Steven Universe Future

**Steven Universe Future** is an American animated television limited series created by former *Adventure Time* storyboard artist and songwriter Rebecca Sugar, exclusively for Cartoon Network.

It serves as an epilogue to the original series and as a follow-up to the musical animated film, premiering on December 7, 2019, and concluding on March 27, 2020.

The entire epilogue limited-series was made available on HBO Max on August 28, 2020.

## **Premise**

*Steven Universe Future* follows Steven's everyday life trying to help Gems find a new purpose; it also depicts the disappointments he faces with his new life, including the realization that there are things he cannot fix, and his own feelings of aimlessness after successfully liberating the Gem empire. He confronts old foes who are looking for revenge, tries to master a new power that he doesn't fully understand, and is challenged to decide what he wants for his own future.

## **Cast**

### Main

* Zach Callison as Steven Universe/Monster Steven, Onion, Cactus Steven, and Jingle Singer
* Estelle Swaray as Garnet
* Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, and other Quartz Gems
* Deedee Magno Hall as Pearl, Pink Pearl/Volleyball, Shell, Brandish, Mega Pearl, and Aubergine Pearl

### Recurring

* Tom Scharpling as Greg Universe
* Grace Rolek as Connie Maheswaran
* Charlyne Yi as Ruby, Eyeball, and other Rubies
* Erica Luttrell as Sapphire
* Shelby Rabara as Peridot
* Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli / Nice Lapis / Mean Lapis
* Miriam A. Hyman as Bismuth
* Kimberly Brooks as Jasper and other Quartz gems
* Sarah Stiles as Spinel
* Christine Ebersole as White Diamond
* Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond
* Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond
* Michelle Maryk as Larimar
* Dee Bradley Baker as Lion

### Guest

* Uzo Aduba as Bismuth (“Bismuth Casual”) and Khadijah
* Matthew Moy as Lars Barriga
* Kate Micucci as Sadie Miller
* Reagan Gomez-Preston as Jenny Pizza
* Brian Posehn as Sour Cream
* Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Priyanka Maheswaran
* Lamar Abrams as Wy-Six, Jaime, and Daniel
* Indya Moore as Shep
* Johnny Hawkes as Rodrigo and Cookie Cat
* Marieve Herington as Jasmine
* Tahani Anderson as Patricia
* Ian Jones-Quartey as Snowflake Obsidian
* Natasha Lyonne as Smoky Quartz
* Alastair James as Rainbow Quartz 2.0
* Shoniqua Shandai as Sunstone
* Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate
* Della Saba as Aquamarine
* Larissa Gallagher as Bluebird Azurite
* Chris Jai Alex as Drew the Dog and Announcer
* Jemaine Clement as Kerry Moonbeam
* Susan Egan as Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond (archive audio)

## **Production**

### Development

According to Rebecca Sugar, when she was notified in 2016 that *Steven Universe* would be canceled after the end of the fifth season, she prevailed upon Cartoon Network to allow her to produce the follow-up film, Steven Universe: The Movie. When Cartoon Network approved the movie, they also greenlit an additional season of 20 episodes that the movie could serve to promote.

Prior to the announcement of *Future*, Sugar and the crew of *Steven Universe* stayed silent regarding a potential sixth season of Steven Universe, leaving fans with uncertainty over the future of the series, with some believing The Movie to be the conclusion of Steven's story; at New York Comic Con in October of 2019, Sugar confirmed that there would be no sixth season of Steven Universe (therefore retroactively confirming the Season 5 finale "Change Your Mind" as the series finale), but announced *Future*, and shared the opening of the epilogue limited series with the audience. Several media outlets misinterpreted the announcement as a confirmation of a sixth season, with *Future* as a simple sub-title.

The official premise of the show was: "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."

### Release

*Steven Universe Future* premiered on December 7, 2019, only on Cartoon Network. Future also premiered on Cartoon Network UK in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2019.

