As the resident Steven Universe fan on Flixist, I’ve been curious about the future of the franchise for the majority of 2019. This year not only gave us the fifth season finale and an original movie, both of which could have pulled double duty as series finales. However, they were explicitly stated to be the show’s ending. Rebecca Sugar always remained quiet about exactly if there would be a sixth season or not, but we finally got our answer today.
After a mini concert at the Steven Universe panel at New York Comic Con, Rebecca Sugar revealed that the show would unfortunately not be receiving a full sixth season. Instead, the show will conclude with a limited series titled Steven Universe: Future. The series will serve as an epilogue to the main show, with the series’ description as being “After saving the universe, Steven is still at it, tying up every loose end. But as he runs out of other people’s problems to solve, he’ll finally have to face his own.”
Alongside the announcement, Sugar revealed the series’ opening, sporting some very anime inspired animation with nearly every main and supporting character present in some capacity. The main theme has been replaced with a retooled version of “Happily Ever After,” which I would argue is a much more interesting and dynamic theme for the show, especially given the post-time skip world the characters live in.
It’s not too surprising seeing Steven Universe conclude as a limited series, seeing as how the show’s Steven-Bombs, where the show would release five new episodes over the course of a week, usually separated by months of inactivity, had the same function as a limited series. They were brief, told a cohesive story, then faded away, only to reappear when the show’s Crewniverse fanbase needed a shot in the arm. Realistically, this approach was taken to give Sugar and the production team time to make the episodes as refined as they can be instead of rushing out inferior products. Now Cartoon Network seems to be giving them all of the time in the world to make this limited series the best it can be, even if the limited series just serves as an elongated victory lap for the show.
There is currently no release window for Steven Universe: Future.
