Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures is a Star Wars animated show designed for young children, elementary school students, and their families. The show takes place during the High Republic Era. It initially premiered on YouTube with short videos on March 27, 2023, and then on Disney Junior, Disney+, Disney Channel, and Disney XD starting on May 4, 2023. The first season continued with three more sets of episodes released on August 2, November 8, 2023, and February 14, 2024.
The show received a renewal in 2024 for a second season, with short videos released on August 2. The first portion of the season was released on August 14, with the second portion scheduled for March 19, 2025.
The announcement of the series occurred on May 27, 2022, at Celebration Anaheim. It was revealed to be set in the High Republic era, centering on a group of young Jedi in training to become Jedi Knights. Young Jedi Adventures marked the first animated Star Wars series specifically targeting preschoolers, early grade schoolers, and their families.
The main voice cast, including Jamaal Avery Jr., Juliet Donenfeld, Dee Bradley Baker, Emma Berman, Jonathan Lipow, and Piotr Michael, was confirmed on February 9, 2023. StarWars.com also announced that the series would debut on May 4, 2023.
Lucasfilm, in partnership with Wild Canary and ICON Creative Studio, produced Young Jedi Adventures for Disney+, Disney Junior, and Disney Channel. James Waugh, Jacqui Lopez, and Josh Rimes served as executive producers for the series. Michael Olson was the show runner and also an executive producer. Elliot M. Bour was the co-producer and supervising director. Jeannine Hodson and Lamont Magee were also producers. The animated series was originally known as "Big Wheel" during production.
Lucasfilm continued their partnership with Wild Canary for the production of the show's second season. Waugh, Lopez, and Rimes remained as executive producers, and Olson continued his roles as show runner and executive producer. Bour also continued as supervising director and co-executive producer. Lamont Magee joined as a consulting producer, while Icon Creative provided production services for the series.
The actors recorded their lines remotely for each episode. Screenwriters and directors then pieced together the individual voice recordings. Dee Bradley Baker mentioned in an interview with StarWars.com that his character, Nubs, who does not speak Galactic Basic Standard (English), is similar to a young child or a dog. Baker recorded multiple versions of his character's lines. Nubs' friends, Kai Brightstar and Lys Solay, often clarified what Nubs was saying, which Baker likened to the relationship between Han Solo and Chewbacca. The showrunners decided against using subtitles for Nubs due to the show's target audience of preschoolers.
A promotional image featuring characters like Yoda, Kai Brightstar, and Nash Durango was revealed at the D23 Expo 2022 on September 10, 2022.
The first official trailer for the series was launched at Celebration Europe on April 10, 2023.
Kristin Baver, the host of This Week! in Star Wars, interviewed Jamaal Avery Jr. and Juliet Donenfeld, the voice actors for Kai Brightstar and Lys Solay, respectively, on May 18, 2023.
On July 13, Baver interviewed Emma Berman and Trey Murphy, the voices of Nash Durango and Taborr Val Dorn, respectively. The video also announced the release of six more new episodes starting on August 2, 2023.
Three promotional short videos were released on YouTube on March 27, 2023. Three more short videos were released in the weeks leading up to April 26, 2023. All six of these short videos were then released on Disney+ on April 26.
On April 8th, 2023, the first two episodes of the series were shown at the Young Jedi Adventures panel during Celebration Europe.
The initial seven episodes were made available on Disney+ on May 4, 2023. These same seven episodes were also broadcast weekly on Disney Junior between May 4 and June 9.
Lucasfilm, Disney+, and Disney Junior announced on July 13, 2023, that six additional episodes would be released simultaneously on both Disney+ and Disney Junior on August 2. More episodes were released in 2023, bringing the first season to a total of 25 episodes.
StarWars.com announced on August 18, 2023, that a third set of episodes, including a Life Day special set on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk, would be released on Disney+ and Disney Junior on November 8. Additionally, more episodes from Season One were released in 2024.
On January 11, 2024, StarWars.com announced that a fourth set of episodes would be released on Disney+ and Disney Junior on February 14. These new episodes featured a wilderness training exercise on Tenoo, visits to both Black Spire Outpost on Batuu and Starlight Beacon, and a final showdown with the villainous Taborr Val Dorn. Marcus Scribner, Justine Lee, and Liam O'Brien were also revealed as new cast members, voicing Bell Zettifar, Lina Soh, and Estala Maru, respectively. Jecobi Swain was also confirmed as voicing Kai Brightstar along with Jamaal Avery Jr.
On June 14, 2024, StarWars.com announced that the first half of the second season would be released on Disney+ and Disney Junior on August 14, with short videos available on August 2. The second half is expected to be released in 2025. A tie-in digital series called Star Wars: Fun with Nubs was also released on June 14. Jedi Padawan Wes Vinik (Gunnar Sizemore) and astromech droid R0-M1 were introduced as new characters.
On January 31, 2025, StarWars.com announced the release date for the second half of the second season as March 19 on Disney+ and Disney Junior. These upcoming episodes would include storylines such as the Jedi younglings teaming up with Prince Cyrus Vuundir to defend his homeworld from pirates, and the younglings and Nash Durango working together to save Master Yoda. An adult Pooba named Zeephoz was also featured. In addition, more episodes of Fun with Nubs were released in February and March 2025.
Young Jedi Adventures received two Emmy Awards on December 16, 2023, for "Outstanding Editing for a Preschool Animated Program" and "Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Preschool Animated Program." The show was also nominated for three other Emmy awards, including "Outstanding Pre-School Animated Series," "Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for an Animated Program," and "Outstanding Main Title."