The Pit (short film)

"The Pit" is the eighth episode of the Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 that premiered on Disney+ on May 4, 2023. It is made by the Japan-based animation studio D'art Shtajio and Lucasfilm Ltd. and directed by LeAndre Thomas and Justin Ridge.
==Official description==
A fearless young prisoner, forced to dig for kyber by the Empire, plans a risky escape for he [sic] and his people.
==Plot summary==
===Slaves of the Empire===
The episode opens with stormtroopers marching several human prisoners dressed in yellow overalls across a windy, desert landscape. The stormtrooper commander leads the group, using a scanner to guide them across the land. The commander orders the prisoners to stop marching. While the stormtroopers surround the prisoners, the commander uses a remote to unlock their restraints. The stormtroopers force the prisoners to dig at gunpoint.
The prisoners use spades and pick axes to dig a pit. Later, a transport shuttle brings more prisoners. By that time, the pit has grown deeper. The stormtrooper uses a shock collar to force a fair-skinned man to get back to work. An older dark-skinned man and a younger man with curly hair named Crux watch with anger and resentment but remain in silent submission. A Guaqa burrows through the soil. Later, a dark-skinned woman with an afro hair named Eureka finds a Kyber crystal.
The stormtrooper sends a probe droid to fetch the crystal from the woman. The prisoners are curious about the crystal. The stormtrooper commander and one of his subordinates evaluate the kyber crystal, which they regard as worth a fortune. The commander orders the prisoners to continue digging. As time passes, the mining camp grows bigger and the Galactic Empire constructs a nearby settlement, which grows into a sprawling city.
===Abandoned===
One evening, a human man with long dark hair finds that they have reached a hard metallic surface. Deciding that the prisoners have reached the end, the stormtrooper commander frees the prisoners from their chains. The prisoners cheer but their elation is short-lived. The Imperials shut down the camp and abandon the prisoners inside the massive pit. The prisoners attempt to climb but the pit is too deep.
Eureka asks Crux what they are going to do. Other prisoners shout for help but nobody can hear them from the surface. Inside a tent, a fair-skinned man hugs his child. Later that night, the prisoners hold a campfire meeting. Crux tells the others that he has plotted a course out of the pit and plans to find help. The older dark-skinned man warns that the journey is too dangerous and that the citizens might not be willing to help them. Another hooded woman thinks it is safest to remain in the pit. Crux is not deterred and believes that the citizens will do the right thing and follow their light.
When a dark-skinned girl named Livy asks Crux what he means, he explains that everyone has an inner light that will guide them the right way. Crux emphasizes that it lives in them all, including kyber crystals. He shows Livy a kyber crystal and tells her not to be afraid to use her voice to remind people to follow the light.
===Crux's mission===
During the morning, several children play with tools. Livy spots Crux climbing out of the cave. The people watch with trepidation as the young man ascends up the pit. Crux narrowly avoids falling rocks. The Guaqa helps creates holes that allow him to complete his climb. Crux reaches the surface and tells the people that he can see the city and is going to get help. Livy smiles hopefully.
Crux approaches Crystal City, which appears to be a modern, cosmopolitan city home to various species including Ithorians, Rodians, Twi'leks, Quarren, and Aqualish. After introducing himself, Crux and attempts to speak to the citizens but they ignore him. Later, it rains and Crux climbs to a podium, which says "Crystal City" in Aurebesh. He tells the citizens that hundreds of people including children are trapped in a giant pit on the outskirts of the city. Crux tells the people that the kyber crystals were mined by the prisoners and not the Empire. He says that they helped build this city and that the prisoners needed help.
Crux is spotted by stormtroopers and flees down an alley. One of them stuns him with a blaster while the other claims that there is nothing to see there and to resume their business. The stormtroopers transport Crux back to the pit aboard speeder bikes. The trapped prisoners watch in horror as the stormtroopers throw Crux down to his death. Crux screams in horror while lightning flashes in the skies above.
===Following the light===
Livy runs out of the tent despite her mother telling her to wait. While the other adults wrap Crux's remains in a shroud, Livy weeps while embracing her mother. When a despondent prisoner asks how the citizens will even know where to go, Livy recalls the late Crux's message to follow the light. Livy shouts "follow the light" twice She tells her mother Eureka that the people will follow the light if they tell them.
Eureka leads the prisoners in chanting "follow the light" repeatedly. The prisoners continue chanting through the night and rain. Eventually, the citizens of the city hear the cries of the prisoners and march to the pit. Several stormtroopers form a perimeter outside the pit. The commander orders the civilians to return to their homes and threatens to open fire. The citizens demand answers and push their way past the row of stormtroopers, overpowering them. When a stormrooper asks what they should do, the defeated commander says they should get out of here.
The citizens gather around the pit but back away. Livy and her people are initially despondent, believing that they have been abandoned again. However, the citizens send down a transport which begins evacuating the prisoners. More shuttles arrive and the citizens evacuate all the prisoners from the cave.
Following the evacuation, Livy sits with her mother Eureka aboard their shuttle. She points to the sun but Eureka is too exhausted. Livy clings onto a shard of kyber crystal, which begins rumbling and levitating in her hand. The crystal turns blue. In a post-credit scene, the Guaqa gazes upon a mural of Livy, the late Crux, other prisoners, and their stormtrooper captors, that in Aurebesh says, "THE PIT".
==Credits==
==Appearances==
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==Notes and references==
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