Another set of charming short films is coming to the Star Wars universe, as the non-canon anthology series Star Wars: Visions' third volume is here. The prior two series' outings have found novel, often gorgeously animated routes into a Star Wars narrative to show the diversity of what such a tale can be. Sometimes dramatic, sometimes humorous, often entertaining with top-shelf voice acting, these small stories are breezy little love letters to a galaxy far, far away.
With Visions Volume 3 streaming on Disney+, each episode is a small narrative unit, so The Direct ranked each one. From tough villains to kids in search of lost treasure, to formidable space ronin or noble and self-sacrificing droids, there's something for everyone.
Star Wars Visions Volume 3 Episodes Ranked
9. “The Song of Four Wings”
Project Studio Q's "The Song of Four Wings" follows a princess who comes to oppose the Empire. Travelling through sparse, snowy landscapes with her music-playing droid, she finds a young and rare being with secretive power and must preserve it from falling to the Empire's dark forces.
"The Song of Four Wings" is pleasant, with yet another cute and powerful entity gracing the Galaxy, but it's simply an amalgamation of what we've seen before (many, many times).
8. “Yuko's Treasure"
"Yuko's Treasure," from Kinema Citrus Co. and directed by Masaki Tachibana, is a charming story about an orphan and a street rat kid in search of lost treasure. They discover that the young Yuko's parents left a larger legacy than Yuko ever realized.
It's a simple story that squares nicely with the franchise's common Tatooine visitations and the increasing narratives centered on children. It's somewhat insubstantial on the drama front, but quite cute.
7. “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope”
Directed by Hiroyasu Kobayashi, “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope” sees Kara (Kimiko Glenn) come across a long-forgotten ship whose main caretaker is a nervous droid. "The Ninth Jedi" has little that we haven't seen before in the Star Wars universe, but it does boast a gorgeous and well-executed anime art style that renders Jedi powers well.
The story feels common for the Star Wars franchise, but the visuals and a moving finale elevate it beyond the usual fare. A spinoff limited series called Star Wars: Visions Presents—The Ninth Jedi is coming to Disney+ in 2026, so hopefully, it'll be elevated there.
6. "BLACK"
At a mere 13 minutes, season-ender "BLACK" is a breezy dream. With a minimalistic, sometimes impressionistic art style and a jazzy soundtrack, it's an interesting and experimental foray into Star Wars territory. Directed by Shinya Ohira, it's an ever-evolving psychic battle in the mind of an Imperial trooper.
"BLACK" is innovative, gritty, and at times dark, and though the minimalistic character development largely works, it's also intentionally hard to follow at times. The jazz soundtrack amplifies this attribute, making for an episode that's more fever dream than story, but it's a worthy experiment.
5. “The Smuggler”
"The Smuggler" centers on a planet that long prospered under its royal family, at least until the Empire's control. They imprisoned the royal family and installed a puppet regime, with the Prince escaping and the Empire in hot pursuit. A smuggler (voiced by Wednesday's Emma Myers) takes on a risky job transporting a fugitive, and you'll never guess who it is.
"The Smuggler" is a fun, roguish adventure with a well-executed animation style and some entertaining action sequences. It's one of the season's shortest, but with cool characters, fun fights, and worldbuilding, it's a successful one where it counts.
4. “The Bounty Hunters”
"The Bounty Hunters," from Wit Studio and directed by Junichi Yamamoto, highlights a shady industrialist who commissions a bounty hunter to handle an 'insurgent.' That insurgent warns the bounty hunter that the industrialist is a nefarious and oppressive slaver, forcing the bounty hunter and her droid with two personalities into a tough choice.
There is a lot in "The Bounty Hunters" that any Star Wars fan has seen before, perhaps multiple times, but protagonist Sevn is memorable thanks to a great performance by Anna Sawai. The medical droid, converted into a battle-ready companion (with two personalities and a physical transformation in tow), steals the show as a novel element given voice well by Ronny Chieng.
3. "The Bird of Paradise"
In "The Bird of Paradise," from Polygon Pictures and directed by Tadahiro "Tady" Yoshihira (Sonoya Mizuno), a padawan with an anger problem is blinded in battle and then separated from her Jedi Master (James Sie). She has to escape the temptations of the Dark Side using only the Force.
The episode is both philosophical and gorgeously designed. It's an introspective, meditative exploration of Jedi training and philosophy with stellar combat to boot.
2. “The Lost Ones”
In "The Lost Ones," a sequel to the Season 1 episode "The Village Bride" and directed by Hitoshi Haga, a deadly natural disaster caused by irresponsible mining is the first in a chain of events that reunites the long-hiding F (Karen Fukuhara in the English voice cast) with her presumed-dead Master. The catch: he now goes by the name of Zero (Mark Strong) and is dead set on the destruction of the Jedi. It's an emotional reunion, and both Strong and Fukuhara deliver solid vocal performances. "The Lost Ones" has everything that makes Star Wars great: high stakes, betrayal, great combat, and smart set-ups.
1. “The Duel: Payback”
Volume 3's first episode, a sequel to Volume 1's "The Duel" and directed by Takanobu Mizuno, boasts a simple enough premise, but it ranks among this iteration's finest.
The story breaks convention in relevant ways, following a genocidal Jedi named The Grand Master (Will Sharpe) who sought to eliminate Sith in the Galaxy. A Ronin (Brian Tee) takes the Grand Master to task, in a tale that's clearly inspired by the samurai films of yore. Animated in gorgeous black-and-white with occasional flourishes of color, it's an engaging tale with a standout art style and some of this Volume's coolest set pieces (not to mention its history-making weapon). It reminds us that, at its best, a Star Wars tale can have real artistic merit.
Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 premiered on October 29, 2025, on Disney+.
