As of the end of the last season of Cartoon Network’s beloved science-fiction-and-feelings animated series Steven Universe, things seemed pretty ideal for the heroes. The series’ biggest villains broke down and talked about their emotions, and came at least provisionally to terms with their past mistakes. It looked like Steven might finally be able to return to Earth and live as normal a life as a half-human, half-alien kid who’s constantly in the middle of cosmic wars can live.
So of course the upcoming animated film introduces a whole new villain.
The trailer, which debuted at San Diego Comic-Con, gives Steven a slightly new look — he’s a little older, a little taller, a little thinner, and overall less of a tiny wee donut of a boy — but it otherwise looks familiar, as Steven and his friends Connie, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl return to Earth, celebrate their victory, and hope for a little peace. Instead, a giggling pink figure shows up to destroy the planet.
Earth has been threatened repeatedly in Steven Universe, but it’s usually been more of a passive, existential threat, with the understanding that aliens who live on a much longer timeline were eventually going to get around to finishing the destructive planet-mining they began aeons ago. This trailer suggests a much more immediate destructive threat, from an antagonist with weird new stretchy powers and unclear motives. Is it possible Steven’s run up against someone he can’t hug, cry, or talk into cooperating with him? Probably not, but we’ll find out when the movie airs on September 6th.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/19/20701326/trailer-first-look-steven-universe-movie-september-6th-cartoon-network