A New Star Wars Chapter Begins at Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge

Beginning immediately at Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland, Star Wars followers will have the ability to meet Grasp Luke Skywalker in Batuu. His arrival is the most recent evolution within the theme park’s canon, which had as soon as restricted itself to the time interval between Star Wars: The Final Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The change to that unique timeline got here steadily these previous couple of years as figures from Disney+ Lucasfilm reveals have popped up in Batuu, incuding Ahsoka, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, Sabine Wren, and Hera. And naturally the Mandalorian and Grogu have had an enormous presence on the parks due to fan demand for characters outdoors of the sequel trilogy.

io9 attended immediately’s opening of Season of the Power 2025—Disneyland’s annual Star Wars celebration, working now by way of Could 11—and talked to Matt Martin from Lucasfilm and Michael Serna of Disney Reside Leisure to debate how the story of the Black Spire Outpost will evolve from right here.

“We take a look at all of our lands and expertise as an evolution,” Serna shared. “Some issues come and go, reveals open, sights come and go. So after all Galaxy’s Edge goes by way of the identical journey; [it] evolves, and once we constructed Galaxy’s Edge, we didn’t even know that a few of these tales could be informed. In order time has grown on, we realized, who doesn’t love the Mandalorian story, who doesn’t love numerous completely different tales? So this is a chance for us to kind of lean into these tales we all know our followers love and admire, whereas not pulling away from something we’ve completed earlier than. Generally you’ll see one thing you like and typically you received’t. Our aim is to succeed in as a lot of our followers as potential and ship all these superb characters and experiences that folks anticipate from our parks.”

That shift will change into extra outlined this yr, and all of it begins with the lore weaver Tohan Lege—a personality created for the Galaxy’s Edge fireworks present final yr. Initially a disembodied voice narrating tales of the heroes and villains which can be actual throughout the land, this yr he joins his trusty R1-series astromech droid Bard in illuminating the spires with projections of their historical past in “Shadows of Reminiscence: A Skywalker Saga,” a present exploring the tragedy and triumphs of the household that connects all of them.

Lucasfilm created him in collaboration with the parks to look as a telling-stories-around-the-fire kind of determine. “Now we’ve obtained him because the centerpiece of ‘Shadows of Reminiscence.’ And so it’s so good to have anyone to inform the legendary saga of the Skywalker story, as a result of Star Wars is itself form of a contemporary delusion,” Martin stated. “Having an in-universe character to do this storytelling is simply form of an ideal bridge for each of these reveals that we now have right here. And hopefully we get to proceed utilizing that character as a storyteller for years to return each within the park and in different Star Wars tales.”

That is key in opening up the tales informed throughout the land and the characters who could pop up sooner or later from throughout the Star Wars canon, Serna confirmed. “Star Wars has so many tales to inform. Matt and I had plenty of discussions about how will we kind of introduce issues, like Hearth of Reminiscence [in] the fireworks present. We had this concept {that a} storyteller is the common factor that’s occurred at first of [humankind]. It’s our way of life. We collect round a fireplace and inform a narrative. That’s how we’ve handed on histories and mythologies. So why would the galaxy of Star Wars be any completely different? There could be individuals that may wish to acquire these tales and inform them to future generations.”

We will’t wait to see what different tales make their method to the parks—along with Grasp Luke Skywalker, who we obtained to witness making his first grand entrance this afternoon.

As for any changes coming to the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run experience to coincide with subsequent yr’s big-screen launch of The Mandalorian and Grogu—nicely, Disney continues to be very a lot retaining that beneath wraps. “I imply, we are able to’t discuss an excessive amount of about that,” Serna teased. “We don’t have a lot to inform but. As a result of apart from what you discovered at South by Southwest, we are able to’t actually discuss it.”

Martin added, “What I’ll say is that it will likely be one other genuine Mandalorian story, and clearly we might be within the Millennium Falcon. So we’re going to get to learn the way we find yourself within the Millennium Falcon in a time the place Han Solo owns that ship. In order that needs to be fairly enjoyable. However in any other case, I feel you’ll have to attend and see.”

We additionally requested if any of the standout attracts from Florida’s now-shuttered Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is perhaps coming to Batuu, such because the lightsaber experiences or our beloved Gaya’s dinner present.

Serna stated, “I might say we’re at all times persevering with to develop and do new issues. You by no means know.”

We requested if we needs to be optimistic, and Martin added, “We discovered quite a bit from that, you already know, from a storytelling standpoint. So I feel the teachings that we’ve discovered will at all times inform the long run.”

Season of the Power is now underway at Disneyland. Be taught extra here.

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