{"rewrite":{"id":"r_0efaeb563f19861e9afa22bd","clusterId":"c_82ea24172062bbf5c8c9e1b7","slug":"production-i-g-s-the-ninth-jedi-team-on-star-wars-influences","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Production I.G's The Ninth Jedi Team on Star Wars Influences","summary":"Anime News Network spoke with supervising director Kenji Kamiyama, series director Shunsuke Tada, and producer Hitoshi Ito about Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi. The three discussed their first encounters with Star Wars, from Kamiyama's Episode IV viewing at twelve to Ito's theatrical start with The Phantom Menace in eighth grade, and named Clone Wars and the Star Wars Outlaws game as their main preparation.","whyItMatters":"The interview shows a Production I.G team treating the Star Wars catalog as working reference rather than fan service, with Kamiyama and Tada openly favoring the recent Disney+ series and Ito citing Clone Wars and Star Wars Outlaws as his textbooks.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe interview ran three hours and covered the origins of the color-changing lightsabers, the philosophy behind the series, and how this team\u0026#39;s read on the Jedi differs from earlier takes. Tada said he was drawn to newer directors\u0026#39; work, naming The Acolyte, Ahsoka, and Andor, while Kamiyama admitted he has never played a Star Wars game or read the novels and has stuck to the films and the live-action shows. Ito rewatched Clone Wars and played Star Wars Outlaws to rebuild his feel for the universe.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Kamiyama, Tada and Ito name Clone Wars and the Star Wars Outlaws game as their prep, not the films. The Ninth Jedi is built from the animated and interactive corners of Star Wars, not the movies.","twitterPost":"Production I.G's team prepped on Clone Wars and the Star Wars Outlaws game, not the films. The Ninth Jedi draws from Star Wars beyond the movies.","threadsPost":"The Ninth Jedi's team prepped on Clone Wars and the Star Wars Outlaws game, not the films. Production I.G is pulling from Star Wars beyond the movies, which is where the series' own animated and interactive corners sit.","newsletterBlurb":"Anime News Network spoke at length with three Production I.G staff behind Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi: supervising director Kenji Kamiyama, series director Shunsuke Tada, and producer Hitoshi Ito. They covered first Star Wars memories, the reasoning behind the color-changing lightsabers, and the reference material they used. Ito said he rewatched the 3D Clone Wars and played Star Wars Outlaws to refresh his feel for the universe.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2026-09-24/a-deep-dive-into-the-creation-and-philosophy-of-the-ninth-jedi/.241654\",\"title\":\"Interview: A Deep Dive into the Creation and Philosophy of The Ninth Jedi\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4753,"outputTokens":606,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792128132,"createdAt":"2026-10-16T05:19:21.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-16T05:21:06.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-16T05:21:06.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_82ea24172062bbf5c8c9e1b7","canonicalTitle":"Interview: A Deep Dive into the Creation and Philosophy of The Ninth Jedi","representativeArticleId":"a_a3ee3bcaf5824a69ac41f939","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[\"Star Wars: Visions\"],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"The Ninth Jedi\"],\"studios\":[\"Production I.G\"],\"people\":[\"Hitoshi Ito\",\"Kenji Kamiyama\",\"Shunsuke Tada\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"anime\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-16T04:00:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-16T04:00:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-16T05:21:06.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2026-09-24/a-deep-dive-into-the-creation-and-philosophy-of-the-ninth-jedi/.241654","title":"Interview: A Deep Dive into the Creation and Philosophy of The Ninth Jedi"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":["Star Wars: Visions"],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["The Ninth Jedi"],"studios":["Production I.G"],"people":["Hitoshi Ito","Kenji Kamiyama","Shunsuke Tada"],"type":"news","domain":"anime","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}