Most Star Wars fans jumped for joy when Lucasfilm revealed plans for their Forces of Destiny initiative, which would feature toys, books, and animated shorts showcasing the bad ass ladies of that galaxy far, far away. Now Lucasfilm and Disney have premiered the first animated short from the series, which puts the spotlight on Rey and BB-8, in what amounts to a fun little “missing scene” from The Force Awakens.
Actress Daisy Ridley returns to voice Rey in this sequence, which is titled “Sands of Jakku.” The episode is so much fun, you’ll actually wish it had been part of the movie. The short takes place not long after Rey encounters BB-8 for the first time, and shows how the pair bonded during a dangerous situation. You can watch the entire short down below:
For years, Star Wars was criticized for having essentially one female character of importance, that of Princess Leia. But in the past several years, Lucasfilm has worked toward remedying that problem, adding a ton of new female characters to the mythology, and having the last two Star Wars films headlined by women.
Now, Leia Organa is but one in a much larger assortment of iconic female characters, including Rey and Maz Kanata from The Force Awakens, The Clone Wars’ Ahsoka Tano, Rogue One’s Jyn Erso, Rebels’ Sabine Wren and Hera Syndulla, and the prequel trilogy’s Padmè Amidala, all of whom will appear in Forces of Destiny. (Hopefully down the line we get some Captain Phasma action as well).
[brightcove video_id=”5479356519001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=”rJs2ZD8x”]
You’ll be able to see new episodes of Star Wars Forces of Destiny on Disney YouTube soon, and you can also catch the series on Disney Channel beginning July 9.
What did you think of the Rey-centric first episode of Star Wars: Forces of Destiny? Do you want a series of full length episodes for the second season? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.
Images: Lucasfilm
