As Disney has now announced, “Young Jedi Adventures” will be available to stream on Disney+ from 4 May 2023. The animated series not only brings back Yoda, but also ushers in a new era in the “Star Wars” saga.
Because before the upcoming live-action series “The Acolyte” tells us more from that time, in “Young Jedi Adventures” we see moving images from the High Republic era for the very first time. It is that phase far before the events in “Star Wars: Episode I”, when the Jedi were at the height of the Force and considered the dark side defeated.
However, the new series is not aimed at the “Star Wars” fans of the first hour, but at their children, or in many cases even children’s children. Because the target group of “Young Jedi Adventures” is stated to be preschoolers, i.e. children between the ages of three and five. So the short stories are also supposed to have some kind of learning message for them. It is the first “Star Wars” series explicitly tailored to such a young audience. With “Star Wars Resistance”, an animated children’s series already appeared from 2018 to 2020, but it was aimed more at primary school children aged 6 and up.
It centres on a group of Jedi younglings who learn the ways of the Force and begin to explore the vastness of the galaxy. In the process, however, they also help creatures and beings already in need and learn a few things along the way. And anyone familiar with the “Star Wars” canon knows that it was always a special concern of Yoda’s to train the younglings, the youngest Jedi aspirants, himself as often as possible. So Yoda will also play a role in the new series:
Yoda together
In a first image, he can be seen together with the three Jedi younglings Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay and Nubs who are central to the story. Two other main characters of the series are also represented in this image: Nash Durango and the droid RJ-83 are not Jedi aspirants themselves but best friends of the trio of younglings and stand by them in their adventures.
“YOUNG JEDI ADVENTURES” ON DISNEY+ WITH VOICE LEGEND DEE BRADLEY BAKER
“Star Wars” fans who watch the series in its original version can also look forward to another role for Dee Bradley Baker. The legendary voice actor, who voices Boba Fett in animated projects, all the clone warriors and all the members of the “Bad Batch” in the current series, will here dub the furry youngster Nubs, who resembles a (koala) bear.
But we shouldn’t speculate that this is somehow connected to cloning. After all, “Young Jedi Adventures” takes place hundreds of years earlier, moreover Baker can vary his voice on such an incredible breadth that characters spoken by him often sound extremely different. Often you can’t believe that it’s really the same voice actor.
Meanwhile, Piotr Michael will be heard as Yoda for the first time. This is the debut of the well-known comedian and voice actor in the world of “Star Wars” and many will be curious to see how he compares to the previous Yoda voice actors.
Lys, Kai and Nubs at Jedi training.
By the way, the new “Star Wars” series is accompanied by numerous books. There, the “High Republic” has been fleshed out with a whole series of novels for quite some time. However, one should not expect too much canon expansion from the new companion books. Because of the series’ target group, the six works announced so far are picture books, read-aloud books with short stories and books for children who are just learning to read.
The High Republic is likely to really come to the attention of many fans soon with the series “The Acolyte”. There is no start date for this yet, but rumours have been circulating that it could be in early 2024. The High Republic is likely to play an even greater role in the future. Even more series and probably also upcoming films are to be set in this so far little explored era. But for now, things will get underway with “Young Jedi Adventures” on Disney+ from 4 May 2023.
