The second season of Star Wars: Visions was one of the many treats delivered to Star Wars fans in 2023, and over at StarWars.com PunkRobot Studio co-founder Gabriel Osorio discusses In The Stars, his studios episode from that second season.
In the story, the sisters’ people believe that their ancestors become stars after they pass away. For Tichina, everyone still being there with them is a source of strength and all the more reason to fight back. “We’re not alone!” she says. But Koten is less optimistic. She notes they can no longer see the stars underneath all the pollution from the factory. The imagery of characters being connected with their culture through the stars was one of the initial seeds that carried on from early development. “Even when we didn’t know what the story was about, I really wanted to see these characters looking at their lost mother or father in the stars,” Osorio says. “That idea was what made us connect the dots of the story.”
Throughout the film, we see Tichina’s bullheaded nature contrasted with Koten’s world-weary and outwardly cold demeanor. Tichina wants to fight, constantly trying (and failing) to use the Force like their mother did to fight the Empire. Koten, on the other hand, fears losing Tichina, too, and wants them to do what they can to survive. “In some ways, Koten is the main character because she is the one that has this arc in the film,” Osorio says. “But in many ways, making this short film was about thinking about how you feel as a child. Tichina knows what she wants and tries really hard to do it. [The film] has a lot to do with going back to the naivety we have as a kid.”
