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The galaxy far, far away is now a bit long, longer ago. Galaxy’s Edge, the Star Wars sections of Disneyland and Disney World, originally only featured characters from sequel trilogy era, including Rey, Kylo Ren, and General Hux. The idea was to create an immersive experience for fans visiting the parks, allowing them to step directly into the world established by Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the two movies that followed.
But now, Galaxy’s Edge is going back in time. According to a release on StarWars.com, the attraction’s timeline will “roll back several decades, expanding to span the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and The Mandalorian.” Now, visitors to the attraction “may cross paths with a few familiar faces — from Darth Vader and Imperial stormtroopers strutting through the streets to Han Solo and Chewbacca reuniting at the Millennium Falcon, all while John Williams’ iconic musical themes swirl through the air.”
Taken at face value, the decision represents a desire to freshen up the attraction, which has been running since 2019. The location presents itself as the Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu during the period between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. In addition to encountering performers dressed as major characters from the films, visitors can order beverages from Oga’s Cantina, buy souvenirs from members of Watto’s race the Toydarians, board the Millennium Falcon for the ride Smuggler’s Run, or watch heroes battle First Order soldiers in Rise of the Resistance.
The decision to set the story in sequel era makes sense, as the trilogy had just completed when the park opened and Disney was clearly hoping that it would have a lasting legacy. But Rise of Skywalker left fans with such a bad taste in their mouths that the film exists mostly in memes about Palpatine somehow returning, not as a film that anyone really enjoyed.
Given that sour reception, one has to wonder if the change at Galaxy’s Edge signals a new perspective at Disney. The House of Mouse hasn’t completely forgotten the sequel trilogy era, as Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling and Matt Smith, takes place after Rise of Skywalker.
But the most impactful recent Star Wars entries have been closer to the original trilogy. The first season of The Mandalorian took place five years after The Empire Strikes Back, while both seasons of Andor build right to the start of Rogue One, which itself ends where A New Hope begins. Furthermore, the characters from the original trilogy simply have more cultural cache, having lived in the public consciousness longer than anything from the prequels or sequels.
So is Disney sending Galaxy’s Edge back to the original trilogy because the theme park needs a nostalgic boost? Or could we be seeing the franchise refocus on the stories that made Star Wars a concept that people loved? With a regime change at Lucasfilm coming soon, the latter may be likely.
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