A new era for Star Wars streaming appears to be here. Ever since The Mandalorian premiered in November 2019, every original Star Wars series debuted in one place: Disney+. That exclusivity made the platform the franchise’s undisputed streaming home for almost seven years, and Lucasfilm never wavered from it, no matter how many shows it produced.
This trend now looks set to end with Star Wars Visions Presents: The Ninth Jedi, which will seemingly premiere on both Disney+ and Hulu on day one. Ahead of its full trailer release on July 2, the upcoming anime dropped a short teaser clip to build anticipation. Hulu’s official X and YouTube accounts posted this clip, with the Hulu logo appearing on the video’s thumbnail and at the end of the footage. If this dual release happens, The Ninth Jedi will become the first Star Wars series ever to stream simultaneously on both services from its premiere date.
There's one caveat worth noting, though. Lucasfilm’s official Star Wars website currently mentions only Disney+ as the show’s home, so the Hulu side of the release remains unconfirmed on Disney’s end. Still, a platform does not usually promote a series with its own branding unless it plans to house it, which makes the simultaneous debut seem all but certain.
The Ninth Jedi continues a story that fans first met in 2021. Kara debuted in an episode of the same name from Volume 1 of Star Wars: Visions, then returned in Volume 3’s The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope last October. Japanese studio Production I.G animates the limited series, with Kenji Kamiyama supervising and Shunsuke Tada directing. The show takes place long after the Skywalker Saga, in a galaxy where the Jedi faded into legend and lightsaber blades change color depending on their wielder’s connection to the Force.
Star Wars content is not entirely new to Hulu either. Volume 1 of Star Wars: Visions currently streams on the platform, and the original trilogy joined Hulu’s library in May. All of it arrived well after debuting elsewhere, though, which is what makes this next release so notable.
How a Hulu Debut Changes Star Wars Streaming
The timing of this move is no accident. Disney announced in August last year that it would merge Hulu into Disney+, with a single unified app targeted for late 2026. Hulu even replaced the Star brand on Disney+ in international markets last October.
Releasing The Ninth Jedi on both platforms at once gives audiences an early taste of that combined future, one where the wall between Disney’s two services no longer exists.
For fans, the benefits are easy to see. Hulu subscribers who never signed up for Disney+ can watch a brand-new Star Wars series without paying for a second subscription, which instantly widens the show’s potential audience. The choice of show matters here too.
Hulu has a deep anime library, so a series like The Ninth Jedi can reach viewers who spend their evenings watching Japanese animation and might never think to open Disney+.
A wider launch also raises the ceiling for the show itself. The Ninth Jedi is the first series under the Visions Presents banner, and Lucasfilm will judge its performance when deciding whether more spin-offs follow.
Two platforms mean more viewers, and more viewers give the anthology’s future its best possible shot. If the numbers impress, Star Wars could greenlight further Visions Presents projects and turn this experiment into a lasting corner of the franchise.
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.
