Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures is an American animated television series created for the streaming service Disney+ and the television network Disney Junior. It is part of the Star Wars franchise and follows a group of younglings as they learn to become Jedi Knights during the High Republic era, centuries before the main Star Wars films. The series is produced by Lucasfilm Animation and Wild Canary Animation, with Michael Olson as showrunner and Elliot Bour as supervising director. It is the first full-length animated Star Wars series targeted at young audiences. The series stars Jamaal Avery Jr., Emma Berman, Juliet Donenfeld, Dee Bradley Baker, Jonathan Lipow, and Piotr Michael. It was announced in May 2022, with Olson and Bour already attached to the project. Casting was revealed in February 2023. Six shorts were released on YouTube ahead of the series premiere, before also becoming available on Disney+. Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures premiered on May 4, 2023 and was positively received, with critics praising the show for being an engaging first Star Wars experience for young viewers. Premise 
Set during the High Republic era, centuries before the events of the main Star Wars films, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures follows a group of younglings as they learn the ways of the Force, including compassion, self-discipline, teamwork and patience, to become Jedi Knights. Cast and characters 
 Jamaal Avery Jr. as Kai Brightstar: a Jedi youngling who hopes to follow in the footsteps of Jedi Master Yoda and become a Jedi Knight
 Emma Berman as Nash Durango: a pilot who is friends with Kai and the other younglings, and teams up with them to go on adventures
 Juliet Donenfeld as Lys Solay, a Pantoran Jedi youngling who is Kai's best friend
 Dee Bradley Baker as Nubs, a Pooba Jedi youngling who is Kai's other best friend
 Jonathan Lipow as RJ-83, a droid friend of the younglings
 Piotr Michael as Yoda, a Jedi master
 Nasim Pedrad as Zia Zanna, a human female Jedi master who serves as a teacher to the Jedi younglings studying on planet Tenoo. Trey Diaz Murphy as Taborr Val Dorn, a pirate

Episodes

Shorts (2023)

Season 1 (2023)

Production

Development 
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, the first full-length animated Star Wars series targeted at young audiences and their families, was announced at Star Wars Celebration in May 2022. It is set during the High Republic era, centuries before the events of the main Star Wars films, which was already being explored through a series of books and comics at the time. The series was announced by executive producer James Waugh, executive producer and showrunner Michael Olson, supervising director Elliot Bour, and consulting producer Lamont Magee. Lucasfilm's Jacqui Lopez and Josh Rimes are also executive producers. Waugh said the creative team were aware that the series could be the first introduction to Star Wars for some children. Though they wanted the "characters, tone, and the life lessons" in each episode to be aimed at the younger audience, they also wanted to stay true to the expectations of people familiar with Star Wars. Casting 
At the D23 Expo in September 2022, Jamaal Avery Jr. and Emma Berman were announced as cast in the series' lead roles of Kai Brightstar and Nash Durango, respectively. In February 2023, it was announced that Juliet Donenfeld was cast as Lys Solay, Dee Bradley Baker as Nubs, Jonathan Lipow as RJ-83, and Piotr Michael as Yoda. Music 
Matthew Margeson was hired to compose the score for the series by late July 2022. Release 
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures premiered on the streaming service Disney+ and the television network Disney Junior on May 4, 2023, Star Wars Day. The first two episodes premiered at Star Wars Celebration Europe on April 8, 2023. Three animated shorts introducing the characters of the series premiered on the Disney Junior YouTube channel on March 27, 2023, with an additional three releasing by April 24, before all six were released on Disney+ on April 26. Six more episodes were released on Disney+ and Disney Junior on August 2, 2023. Further episodes will be released on November 8, 2023, with releases also confirmed for 2024. The first season is set to consist of 25 episodes. Reception

Critical response 
Arezou Amin of Collider gave the series an "A" rating, stating that it "captured the Star Wars spirit for younglings of all ages". She described the main cast members as being relatable to children and praised the series for relying on a character-focused approach, which explored new characters as opposed to depending on long-established characters to advance the story. Brett White at Decider gave the series a positive review, describing it as a "fun show and a fine introduction to Star Wars" for the preschooler demographic. While noting its low stakes plots, White praised the series for emphasizing life lessons and described the action sequences as "feeling like Star Wars" rather than a "preschool approximation" of the franchise. Accolades 
The series was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming at the 39th TCA Awards. References

External links 
 
 

 

2020s American animated television series
2020s American children's television series
2020s American science fiction television series
2020s preschool education television series
2023 American television series debuts
American animated television spin-offs
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated science fiction television series
American computer-animated television series
American preschool education television series
Animated preschool education television series
Animated television series about children
Animated television series about extraterrestrial life
Animated television shows based on films
Disney Junior original programming
Disney+ original programming
Prequel television series
Child versions of cartoon characters
Young Jedi Adventures
Television series by Lucasfilm