Prime Video announces upcoming ‘Steven Universe’ spinoff

A spacefaring spinoff of the hit Cartoon Network series Steven Universe will debut on Prime Video, creator Rebecca Sugar announced at the Annecy Animation Film Festival this month.

Steven Universe: Lars of the Stars will follow Lars Barriga, a teenage human who was abducted to the Gem Homeworld, killed and resurrected in the original series. As a result of his resurrection, Lars turns pink and earns his own set of magical powers, which he uses in his role as captain of a pirate spaceship.

The spinoff, which Sugar described as a sequel, will reportedly follow Lars and his ragtag crew of space pirates, the Off Colors, in their mission to subvert the corrupt and hierarchical Gem Empire. Instead of running on Cartoon Network like its predecessors, it will stream on Amazon Prime Video. Sugar will act as executive producer alongside husband Ian Jones-Quartey, who assisted in the original Peabody-winning series’ creation at its start. 

Steven Universe debuted in 2013 and ran for five seasons, or 160 episodes, until 2019. It was succeeded by both a movie (Steven Universe: The Movie) in 2019 and a limited series (Steven Universe Future) that aired in 2019 and 2020. 

Sugar, a nonbinary, bisexual woman herself, wrote diverse and queer characters and themes into the show at a time when most children’s television wouldn’t, confirming that the “Gems” are nonbinary, female-presenting beings. Season 5 includes a wedding between Ruby and Sapphire, from whom stems Garnet, a fusion of themselves and canonical embodiment of their love. Garnet later describes herself and other Gems as neither boys nor girls, but “experiences.” The show’s representation of queerness earned adoration and praise from the LGBTQ+ community.

A premiere date has not yet been set, but with the original creators on the job, the sequel series is sure to capture the hearts and attention of the show’s dedicated fanbase.