There hasn’t been any shortage of Marvel projects over the last few years. Thanks to the popularity of the MCU, Marvel has been willing to take bolder and bolder swings, and that could be said to be even more true of their line of tie-in television series. While some of those swings have been a bit rougher than others, one of Disney’s other major franchises, Star Wars, has managed to have some great success with its animated efforts.
Despite being two completely separate and uniquely intricate universes, a lot of parallels can be drawn between the Marvel and Star Wars brands. What works for one franchise tends to work for the other franchise, and when one franchise struggles, those same struggles tend to plague the other. This is exactly why Marvel should learn from what Star Wars did with Star Wars: Visions in order to bring some new life to the MCU.
What is Star Wars: Visions?
Star Wars: Visions is a bold and surprising anthology series that has managed to reach different production teams across the globe in order to tell unique, self-contained Star Wars stories. There have been two separate volumes, each with nine episodes, containing Star Wars short films in different animation styles throughout the history of the galaxy far, far away. The first volume takes the form of anime short films as they were each created by several different Japanese animation studios. The second volume went worldwide, allowing studios from Spain, India, South Korea, and more to take a shot at telling some fascinating Star Wars adventures.
The various stories jump around in the timeline from the Clone Wars to the Jedi Purge of Order 66, and even much further in the past. Rather than only focusing on the usual Jedi or smugglers, these stories are bold enough to tell stories from the perspectives of ancient warriors, Sith, and even various aliens who’ve been victims of the warpath that is constantly raging between the Sith and Jedi. Fans have loved experiencing these unique adventures as rather than remaining focused on what can sometimes feel like an incredibly closed-off galaxy, new and often original characters are the focus, showing fans that the Star Wars galaxy is much larger than initially thought.
While Star Wars fans have been a bit lukewarm on the anthology series, Rotten Tomatoes critics have adored both volumes. The first volume is rated by critics at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and the second is rated at 100%, though fans rate each volume at 68% and 64% respectively. This makes it clear that, while not necessarily for everyone, those who love experiencing something new in a familiar universe will be able to find something wonderful to enjoy.
Marvel Could Benefit From An Animated Anthology
While Marvel shouldn’t go off letting people create new heroes for their next phases while the universe is already jam-packed with characters, it would be wise to create a similar anthology series to Star Wars: Visions. Allowing different studios to claim different Marvel heroes and villains in order to tell fun side stories can help fans better understand the motivations of characters who are on their way or are already on the big screen. The unique animation styles different studios and parts of the globe can offer also allow for unique takes on familiar characters, which means the stories could serve as partial canon when preferred and as stories from other universes if some creative decisions would step on the current MCU canon.
There are plenty of Marvel characters who fans feel deserve more of a spotlight or who just haven’t had proper moments to shine yet, and an anthology series could fix that. An anthology series is also the exact kind of place to test possible future ideas and characters without any worry of spoiling the future or alienating fans. Anything could be done with the characters as fans would likely understand that different studios had the trust to create their own unique stories that shouldn’t necessarily be considered canon.
An anthology series could see the rise of oddball characters like Squirrel Girl, Swarm, or Doop, a return of fan favorites like Captain America, or it’s possible to see classic stories fans have been longing for that won’t be making it to the big screen.
While it’s possible that the MCU’s take on Daredevil will touch on some legendary stories from the character, there is probably also a fair chunk of people who would be thrilled to see an anime version of Daredevil’s Born Again storyline. While animation would be a great fit for action, a series could surprise fans by telling a much more dramatic story at its core by adapting the infamous Demon In A Bottle storyline from the Iron Man comics. At the same time, an anthology series could aim to tell different stories from specific major story events from the comics like Civil War, Secret Invasion, and Secret Wars.
If the MCU’s What If..? series is any indication, something like this should work out wonderfully. That series, though telling a connected story that may or may not have mainstream MCU implications, is loved by both critics and fans alike. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series boasts 94% from critics and 92% from fans, and it managed to tell plenty of unique stories within other universes with plenty of familiar characters. All an anthology series would have to do is allow other studios to handle the creative direction of their given episodes, making for a visually unique series as a whole, and allowing for some seriously creative stories to be told in the MCU once more.
Star Wars: Visions is available to stream on Disney+.