding Sith lord is likely to be the biggest obstacle in their way.
Lah Zhima
Simu Liu, best known as Marvel’s Shang-Chi, returns as Lah Zhima, Kara’s father and the only known sabersmith in the galaxy. In the first short, Zhima forged a set of lightsabers with a rare property. Each blade’s color and length respond to the wielder’s connection to the Force. Jedi Hunters stormed his workshop moments after he finished the job, and he gave himself up so Kara could escape with the weapons.
Zhima’s capture is central to everything that comes next. The rescue attempt forms the spine of the eight-episode series, so the legendary craftsman should get far more screen time than his brief appearances in the shorts allowed.
Homen
Patrick Seitz voices Homen once more, the quiet recruit with the most complicated arc in the original short. Homen answered Juro’s summons at the temple, but when the hidden Sith turned on the Margrave, the others’ darkness swept him up and he crossed blades with Kara and Ethan. He came to his senses mid-duel, lowered his weapon, and apologized for losing himself.
Juro forgave him, and Homen departed as part of the small fellowship hunting for scattered Jedi across the galaxy. He appeared again aboard the group’s starship in Child of Hope, and the new series' trailer shows him standing with his fellow Jedi for the dangerous journey ahead.
Juro
Andrew Kishino returns as Juro, the mysterious Margrave working to rebuild the Jedi Order generations after it faded into legend. In the original short, Juro summoned Force-sensitive warriors to his temple above the planet Hy Izlan and hid inside a hulking Sentinel droid to figure out which of them could be trusted. When the imposters revealed their true allegiance, he emerged and cut down most of the Sith himself, proving he is among the deadliest duelists in Star Wars: Visions.
Juro now acts as Kara’s teacher. He guides her training throughout the new series while steering the fellowship toward Lah Zhima, and his knowledge of the galaxy’s lost Jedi will likely be pivotal to where the quest goes.
Ethan
Masi Oka rounds out the returning heroes as Ethan, a masterless Jedi who traveled to the temple after receiving Juro’s call. Ethan was one of only two genuine Jedi among the seven candidates gathered there, and he fought beside Kara against the disguised Sith even after her panicked opening swing knocked him to the ground.
He proved just as vital in Child of Hope, radioing Kara, who received his transmission and helped pull her escape pod to safety after a Jedi Hunter attack left her adrift. The trailer places him right back in the thick of the action as the group sets off to free the sabersmith. In the footage, he masterfully uses his lightsaber as he fights alongside the other Jedi. Ethan is positioned to be as important as Kara in this 2026 sequel.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
