''Star Wars Forces of Destiny'' is a 2D animated

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

Lucasfilm Animation Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. LLC is the animation division of Lucasfilm, established in 2003. Its first major productions were the feature film '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' and its associated television series, both of which debuted in 2008. In Se ...

released through

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the '' Star Wars'' and ...

's YouTube channel. Set across multiple eras of the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' franchise, it is a collection of two- to three-minute shorts centering on female characters featured in previous ''Star Wars'' installments. The series premiered on July 3, 2017, beginning the daily release of a set of eight episodes; these episodes subsequently began broadcasting on

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

on July 9. An additional eight episodes were released in Fall 2017, and the second season of eight episodes was released in 2018. First announced and presented in April 2017 during '' Star Wars'' Celebration Orlando, ''Forces of Destiny'' is part of a franchise expansion initiative by Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media and includes a companion toy line by

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

and a series of youth-aimed books. The series is the first 2D animated series produced by Lucasfilm since the 2003 '' Star Wars: Clone Wars'' series and the first 2D project by Lucasfilm Animation, which formed after the development of ''Clone Wars''.

Premise

An animated micro-series starring female characters such as

Princess Leia Organa Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is princess of the planet Aldera ...

Sabine Wren This incomplete list of characters from the '' Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt ...

, Jyn Erso,

Rose Tico Rose Tico is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first appearing in the simultaneously released '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' and '' Cobalt Squadron'' (both 2017). A mechanic with the Resistance, she befriends Finn (John Bo ...

Ahsoka Tano Ahsoka Tano is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced as the Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker, she is a supporting character in the animated film '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' (2008) and the subsequent animated tel ...

Padmé Amidala Padmé Amidala Naberrie is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, appearing in the prequel trilogy portrayed by Natalie Portman. First indirectly mentioned in '' Return of the Jedi'', she is introduced in ''The Phantom Menace'' a ...

, Hera Syndulla, and

Rey Rey may refer to: *Rey (given name), a given name *Rey (surname), a surname * Rey (''Star Wars''), a character in the ''Star Wars'' films *Rey, Iran, a city in Iran * Ray County, in Tehran Province of Iran * ''Rey'' (film), a 2015 Indian film *The ...

Cast and characters

Ashley Eckstein Ashley Eckstein (; born September 22, 1981) is an American actress and fashion designer. She is the founder of the fashion label Her Universe. She is best known for voicing the role of Ahsoka Tano throughout the '' Star Wars'' franchise, beginn ...

Olivia Hack Olivia may refer to: People * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer * Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 197 ...

Qi'ra Qi'ra is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first appearing in the 2018 film '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' and portrayed by English actress Emilia Clarke. The character was introduced in the 2018 prequel novel ''Most Wanted'' by ...

* Felicity Jones (season 1) and Helen Sadler (season 2) as Jyn Erso *

Vanessa Marshall Vanessa Marshall (born October 19, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is an American voice and television actress who is most active in films, cartoons and video games. She is the daughter of actress Joan Van Ark and reporter John Marshall. ...

as Hera Syndulla *

Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (, ; ; born 1 March 1983) is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. The daughter of Kenyan politi ...

Maz Kanata Maz Kanata is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced in the 2015 film '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'', she is a computer-generated imagery character voiced and performed through motion capture by Lupita Nyong'o. Maz, a ...

Daisy Ridley Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born 10 April 1992) is an English actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Rey in the ''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy: '' The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last Jedi'' (2017), and '' The Rise of Skywalker'' (2019 ...

Tiya Sircar Tiya Sircar (born May 16, 1982) is an American actress best known for her role as "Real Eleanor"/Vicky in ''The Good Place'' (2016–2020). She also provided the voice for Sabine Wren in Disney XD's ''Star Wars Rebels'' (2014–2018), played Roon ...

Catherine Taber Catherine Anne Taber (born December 30, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for voicing Padmé Amidala in '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' and Lori Loud on '' The Loud House''. Biography In 2000, Taber made her feature film debut starrin ...

Gina Torres Gina Torres (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Zoe Washburne in the science fiction series ''Firefly'' (2002–2003) and its feature film sequel '' Serenity'' (2005), and as Jessica Pearson in th ...

as Ketsu Onyo *

Kelly Marie Tran Kelly Marie Tran (born Loan Tran, January 17, 1989) is an American actress. She began acting in 2011, with most of her roles being in short film and television. She came to global prominence for her role as Rose Tico in the ''Star Wars'' sequ ...

Shelby Young Shelby Young is an American actress. She is known for her roles on ''American Horror Story'', ''Days of Our Lives'', ''The Social Network'' and the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Early life Young was born in Florida to a Jewish family. Young alway ...

as Princess Leia Organa Matt Lanter and

Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Since beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in almost 400 roles. Cummings has frequently worked with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., including as t ...

reprised the roles of Jedi Knight

Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator Geor ...

and space pirate

Hondo Ohnaka This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...

from '' The Clone Wars'' and ''

Rebels Rebels may refer to: * Participants in a rebellion * Rebel groups, people who refuse obedience or order * Rebels (American Revolution), patriots who rejected British rule in 1776 Film and television * ''Rebels'' (film) or ''Rebelles'', a 2019 ...

''.

