New Star Wars animated series to premiere on Disney Channel

SAN FRANCISCO -- Justin Ridge and Athena Portillo have both loved Star Wars since they were kids. So the chance to expand the intergalactic saga into animation was a dream come true.

"I love the color, I love how bright it is, I love how lighter in tone it is. I love how we were able to create new stories that are out there, a whole cast of new characters," says Portillo, who is an executive producer.

The series, called "Star Wars Resistance," premiers this Sunday on the Disney Channel. Portillo and Ridge says it's aimed at a younger audience. But they believe it stays true to the original vision of an epic struggle of good versus evil.

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"As Star Wars fans, we wanted to make something that we would enjoy watching. So the show is a lot more vibrant, it's very colorful. There are a lot of really funny characters and cool ships and things. But we also want to make sure that it felt like Star Wars," says Ridge, who is both and executive producer and supervising director.

"Star Wars Resistance" follows the adventures of Kaz. He's a young pilot recruited by the resistance to spy on the growing threat from the First Order.

"So he loves to fly, and that's really his main goal, but he also has to pose as a mechanic on the station, which is not something that he does," says Ridge.

They say serious Star Wars fans will even recognize plot twists pulled right from the big screen versions. The series is set after "Return of the Jedi," and before "The Force Awakens."

"And if you watch 'The Force Awakens,' you realize oh, there's a First Order now and there's a resistance... how did they come to be. And what's great about our show is you actually get to learn about that," says Portillo.

And with fast action and the magic of Lucasfilm animation, the series could carry a new generation into the Star Wars universe..

Disney is the parent company of Lucasfilm and this station. The one-hour series premiere and two additional new episodes will be available in the DisneyNOW app and Disney Channel VOD.

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