diff --git a/changelog.d/20230414_161756_kdmc_assets_sh.md b/changelog.d/20230414_161756_kdmc_assets_sh.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..16a35ea173
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/20230414_161756_kdmc_assets_sh.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+<!--
+Create a changelog entry for every new user-facing change. Please respect the following instructions:
+- Indicate breaking changes by prepending an explosion 💥 character.
+- Prefix your changes with either [Bugfix], [Improvement], [Feature], [Security], [Deprecation].
+- You may optionally append "(by @<author>)" at the end of the line, where "<author>" is either one (just one)
+  of your GitHub username, real name or affiliated organization. These affiliations will be displayed in
+  the release notes for every release.
+-->
+
+<!-- - 💥[Feature] Foobarize the blorginator. This breaks plugins by renaming the `FOO_DO` filter to `BAR_DO`. (by @regisb) -->
+<!-- - [Improvement] This is a non-breaking change. Life is good. (by @billgates) -->
+- [Feature] Add	`EDX_PLATFORM_NEW_ASSET_SYSTEM` flag, defaulting off. When enabled, the experimental new edx-platform asset processing system will be used. The new system should produce identical output, but quicker and with better logging. In the future, this will become the default, supporting further image build optimizations. (@kdmccormick)
diff --git a/tutor/templates/build/openedx/Dockerfile b/tutor/templates/build/openedx/Dockerfile
index 69dfdd7ab9..fce8356acd 100644
--- a/tutor/templates/build/openedx/Dockerfile
+++ b/tutor/templates/build/openedx/Dockerfile
@@ -167,6 +167,11 @@ ENV PATH /openedx/bin:${PATH}
 
 {{ patch("openedx-dockerfile-pre-assets") }}
 
+# For the experimental new asset processing:
+# https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/issues/31604
+ENV EDX_PLATFORM_NEW_ASSET_PROCESSING="{{ EDX_PLATFORM_NEW_ASSET_PROCESSING }}"
+ENV EDX_PLATFORM_ASSET_OPTS="--static-root /openedx/staticfiles --theme-dirs /openedx/themes"
+
 # Collect production assets. By default, only assets from the default theme
 # will be processed. This makes the docker image lighter and faster to build.
 # Only the custom themes added to /openedx/themes will be compiled.
diff --git a/tutor/templates/build/openedx/bin/openedx-assets b/tutor/templates/build/openedx/bin/openedx-assets
index 1b89434d67..aa9439c8cb 100755
--- a/tutor/templates/build/openedx/bin/openedx-assets
+++ b/tutor/templates/build/openedx/bin/openedx-assets
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import argparse
 import os
 import subprocess
 import sys
+import shlex
 import traceback
 
 from path import Path
@@ -11,7 +12,10 @@ from path import Path
 from pavelib import assets
 
 
+DEFAULT_ENV = "prod"
+DEFAULT_SYSTEMS = ["lms", "cms"]
 DEFAULT_STATIC_ROOT = "/openedx/staticfiles"
+DEFAULT_THEMES = ["all"]
 DEFAULT_THEMES_DIR = "/openedx/themes"
 
 
@@ -25,11 +29,11 @@ def main():
     npm.set_defaults(func=run_npm)
 
     build = subparsers.add_parser("build", help="Build all assets")
-    build.add_argument("-e", "--env", choices=["prod", "dev"], default="prod")
+    build.add_argument("-e", "--env", choices=["prod", "dev"], default=DEFAULT_ENV)
     build.add_argument("--theme-dirs", nargs="+", default=[DEFAULT_THEMES_DIR])
-    build.add_argument("--themes", nargs="+", default=["all"])
+    build.add_argument("--themes", nargs="+", default=DEFAULT_THEMES)
     build.add_argument("-r", "--static-root", default=DEFAULT_STATIC_ROOT)
-    build.add_argument("--systems", nargs="+", default=["lms", "cms"])
+    build.add_argument("--systems", nargs="+", default=DEFAULT_SYSTEMS)
     build.set_defaults(func=run_build)
 
