Star Wars' newest show, Star Wars: Visions, succeeds in ways that Marvel’s What If…? fails. Visions is new territory for the Star Wars franchise, since its acquisition by Disney. Star Wars originally had one main continuity, the Expanded Universe, along with various minor timelines, such as those found in the Star Wars Infinities and Star Wars Tales comics. Not long after Disney acquired Lucasfilm, the Expanded Universe was rebranded as “Legends” and designated an alternate timeline, with the original six films carrying over into the new canon. The Star Wars franchise has stuck to one timeline since then, but Visions is a rare exception, telling all-new stories as an anthology series, similar to Marvel’s ongoing What If…? animated series.

Visions is an anthology series and the first official Star Wars anime. To maximize creative freedom for each episode, the show exists outside of the current Star Wars continuity and Legends. While some episodes, like “The Elder” and “The Village Bride,” can effortlessly fit into canon or Legends, “The Twins” and “The Duel” completely reimagine Star Wars lore. What If…? is Marvel’s animated anthology, only it tells hypothetical stories that imagine new outcomes for the main MCU timeline if one detail were changed.

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Visions and What If…? are both well-written and entertaining shows, and their different premises make direct comparisons difficult in some regards. Visions honors or disregards continuity as it pleases to tell standalone stories based on iconic Star Wars lore, while What If…? is focused on showing how the Marvel Cinematic Universe would differ if one event changed and caused a chain reaction. Where Visions succeeds, however, is its respect for the spirit of the franchise its part of. What If…? has been fairly inconsistent in that regard, leading to jarring differences in episode quality.

Star Wars Visions episodes ranked best to worst

While most episodes of What If…? have been fascinating alternate MCU timelines, some installments have been less than respectful towards beloved Marvel characters. The “Marvel zombies” episode, while action-packed, callously disregarded or made light of certain character deaths that should have warranted mourning. The “Party Thor” episode wrote most of its MCU characters as foolish parodies of themselves, including those who had nothing to do with Thor’s shenanigans. The Star Wars franchise, in recent years, is no stranger to stories that poorly represent its characters for the sake of subversion and comedy, but each Visions episode was a labor of love.

Even in its most drastically reimagined episodes, Visions always respects the Star Wars franchise, using the forty-four years of content as inspiration for heartwarming, epic, and tragic stories about Jedi and Sith. “T0-B1” and “Tatooine Rhapsody,” arguably the most comedic and lighthearted episodes of Visions, don’t eschew drama or characterization in the process of telling their stories, and while “The Twins” and “The Duel” take numerous liberties with the Star Wars universe, they don’t feel too far off from the rest of the franchise.

The Star Wars franchise’s Visions and the MCU’s What If…? each takes different approaches to tell alternate universe stories in their respective properties. Both shows make creative use of their respective franchise’s iconic lore as well. The key area that Star Wars: Visions succeeds in where Marvel’s What If…? doesn’t is consistently treating its source materials with the appropriate amount of reverence.

Next: Star Wars Visions: Every Episode Ranked From Worst To Best