Darth Vader has inspired the next major Star Wars villain. General Nawaam, who was created by Keji Kamiyama, will make his debut in the upcoming spinoff series Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi.

The Ninth Jedi’s General Nawaam reflects Darth Vader’s legacy while redefining the Jedi

A report on the official Star Wars website revealed that General Nawaam is loosely inspired by Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. Just like Vader, he will be a masked character. He also pursues his own idea of justice, much like Anakin. Young Mazino voices General Nawaam.

Keji Kamiyama originally wrote and directed The Ninth Jedi episode from Volume 1 of Star Wars: Visions. Speaking about the idea behind the conception of the character, he said, “A main [theme] of The Ninth Jedi is that things aren’t always black and white, dark and light. I asked myself if there are some problems that Jedi cannot solve. There’s a contradiction that Jedi want to make peace, but there are some things they can’t solve with the Jedi Order only. Everyone has to have some kind [of] dark side to solve something, to be good. But do you call it a completely dark side? We wanted to create a new definition of a Jedi. Kara is pure light side, but Nawaam reflects the duality of humans.”

Kamiyama further added that there “was a lot of creative freedom” and that Lucasfilm and the Ninth Jedi team (director Shunsuke Tada and producer Hitoshi Ito) had a “mutual respect.” He also called it a “very, very fun experience.” Tada commented on the creative process as well, saying, “This time, we developed together during script writing and setting. That’s why I felt really, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m on a Star Wars team.’ I really felt that I’m part of the team.”

Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi premieres on Disney+ and Hulu on August 5, 2026.

Originally reported by Arvind Rao on SuperHeroHype.com.