Remember when Anakin Skywalker mass murdered a bunch of kid Jedi in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith then a few movies later pushed the Emperor down a throne room shaft then hugged it out with his estranged son cuz everything was cool? Fifteen years of nightmares later and I wish I could forget!
But here’s some good news: While Disney and Lucasfilm are still in the youngling business, they’re not out to traumatize a new generation of Star Wars fans. In fact, their new take on budding laser-sword-knights-in-the-making actually looks quite adorable, and steers clear of any connection to the horrible fate of the prequel era padawans. Announced on Thursday, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures will premiere on Disney Plus on May (the) 4 (be with you). The show is set during The High Republic era, which is screwed up in its own way, though I’m guessing the show steers clear of galactic political pageantry and anarchical marauder terrorism. According to a news release, Young Jedi Adventures series “follows Jedi younglings as they study the ways of the Force, explore the galaxy, help citizens and creatures in need, and learn valuable skills needed to become Jedi along the way.” Beware of Skywalkers, kids!
Along for the ride are a batch of new characters: Kai (gotta have a cool kid named Kai), Lys (actually the cool one), Nubs (wanna pet him), plus normies Nash (dick) and RJ-83 (the real hero), who reside on planet Tenoo. Oh, and Yoda is there too! He’s old and, unlike in Revenge of the Sith, actually around to look out for this students instead of fighting some sham war.
Young Jedi Adventures is aimed at preschoolers and therefore “the show’s characters, tone, and the life lessons woven throughout each episode were written just for them, and our talented team was committed to honoring the cinematic legacy while staying true to the expectations of parents for the youngest of audiences,” says James Waugh, the executive producer of Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures and a senior VP of franchise content & strategy at Lucasfilm.
Here’s a lesson for kids or adults of any age: If he doesn’t like sand, run!
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures stars Jamaal Avery, Jr. as Kai, Juliet Donenfeld as Lys, Dee Bradley Baker as Nubs, Emma Berman as Nash, Jonathan Lipow as RJ-83, and Piotr Michael as Master Yoda.