Does Lop from Star Wars: Visions Have Major Potential?

If you’ve already seen all nine episodes of Star Wars: Visions on Disney+, then you’ll be familiar with the episode “Lop and Ocho”, which tells the story of two sisters during the reign of the Galactic Empire. The character Lop is a ‘Lepi’, which are sentient rabbit humanoids that have seldom been used in Star Wars material with the exception of the graphic novels.

Lop ‘jumps’ right off the screen, and though each episode in the anime anthology series is completely isolated, we have a feeling we won’t be seeing the last of her! Let’s break down everything we know about this awesome new character and how she might return in future Star Wars canon.

This article contains spoilers for “Lop and Ocho”. If you haven’t watched it, be sure to check it out on Disney+ and hop right back in!

What’s Lop’s backstory?

“Lop and Ocho” is set on Tao, a planet that is rich with natural resources but that has struggled to move forward with its technological advancements. It has long since sold its soul to the Empire in exchange for prosperity, but as we know, all the Empire is interested in is harvesting all the planet’s resources to enhance its own forces. We meet orphan Lop on the streets of Tao; she is bound by a neck-collar, having been forced into slavery by the Empire at a young age.

Eventually she is taken in by a human family – a father and his young daughter Ocho, who welcome her as their own. We then jump forward seven years, to a time when political views have started to divide the family. Lop and her father see the Empire for what it really is, while Ocho strongly opposes their views and believes that the future of Tao lies in the hands of the powerful galactic dictatorship (in other words, she finds their lack of faith disturbing!).

Despite her sister’s pleas, Ocho joins the Empire, betraying her family. Lop, however, highly skeptical of the Empire’s intentions, returns to her father who bestows her with an ancient lightsaber that has lived in the family for generations (it’s easily the coolest lightsaber we’ve seen since Kylo Ren’s). Ultimately, despite her impressive skills with the Jedi weapon, Lop fails to win back Ocho, but promises never to give up on her.

How can Lop return?

It’s fair to say that the episode ends on what can only be described as a cliffhanger – perhaps the only one in the series. But this doesn’t mean the story doesn’t feel whole in its own right. While each episode doesn’t exactly offer wholesome conclusions to the events they’re based on (where would be the fun in that?), they’re still complete stories just like any other, each with a beginning, middle and end.

However, when it comes to “Lop and Ocho”, we have a sneaking suspicion that this was deliberate (we were so suspicious that it got our noses twitching!). Lop’s promise at the end leaves us feeling that we aren’t quite done with her just yet, and it goes without saying that we want to see her fight continue. And her story is classic Star Wars too, with one character trying to save another from the dark side (Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, Rey and Kylo Ren).

We also happen to think that Lop herself is no accident, and it’s no stretch to suggest that she was designed with a future in mind. In fact, in the ‘first look’ trailer for the show, one of the creators even said, “I want to make a symbolic character and was looking for a non-human being”. And while it is implied that Star Wars: Visions isn’t canon, “Lop and Ocho” doesn’t actually interfere with the established Star Wars timeline.

Related: Why Isn’t Star War’s Leia an Official Disney Princess

What makes Lop so memorable?

So why do we think Lop stands out over any other Star Wars: Visions character? There are many things that make a character memorable, and in the case of Lop we think it’s largely to do with the fact she’s a Lepi – a species that is otherwise underused in the Star Wars universe. But this isn’t the only reason, as Lop has many qualities that Star Wars fans usually admire: determination, tragic backstory, moral fiber, ability with a lightsaber, and overall style.

Lop is dressed in samurai-like attire, so when she finally picks up her first lightsaber – whose green blade is adorned with engravings – she looks like a natural. The single-lens visor that materializes over her left eye is neat too, courtesy of a small device above her left ear (if you look carefully you’ll see that the buttons are designed to look like a carrot!). She also has a hovering droid companion called TD-4 who seems to always be within proximity, like a magnet!

Another neat feature is Lop’s spinning umbrella which she carries on her back like a weapon. When she’s not hopping between rooftops on Tao, she’s using her umbrella to glide down into the city streets – a bit like Mary Poppins! But if Lop is to be compared to any other Disney character, it would of course be the likes of fellow anthropomorphic bunnies like Roger Rabbit and Judy Hopps!

What shows or movies could Lop appear in?

So will Lop return? Well, it’s possible, especially when you consider how many Star Wars TV shows and movies are on the horizon. There’s The Mandalorian Season 3, Ahsoka, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett and even animated show The Bad Batch Season 2. Rogue Squadron hits theaters in December 2022, while two untitled movie projects are also underway, one from director Taika Waititi and the other from Marvel President Kevin Feige.

“Lop and Ocho” takes place during the reign of the Galactic Empire, a handful of years after the Clone Wars came to an end, so bringing Lop into the fold would be relatively easy. If she appears in The Bad Batch, she would be around the same age as she is in Star Wars: Visions. However, if she were to show up in one of the live-action shows, she would need to be a couple of decades older, as all but Andor take place five years after Return of the Jedi.

The fact that Star Wars: Visions isn’t canon makes no difference, though. And even if it did matter, there are many ways to introduce the character into future shows and movies – not only does time travel exist in the faraway galaxy, but Star Wars also shares its universe with two other iconic franchises! But seeing as Lop doesn’t die in the short film “Lop and Ocho”, we don’t think Disney and Lucasfilm would need to go to such extreme lengths to bring her back.

It’s impossible to determine if a newly established character is destined to become iconic. But sometimes the signs are obvious, and we happen to think Lop has a bright future in the Star Wars universe – if not in any upcoming show or movie, then at the very least on toy shelves.