Entertainment

New Animated 'Star Wars' Shorts Feature Female Heroes

Some days, I really wish I got to be a kid again. Usually it's on days when I have to pay my own bills or cook my own food, but today is different. Because Disney has finally given female Star Wars characters their own animated series, and if I were still a kid, I would be all over that action. Because as much as I loved my Princess Leia action figure back in the day... she didn't have a light saber. Or her own show. So... you know, it just wasn't the same.

Disney announced on Thursday, in conjunction with the 40 years of Star Wars Celebration, that it would be launching a series of animated shorts following their incredible heroines on Disney YouTube, called Star Wars Forces of Destiny. The series, which is set to launch in July, will feature two- to three-minute long shorts that dig deep into the personal histories of all our favorite Star Wars heroines — as well as some who might be less recognizable to the masses.

Princess Leia, Rey, and Jyn Erso will all be covered (with Rey and Jyn's characters being voiced by Daisy Ridley and Felicity Jones, the actresses who played them in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Rogue One), but expect to see other great heroines like Sabine Wren and Asoko Tano. Lupita Nyong’o, who voiced Maz Kanata in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will act as the narrator of the series.

Carrie Beck, executive producer of the new animated shorts, told Entertainment Weekly that the characters might be living in different timelines, but this is all official Star Wars canon:

One of the opportunities here was to tell the stories in between the larger moments and imagine some of the ways our characters have crossed.It’s all part of the larger swath of storytelling.

Beck also shared the good news that the heroines, who may meet on occasion, won't be lifted out of the Star Wars universe for the sake of a good story arc:

We didn’t want to put them in a false social construct. They’re meeting each other on Star Wars terms. No part of Star Wars should feel like, "That’s the fake Star Wars, over there." No matter who you are, or how young you are, you want to feel like you are sharing the same thing your dad and mom love, that your grandparents love. You want to feel like you are a part of it.

Now can we talk about the toys?

For Star Wars collectors everywhere, get ready to be inundated with new action figures. And rejoice, because toy maker Hasbro has announced it will be releasing Star Wars Forces of Destiny action figures, specifically. After coming under fire for not making enough of the 10-inch Rey action figures when The Force Awakens premiered, Hasbro has gone full fangirl power, it seems. The toy company unveiled its new action figures at the Star Wars Celebration, and I can't even — the costumes, the light sabers... the light sabers.

Why can't I be a 6-year-old girl again, I ask you, why?