Star Wars: Visions Volume 2, the show's second season, which is a follow-up to Star Wars: Visions, premiered on Disney+ on May 4, 2023. It presents nine additional animated shorts. In contrast to the first volume, which exclusively showcased Japanese anime, Volume 2 features the work of various animation studios hailing from Japan, India, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Chile, France, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States.
"Star Wars: Visions" goes beyond the limitations of a single animation style, acting as a platform for diverse Star Wars storytelling. Volume 2 will demonstrate this potential by taking the shorts on a worldwide journey, celebrating the amazing animation being created across different countries and cultures, all within the Star Wars universe.
The announcement of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 occurred at Star Wars Celebration in 2022. The cast for the nine new episodes was revealed at the subsequent Star Wars Celebration the following year. Given that Volume 1 heavily emphasized Japanese culture and animation, the creative team aimed to incorporate a wider range of cultures and animation techniques, thus making Volume 2 a global effort. Each episode was created by a distinct animation studio located in a different nation. The writers and animators have spoken about weaving their cultural heritage into each narrative.
For instance, the sixth episode, "The Spy Dancer", was helmed by Julien Chheng and brought to life by a French animation studio. Chheng has mentioned how the historical use of French Cabarets as settings for spy operations was intentionally integrated into the episode's plot.
Volume 2 explored various animation methods, spanning from 2D and 3D to stop-motion. Episodes three, four, and nine in this volume utilized stop-motion animation, marking a first for the series.
Each episode in Volume 2 was given its own unique soundtrack release. Some episodes, such as "Screecher's Reach", feature as few as two tracks, while others, like "In the Stars", boast as many as ten. All soundtracks became available on May 4th, 2023.
The musical score for Volume 2 gave Star Wars creators the opportunity to collaborate with well-known composers, including Daniel Lopatin, who employed his distinctive 1980s analog sound to enrich episode eight, "The Pit".
In 2023, Volume 2 garnered a total of six nominations across four episodes at the Annie Awards. Two episodes emerged as winners: the Irish episode "Screecher's Reach" for Best Direction and the South African finale episode "Aau's Song" for Best Music.