First Look At Marvel's 'Star Wars: Visions' Comic Adaptation Ahead Of September Release
This past month, Star Wars Celebration announced that season 2 of Star Wars: Visions will be returning in the Spring of 2023. While it is unclear whether the story told in “The Duel” would continue in season 2, the tale of the Force-wielding ronin will hit the comic pages accompanied by the beautiful artwork of Takashi Okazaki, the writer and character designer of “The Duel.”
Fans praised the unique art style that Okazaki brought to “The Duel,” especially the image of the samurai Force user, and straw hat-wearing astromech droid. Star Wars: Visions comic series promise to bring more of his distinctive character designs. The choice to leave everything in black and white except for the scarlet lightsabers had effectively drawn attention to the duel at hand between the ronin and the bandit leader. Thus, Star Wars: Visions #1 may be visually similar to Marvel’s Black, White, and Blood project, which presents characters like Elektra, Wolverine, Deadpool, and Moon Knight in only black, white, and red. The deviation from typical black and white manga and full-color comics will make Okazaki’s work stand out among its peers.
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There is not a lot of information about this upcoming comic series. The solicitation for Star Wars: Visions #1 states that the first issue will present a new story from the universe of “The Duel.” It is unclear how the comic will fit in with Emma Miek Candon’s Ronin: A Visions Novel, which expanded on the story of the stoic ronin. StarWars.com had given a sneak preview of Marvel’s Star Wars: Visions #1 coming soon in September of this year.
The preview images introduce a man with a blindfold, and another astromech droid under a straw raincoat, two new characters that were not in “The Duel.” The snowy landscape further suggests that the ronin’s wandering ways have taken him to a different location than the village depicted in the episode.
Star Wars: Visions first hit Disney+ back in September 2021, introducing the world to an eclectic mix of animated shorts based on the beloved galaxy, far, far away. Japanese anime studios completed the circle by showing how they were inspired by George Lucas, whose franchise was initially inspired by Akira Kurozawa’s Seven Samurai. The first entry in Star Wars: Visions in particular showcased elements from the classic Kurozawa work. “The Duel” reminded viewers of what Lucas had seen in the old Japanese period film completed with grainy black-and-white landscape, and “floaties” as seen in films from that era. The brooding protagonist’s astromech droid (that looked a lot like R2-D2) wore a straw hat from the Edo period. The villainous bandits wore helmets of the First Order stormtroopers while carrying their samurai clan flag. This unique blend of Star Wars and samurai motifs made the particular episode stand out from the other works in the anthology.
While “The Duel” managed to tell the simple story of a mysterious wanderer saving a poor village from a group of bandits in fifteen minutes, viewers were left with many unanswered questions. Who is this red lightsaber-wielding stranger? What makes him choose the path of a ronin, wandering the galaxy and helping those in need? As the episode’s tale is contained within the confines of a remote village, viewers are also interested in this version of the Star Wars universe. It is apparent that Jedi were a rare sight and those who wield red lightsabers are the Sith, who seemed to have less altruistic motives. Candon’s Ronin: A Visions Novel further painted a larger picture of the alternate Star Wars universe introduced by the animated short.
Takashi Okazaki is known for his work on the Afro Samurai manga series, which has been adapted into an anime in 2007. It is fitting that Okazaki would pen the story of “The Duel” as Afro Samurai also involved warriors dueling for the headband that grants immortality. The manga was also set in a futuristic feudal Japan.
Make sure to check out Star Wars: Visions #1 when it hits the shelves in September 2022.
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Source(s): StarWars.com, Screen Rant