The series consisted of a total of twenty 11-minute episodes, with an additionally-11-minute four-part finale that aired on March 27, 2020.

Despite being featured in online social media promotional material, such as Twitter, the series was not made available at launch, it was confirmed to premiere on the service until a later unspecified date, alongside its feature film.

## **Reception**

### Critical

*Steven Universe Future* has been acclaimed by critics. Like the original series and *Steven Universe: The Movie*, the characterization, themes, animation, voice acting, music, and LGBT representation have been widely praised; *Future* in particular is praised for its new ways of exploring previously developed themes (in particular Steven's dedication to solving other characters' problems), and its unconventional choice of focusing on the smaller-scale aftermath of the main storyline. Reviewers have pointed out that it addresses issues several fans and reviewers had with the original series, such as its perceived tendency to solve characters' problems in overly simple ways and to redeem all antagonists.

Caroline Cao of */Film* called *Steven Universe Future* "a messy and beautiful tale of trauma, healing, and survival", stating: "Sugar and her team are the greatest visual maximalists in animation, pushing imageries to their most emotional and thematic extremes—particularly through the inventiveness of the flexible Fusion metaphor—and unraveling difficult revelations about surviving trauma." She praised the exploration of Steven's tendency to help other people with their problems, claiming that "Steven faces the reoccurring lesson of 'biting more than you can chew.' Steven wants to heal everyone, anything, but falls short, and even unleashes destruction at times. As Future moves forward, Steven will contend with his own management of the new world order he has created, and his mother’s past will continue to haunt his future. Then there's the matter of Steven's newest Gem power that manifests through his rage and insecurities. *Steven Universe Future* is on a roll in delivering hard and relevant messages about victimhood and survivor-hood solidarity. There are kids and adults alike who need someone to tell them 'I'm sorry for not believing you'.

*The Mary Sue* labeled *Steven Universe Future* "fantastic", praising "the amazing storytelling" and the "beautiful" animation. Reuben Baron of CBR praised the series for "challenging Steven's savior mentality", stating that the first four episodes were "developing a clear thematic throughline. Picking up the loose ends from the original series, it's working to address criticisms of Steven as a character without betraying the show's essential ethos." In his review of the episode "Bluebird", Shamus Kelley of *Den of Geek* stated that *Future* "finally addressed something of a complaint many had towards the series. As much as *Steven Universe* is all about love being the answer and Steven trying to be friends with everyone, there's still a nagging sense that it's all a bit... simple. Obviously, what Steven and the Crystal Gems are incredibly taxing [*sic*] but the end result just being everyone is mostly friends? That’s fairly unrealistic [...] So the fact that Aquamarine and Eyeball Ruby just flat out hate him? It’s an acknowledgment, one that show takes it time to make explicit, that not everyone wants to change. Not everyone is down for learning to love and be friends"

## **Trivia**

* The opening theme, "Steven Universe Future", is a new version of the song "Happily Ever After" from Steven Universe: The Movie, replacing "We Are the Crystal Gems" from the original series.
	+ The show's main voice actors, Zach Callison (Steven), Estelle (Garnet), Michaela Dietz (Amethyst), and Deedee Magno Hall (Pearl), who had performed both the opening of the original series and "Happily Ever After" in The Movie, perform Steven Universe Future alongside additional cast members Jennifer Paz (Lapis), Shelby Rabara (Peridot), and Uzo Aduba (Bismuth).
* On June 16, 2020, a Twitter user pointed out a comical mishap in which episodes of the then-released *Death Note* had been confused with the episodes of *Steven Universe Future* (the series was not released on HBO Max, at the time).
	+ The human-ran editors over at HBO Max promptly and swiftly fixed the error, once it was brought to their attention.

## Navigation

- Films: Ben 10: Race Against Time | Foster's Movie: Destination Imagination | Regular Show: The Movie | Steven Universe: The Movie