     xmodule = subparsers.add_parser("xmodule", help="Process assets from xmodule")
@@ -37,7 +41,7 @@ def main():
 
     webpack = subparsers.add_parser("webpack", help="Run webpack")
     webpack.add_argument("-r", "--static-root", default=DEFAULT_STATIC_ROOT)
-    webpack.add_argument("-e", "--env", choices=["prod", "dev"], default="prod")
+    webpack.add_argument("-e", "--env", choices=["prod", "dev"], default=DEFAULT_ENV)
     webpack.set_defaults(func=run_webpack)
 
     common = subparsers.add_parser(
@@ -86,7 +90,72 @@ def main():
     watch_themes.set_defaults(func=run_watch_themes)
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
-    args.func(args)
+    if should_use_new_implementation():
+        new_command = get_new_command(args)
+        print("Running experimental new asset processing implementation!")
+        print("You can also run this directly by using the shell command:")
+        print(shlex.join(get_new_command(args)))
+        subprocess.check_call(new_command)
+    else:
+        args.func(args)
+
+
+default_args = [
+    "--themes-dirs",
+    DEFAULT_THEMES_DIR,
+    "--static-root",
+    DEFAULT_STATIC_ROOT,
+]
+
+
+def should_use_new_implementation():
+    return os.environ.get("EDX_PLATFORM_NEW_ASSET_PROCESSING", "").lower() == "true"
+
+
+def get_new_command(args):
+    if args.func is run_collect:
+        return [
+            "bash",
+            "-c",
+            "./manage.py lms collecstatic --noinput && ./manage.py cms collecstatic --noinput",
+        ]
+    return [
+        "scripts/build-assets.sh",
+        *{
+            run_build: [],
+            run_xmodule: ["xmodule"],
+            run_npm: ["npm"],
+            run_webpack: ["webpack"],
+            run_common: ["css"],
+            run_themes: ["themes"],
+            run_watch_themes: ["--watch"]
+        }[args.func],
+        *(
+            ["--env", args.env]
+            if getattr(args, "env", DEFAULT_ENV) != DEFAULT_ENV
+            else []
+        ),
+        *(
+            ["--static-root", args.static_root]
+            if getattr(args, "static_root", DEFAULT_STATIC_ROOT) != DEFAULT_STATIC_ROOT
+            else []
+        ),
+        *(
+            ["--systems", *args.systems]
+            if set(getattr(args, "systems", DEFAULT_SYSTEMS)) != set(DEFAULT_SYSTEMS)
+            else []
+        ),
+        *(
+            ["--themes", *args.themes]
+            if set(getattr(args, "themes", DEFAULT_THEMES)) != set(DEFAULT_THEMES)
+            else []
+        ),
+        *(
+            ["--theme-dirs", *args.theme_dirs]
+            if getattr(args, "theme_dirs", [DEFAULT_THEMES_DIR]) != [DEFAULT_THEMES_DIR]
+            else []
+        ),
+    ]
 
 
 def run_build(args):
@@ -187,7 +256,6 @@ def list_subdirectories(path):
         if os.path.isdir(os.path.join(path, subpath))
     ]
 
-
 class ThemeWatcher(assets.SassWatcher):
     def __init__(self, theme_dir):
         super(ThemeWatcher, self).__init__()
diff --git a/tutor/templates/config/defaults.yml b/tutor/templates/config/defaults.yml
index 0bed4ca544..f0f38fa4ef 100644
--- a/tutor/templates/config/defaults.yml
+++ b/tutor/templates/config/defaults.yml
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ DOCKER_IMAGE_REDIS: "docker.io/redis:6.2.6"
 DOCKER_IMAGE_SMTP: "docker.io/devture/exim-relay:4.95-r0-2"
 EDX_PLATFORM_REPOSITORY: "https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform.git"
 EDX_PLATFORM_VERSION: "{{ OPENEDX_COMMON_VERSION }}"
+EDX_PLATFORM_NEW_ASSET_PROCESSING: false
 ELASTICSEARCH_HOST: "elasticsearch"
 ELASTICSEARCH_PORT: 9200
 ELASTICSEARCH_SCHEME: "http"