It’ll be a day long remembered. On April 29, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, and more are finally coming to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland.
For theme park fans, this is a big deal. One of the early criticisms of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge was that it was set very specifically between the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. That’s because that’s where the movies were in the summer of 2019 when the theme park land opened. The aim was that you, yourself, could feel as if you were part of a living story. Rising with the resistance. Fighting the First Order and more.
However, people quickly realized how limiting that was on a larger, more commercial scale. Yes, it was in canon. Yes, it was a bold, interesting decision to go for full immersion. But it meant that no characters from the Original Trilogy could appear because, in this reality, they were old or dead now. It meant events in the movie coming out just a few months later would be ignored.
Well, now that’s all changing. “New storylines will be brought to life on Batuu, spanning multiple eras of the planet’s rich history,” Disney’s website reads. “These updates will enable you to experience the Galactic Civil War and New Republic, as well as the Age of the Resistance and First Order.”
So what does that mean specifically? Well, for starters, Luke, Leia, and Han will appear in the land in their younger, more familiar forms. Darth Vader, too. John Williams’ iconic original music will be more prevalent around the area. (Williams wrote a new theme for the land, which plays often, but Disney rarely cues up, say, “The Imperial March.”) Then, of course, the more popular current characters will also still be around: the Mandalorian, Grogu, Ahsoka, Rey, and more.
The shops and experiences, such as the Droid Depot and Savi’s Workshop (where you build custom lightsabers), will also get slight updates. A new droid family will take over the former, and Luke Skywalker will help you find the latter. Surely, there will be additional merch and more as well.
Then, of course, that all leads to the first major ride upgrade in the area as Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run gets a big Mandalorian and Grogu overlay starting on May 22.
As of now, this news only applies to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland in California. But, we’d imagine, at some point it’ll happen at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, too.
You can read more about the changes at this link, and we’ll have more soon.
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