Tom Kane Thomas Kane Roberts (born April 15, 1962) is a retired American voice actor. He is best known for his work in animation and video games, most notably in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Career Kane began his voice-over career in 1977, at fifteen ye ...

returned as Jedi Master

Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until it ...

from The Clone Wars, while

Taylor Gray Taylor Arthur Gray (born September 7, 1993) is an American actor, best known for playing Ezra Bridger on the animated television series ''Star Wars Rebels'', and Bucket in the Nickelodeon series '' Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures''. He also ...

and Ritesh Rajan reprised the roles of Jedi Padawan

Ezra Bridger Ezra Bridger is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, voiced by Taylor Gray. He is featured as the protagonist of the animated series '' Star Wars Rebels'' (2014–2018) and appears in related works. Ezra also appears in '' Sta ...

and Mandalorian warrior Tristan Wren from Rebels. Film actor

John Boyega John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first rose to prominence in his native Britain for his role as Moses in the sci-fi comedy film ''Attack the Block' ...

returned as defected

First Order In mathematics and other formal sciences, first-order or first order most often means either: * "linear" (a polynomial of degree at most one), as in first-order approximation and other calculus uses, where it is contrasted with "polynomials of hi ...

stormtrooper Stormtrooper or storm trooper may refer to: Military *Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany), specialist soldier of the German Army in World War I *''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) or Storm Detachment, a paramilitary organization of the German Nazi Party *8th In ...

Finn, with

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the '' Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards ...

returning as

Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The E ...

and

Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 '' Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and ...

once again providing the voice of protocol droid

C-3PO C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to assis ...

. Other characters to appear include smugglers

Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in '' The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...

and

Chewbacca Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and fi ...

, the ewok

Wicket W. Warrick Wicket Wystri Warrick, commonly known as Wicket W. Warrick, is a fictional character from the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first introduced and portrayed by Warwick Davis in the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi''. Warrick appeared in two made-for-televis ...

, and droids

R2-D2 R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...

BB-8 BB-8 (or Beebee-Ate) is a droid character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He appeared in the three films of the sequel trilogy, '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' (2017), and '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywa ...

and Chopper.

Production

''Forces of Destiny'' was announced on April 12, 2017, and a special preview of the series presented at ''Star Wars'' Celebration Orlando on April 14. The series is the first 2D animated series produced by Lucasfilm since the 2003 '' Clone Wars'' series and the first 2D animation project created by

; previous 2D animated series such as '' Ewoks'', '' Droids'', and early installments of ''Clone Wars'' were created before the formation of the studio. The series is part of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media's franchise expansion initiative. ''Forces of Destiny'' was created as a series of web shorts because it was felt to better appeal to children's watching patterns: "The way that kids are consuming content today, they're still watching linear television, but increasingly they're consuming content digitally, online. We've created a story format here that reflects that. It's a combination of digital and linear." Each episode is written by Jennifer Muro and directed by Brad Rau.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2017)

Season 2 (2018)

A second season of fifteen additional episodes was announced in September 2017. The episodes were released on March 19, 2018 online and aired on Disney Channel on March 25, 2018.

Distribution

''Forces of Destiny'' premiered on July 3, 2017, through Disney's YouTube channel, beginning the daily release of a set of eight episodes. It was initially announced that this release would culminate in the broadcast premiere of the eight episode set on

on July 9 as a thirty-minute special, but on July 9, Disney announced via Twitter that only two episodes were going to be broadcast. A second set of eight episodes was released in October 2017. It was subsequently announced that episodes will air in two half-hour specials on

on October 1 and 29. The series is available on the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

streaming service, which launched on November 12, 2019.

Books

A series of youth books adapted the episodes. ''Daring Adventures: Volume 1'' adapted shorts about Sabine, Rey, and Padmé, and ''Daring Adventures: Volume 2'' adapted shorts about Jyn, Ahsoka, and Leia.

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly re ...

published ''Star Wars: Forces of Destiny'', a weekly all-ages five-issue comic book miniseries that ran from January to May 2018.

Merchandising

Alongside the initial series announcement, Lucasfilm also announced a related toy line from

and an apparel line. The toy line features a new class of figures, adventures figures fill the space between action figures and dolls. These 11-inch articulated figures of the six core female characters and smaller paired figures of other characters launched on August 1, 2017 alongside accessories such as

lightsaber A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout the '' Star Wars'' franchise. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent plasma blade about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the ori ...

s. Other characters, including Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren, are intended to be released.

Reception

SyFy Wire Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

calls ''Forces of Destiny'' "a great concept in search of a far better execution. ... What could have been a female-centric version of

Genndy Tartakovsky Gennady Borisovich Tartakovsky (russian: Геннадий Борисович Тартаковский, born ), commonly known as Tartakovsky (), is a Russian-American animator, director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor, storyboard artist, ...

's ''Clone Wars'' shorts from 2003 is instead a series of disconnected stories tied to a singular visual aesthetic ... As fun as it is to watch these female characters get a bit more screentime, it's still not enough."

Awards

References

External links

* * *
Inside ''Forces of Destiny'' and ''Star Wars'' Animation
on the ''Star Wars'' official YouTube Channel * {{Dave Filoni Works based on Star Wars 2017 web series debuts 2010s American animated television series 2010s American anthology television series 2010s American science fiction television series American animated web series American children's animated action television series American children's animated space adventure television series American children's animated anthology television series American children's animated science fiction television series YouTube original programming Films scored by Ryan Shore Television series by Lucasfilm