It's strange to say that Disney needs a win, but after the extremely divisive Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the turmoil surrounding Solo, they kind of do. Disney is in no danger of losing much money, what with Star Wars and Marvel cranking out gold bars by the dump-truck load, but public opinion has definitely shifted since TLJ released, and this new animated series (which replaces the recently ended Star Wars: Rebels), might just do the trick.
Called Star Wars: Resistance, this new animated show will premiere on the Disney Channel this fall, and then air regularly on Disney XD. According to Disney's announcement, the "anime-inspired show will be set before the events of 2015’s Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, focusing on a young Resistance pilot/spy named Kazuda Xiono, who is tasked to keep tabs on the progress of the villainous First Order".
Created by Lucasfilm Animation’s Dave Filoni, the animated series seems to be in good hands; not only did Filoni work on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, but so did every executive producer on the series except for one, and the art director put in work on both series as well. Filoni got the inspiration for the plot from stories he was told about his own grandfather, a pilot in WW II. He had the following to say about the plot in a recent interview:
“That... was a big influence on me. There’s a long history of high-speed racing in Star Wars, and I think we’ve captured that sense of excitement in an anime-inspired style, which is something the entire team has been wanting to do for a long time.”
Disney isn't skimping on the voice acting on the series, either, bringing some recognizable names to the cast, like SNL's Bobby Moynihan, Donald Faison from Scrubs, Jim Rash from Community and more. There will also be cameo appearances from current fan favorites, like Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), the woman who refuses to die, in addition to everyone's favorite beeping soccer ball, BB-8, who will be a reoccurring character on the show.
it's a very good game