Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened to the delight of fans everywhere at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World in 2019. Their signature attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, began operation early last year. While Star Wars fans mostly loved getting to wander in a life-size recreation of the alien world Batuu, there’s always room for improvement.
A frequent complaint about the land is that the entire area is “fixed” into the sequel era of Star Wars alone. Specifically, the point in time between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. As much as we totally love those films and the characters in them, this is really limiting to the overall big picture of Star Wars. Rumors abound that Disney is about to loosen the specificity of Galaxy’s Edge a bit. But we think they could take it one step further.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Different Eras for Different Times of the Year
Disney Parks Blog
We believe that Galaxy’s Edge should have a seasonal overlay, much as the Haunted Mansion does at Disneyland from September through January. During this time, the Haunted Mansion gets a total revamp themed to The Nightmare Before Christmas, called “Haunted Mansion Holiday.” Disney also does this overall for “It’s a Small World.” Fans absolutely love getting a different experience for a different time of the year.
We think Walt Disney Imagineering should do something very similar for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. But instead of just one ride, we propose they do it for the entire land. While that might sound costly and too hard to pull off, we actually think it wouldn’t be very hard to do at all. In fact, it would probably be easier to manage than what they currently do for Haunted Mansion each year.
Disney Parks Blog
Imagine a Galaxy’s Edge that gave fans of every Star Wars era something to love. From January to April, the land could be themed to the Prequel Trilogy and Clone Wars. May through August could give fans the classic Original Trilogy heroes and villains, while the fall/winter could remain the domain of the sequel era. Galaxy’s Edge could become the Star Wars land for every fan. It could incorporate aspects of the entire Skywalker Saga, and beyond.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Age of Republic (January – April)
Representation for the Prequel Trilogy/Clone Wars could occur with cast members dressed up as Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, Padmé , young Ahsoka, and more. Clone Troopers could replace the First Order troops we have now patrolling Black Spire Outpost (via a simple helmet switch, for the most part). Bounty hunters like Cade Bane could wander into Oga’s Cantina. All would interact with park guests.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance could be seasonally re-themed/renamed to “Rise of the Empire.” Rather than a Rey Hologram addressing riders as to their mission in the ride’s pre-show, it could be a prequel hero, probably Obi-Wan Kenobi. An R2 animatronic could replace BB-8 as well. The premise of the ride for this era could be Emperor Palpatine, on board a Republic Capital Ship (technically now Imperial), and activating Order 66 on the Clone Troops on board. So, all taking place around Revenge of the Sith time. The guests, being “Jedi sympathizers,” or potential Jedi themselves, must escape to the planet Batuu below.
Lucasfilm
The interiors of Republic-era Capital Ships were very close aesthetically to the Star Destroyers in the other two trilogies. So the only real physical change to the ride would be to the animatronics. Stormtrooper helmets changed to Clone Trooper helmets could be done with relative ease, with maybe a few other details added. The Kylo Ren animatronic could be redressed to be Emperor Palpatine. General Hux could become Tarkin. Everything else in the attraction would more or less stay the same, except the ships we see in battle via the use of screens.
Lucasfilm
New modifications for the ride experience on Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run should set the scene circa the Clone Wars. Remember, the Falcon was around during this era, and even made a brief cameo in Revenge of the Sith. This is before Lando gets his hands on her and gives her an upgrade in Solo, so she resembles the Falcon we’re all familiar with during the prequel era. Nothing physically would have to change; just the video portion of the ride.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Age of Rebellion (May – August)
Lucasfilm
Summer would be Original Trilogy time in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. During this time of year, we’d see the classic characters like Luke, Leia, Han, and Lando interacting with park guests. For that matter, Rebels characters like Hera Syndulla and Chopper could pop up too. Oh, and of course, Lord Vader would roam around the area with Imperial stormtroopers in tow, looking for all of those Rebel scum. We think everyone wants that one the most.
“Rise of the Republic” would temporarily become “Rise of the Rebellion,” with the storyline again remaining very similar. But Instead of a holo-message from Rey (or Obi-Wan), we get a young Luke Skywalker. Vader would replace Kylo Ren, which would be another simple redress of the existing animatronic. Other than that, the attraction would remain largely the same. But those extra details would make fans go wild.
Lucasfilm
Characters from The Mandalorian could walk the area of Batuu during this time as well, since that series takes place closest to the timeline of the Original Trilogy. It’s a minor continuity error, but we really doubt any fans are going to care. Especially if it means that they can hang out with Mando and Baby Yoda and take selfies with them. Besides, Star Tours has been filled with far more egregious continuity errors for years. When it’s in the name of fun, absolutely no one cares.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Age of the Resistance (September – December)
Lucasfilm
For the last few months of the year, the present Sequel Trilogy theme can remain intact. Certain elements from the current iteration of Galaxy’s Edge would be consistent throughout the year as well. Since the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO are in every film, they would remain wandering the land all year round. Same goes for Chewbacca, who appears in every era as well. (Remember, Chewie was in Revenge of Sith.)
Yes, there are some details in Galaxy’s Edge that would render the overlay less than perfectly accurate. For example: X-Wings parked on Batuu, which are specific to Episode IV through IX. And then there’s Kylo Ren’s ship, sitting in front of First Order Cargo. Luckily, the vehicle does not exist in any film, as it was designed for Colin Trevorrow’s unused script for Episode IX. So technically, it could exist in any era. Continuity error solved!
Lucasfilm
Limiting Star Wars to one small timeframe in the parks feels like a disservice. And we’re saying this as folks who like a lot of the sequels, and its characters. Disney could make every fan happy by doing something like this. And regular park-goers would love having different experiences throughout the year. We believe the Force would only truly be with a Galaxy’s Edge that covers an entire galaxy’s worth of stories.