LucasFilm Announces ‘The Ninth Jedi’ Spinoff Series, Sets Fortnite Galactic Battle Season

The Star Wars galaxy continues its expansion.

At the franchise’s celebration in Japan, LucasFilm announced the release date of its animated Star Wars: Visions Volume 3, along with a new spinoff series titled The Ninth Jedi, which stems from an earlier Volume 1 story. Also revealed at the event was the forthcoming collaboration with Fortnite, featuring Darth Jar Jar in a Galactic Battle Season coming up May 2.

SVP of franchise content & strategy James Waugh revealed Visions Volume 3 would debut with nine episodes Oct. 29, after which he invited “The Ninth Jedi” episode writer and director Kenji Kamiyama to the stage to unveil the spinoff, which will feature longer stories than the animated shorts. In that episode, Kara — the daughter of lightsaber-smith Juro — is pursued by dark forces while on a dangerous mission to deliver newly crafted lightsabers.

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Kamiyama previewed that Visions Volume 3 episode “Child of Hope” will continue the Kara and Juro story, ending with her departure to look for her father. Thus, The Ninth Jedi will follow his kidnapping and the Force-based color-changing sabers.

“What in the world was the reason for such lightsabers,” Kamiyama, who will be working as supervising director on the series, said. “I think it will be a story where those secrets will be told.”

Meanwhile, the Fortnite news was announced via a new trailer that teases a Star Wars themed Battle Pass with characters like Emperor Palpatine, new Item Shop offerings like Mace Windu, themed map locations, weekly gameplay content and culminates in a live end-of-season narrative event after the five-part saga runs through early June. The new in-game Force ability, Force Lightning, is another addition.

Each week will feature a differing overarching theme, as follows: