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As of April 19, 2024, Cartoon Network has neither confirmed nor denied a sixth season of Steven Universe. Speaking on the January 24, 2019 episode of The Steven Universe Podcast, former crew member Ian Jones-Quartey confirmed that the Steven Universe franchise was not over following the Season 5 finale, "Change Your Mind", but stated that the story the series had been telling had reached its end,[1] and cautioned fans not to think of "what comes next" as "more of this show".[2] The oblique nature of Jones-Quartey's comments leave it deliberately unclear what material they may refer to: Steven Universe: The Movie, a new era of the show, or some other narrative venue.
That said, regular evidence of ongoing episodic production indicates that the TV series will continue in some form, yet to be clarified.
Production
From August through October 2018, Sarah Levin, a production assistant at Cartoon Network, oversaw daily functions in the Steven Universe office "during changeover from film to television production."[3]
As production on the movie began to wind down, regular episodic storyboarding on Steven Universe (in some form) resumed in late summer 2018.
- In February 2019, former animation guild director Steve Hulett reported that a director at Cartoon Network stated Steven Universe is indeed "continuing with new episodes."[4]
- New storyboard artists for Steven Universe, subsequent to the production of the movie, include Maya Petersen[5] and Etienne Guignard.[6]
The cast has held regular Wednesday voice recording sessions since late fall 2018 (as of May 2019), with frequent social media[7][8] updates.
- In an October 18 interview with Nothing But Static, Zach Callison said that he didn't know much about the show's future production. However, when asked how far ahead the cast was in recording, he asserted that they were "so, so far ahead", and later said he "know[s] an insane amount about what's coming up, and it's all so great." What material this comment may cover is up for debate.
Early production rumors
In an absence of official confirmation for material following season 5, fans took note of many production hints, starting in early 2017, as possible evidence of a sixth production season:
- On February 15, 2017, Deedee Magno-Hall tweeted an image of Rebecca Sugar working at the recording studio; the numbers "609" and "610" appear on a screen.[9]Despite appearances, however, these numbers do not correspond to the normal seven-digit format of Steven Universe production codes—and the production timeline rather lines up with recording on the tail end of season 5.
- On the September 7, 2017 episode of The Steven Universe Podcast, Jackie Buscarino made reference to a "season 4" that was 32 episodes long.[10] This was later clarified when it was revealed that seasons 4 and 5 were in fact produced separately rather than as a single long season (as in the case of seasons 2 and 3), and that season 5 (thereby the fourth production season) is in fact 32 episodes in length.
- On April 30, 2018, Leisha Medina (the Latin American voice actor of Steven, Blue Diamond, and Onion) tweeted that she was already working on, and could not confirm, anything about Season 6.[11] In regard to the production timeline, this comment most likely refers to the lengthened appendix to season 5, broadcast some eight months later as the "Diamond Days" event.
- In July 2018, during the airing of "Heart of the Crystal Gems," the penultimate arc of season 5, a comment from Cartoon Network's Instagram administrator claimed there was "more to come" after the season's end.[12] What constitutes "more" in the context of this comment is up for debate, as Steven Universe: The Movie was announced soon afterward.
Story elements
- Regular social media posts from the voice talent indicate the involvement of all the core cast, as well as Grace Rolek (Connie), Shelby Rabara (Peridot), Jennifer Paz (Lapis Lazuli), and across several sessions, Kimberly Brooks[13] (Jasper).
- Following the broadcast of "Change Your Mind," Deedee Magno-Hall posted a picture of herself with a visibly younger Zach Callison, Alastair James (Rainbow Quartz 2.0), and Shoniqua Shandai (Sunstone), from the recording of that episode two winters before. This does not in itself indicate further activity from those actors, due to the apparent age of the photo.
- In a January 2019 interview[14] with Cartoon Network Brazil, Rebecca Sugar visibly reacted, hesitated, and refused to answer a question as to whether Steven and Connie would marry someday. "That's a spoiler. I can't really talk about that. Please keep watching... the show."
- In the Steven Universe Podcast, Sugar revealed that Lars is able to make portals like Lion and that this will be explored later. She did not, however, specify in what venue this might occur.
- In an April 2019 interview[15] with Talk Nerdy With Us, Zach Callison describes his feelings toward the material currently in production. "There's something something really special going on right now, and it caught me by surprise. And, yeah, I really shouldn't be running my mouth about this, but yeah, it's something very special, like, and personal to me, regarding the show."
- In an interview[16] with But Why Tho?, from the same event, Callison clarifies, in regard to what effect the character of Steven has had on Callison, "There's some stuff that—really, the crux of this question lies in some things on the show that haven't come out yet, that really bring the arc of my relationship with Steven full-circle? [...] Steven and I have had a very similar arc in life, and very similar trials in life of having a much larger allocation of responsibility than normal placed on our shoulders at a young age—and, rising to the challenge of that, and what kind of mental things come from that. It's been pretty eye-opening. Just, like, recently, like in the past few weeks, some of the revelations I've had, about that.
References
- ↑ At 52:34: ""Change Your Mind" isn't the end of the franchise (...) but [it] is the end to this particular story.
- ↑ At 54:15: "I really hope that if you're (...) waiting to watch more stuff (...) that you don't think of the break between "Change Your Mind" and what comes next as waiting for more of this show, because this version of it is done. There's going to be more, but it's going to be different, and it's going to be something new."
- ↑ https://bismuth.tumblr.com/post/184025534513/was-looking-on-linkedin-for-any-potential-info-wrt
- ↑ https://tombcartoonmonkeyskeleton.blogspot.com/2019/02/work-around-town-4.html
- ↑ "So uh, thank you, @ZachCallison and @Shelby_Rabara for making my ep sound poignant af today." – Maya Petersen (Twitter)
- ↑ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/etienne-guignard-96839a24/ "Sep 2018 – Present Storyboard Artist / Writer at on Steven Universe"] – Etienne Guignard (LinkedIn profile)
- ↑ "Baby Bump’s 1st recording session" – shelbyrabara (Instagram)
- ↑ "Now you see @whammybah, now you don’t...and then you do, again! Love sharing the work space with these lovely ladies! And much thanks for the fashion lesson, Michaela buds! You’re the best!" – deedeemagnohallofficial (Instagram)
- ↑ https://www.twitter.com/DeedeeMagnoHall/status/832035395617501185/photo/3
- ↑ "So like, Season 4 was 16 half-hours, so that's 32 episodes all overlapping."
- ↑
- ↑ https://instagram.com/p/BkLxe5mnLEm/
- ↑ "Now you see @whammybah, now you don’t...and then you do, again! Love sharing the work space with these lovely ladies! And much thanks for the fashion lesson, Michaela buds! You’re the best!" – deedeemagnohallofficial (Instagram)
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Hv-TAJIls/
- ↑ "Zach Callison Interview at AwesomeCon 2019" – Talk Nerdy With Us (YouTube)
- ↑ "INTERVIEW: Awesome Con Coverage from Swara with Susan Egan and Zach Callison of 'Steven Universe'" – But Why Tho? The Podcast
