When Disney first got their hands on the rights to Star Wars back in 2012, many fans knew that the legendary media empire had big plans for the beloved franchise. With Disney’s help, the classic Lucasfilm brainchild has soared back into prominence in recent years.
With two Disney-made Star Wars films already to released to massive success and several still to come, Disney has already begun work on new Star Wars attractions for both Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Of course, we’ve known of these plans since Disney first announced them back in 2015, but now, thanks to a recent panel, several new details have emerged.
According to a report by Variety, the upcoming attractions will feature new areas not yet explored by the films themselves. “We wanted to build new Star Wars stories, new Star Wars destinations,” said Disney Imagineers executive Scott Trowbridge. “It’s a new planet. It’s a new place.”
Despite this “new place” never truly appearing in the films, Trowbridge asserts that it is on the map and is canon to the franchise. “It’s this remote frontier outpost,” Trowbridge said. “This used to be a vibrant trading port … but its prominence has fallen and faded a little bit.” According to Trowbridge, only “the most interesting people” will be appearing there.
Although the new attractions mostly feature original content, there will be several activities and areas that fans of the series will be very familiar with. According to Imagineer Wendy Anderson, “There will be a presence of the Resistance and the First Order.” Imagineer Asa Kalama also noted that there will be a ride built around Han Solo’s beloved Millenium Falcon.
“We’re not just going to let you ride in the Millennium Falcon,” Kalama said, “we’re going to let you control the Millennium Falcon. You and your flight crew are going to be responsible for piloting.”
Additionally, several Disney and Lucasfilm executives assure that great attention will be given to obscure elements, such as blue milk and Astromech droids, in order to show the company’s appreciation of its most diehard fans.
The attractions are not set to open until 2019 at the earliest, but Trowbridge asserts that they are very much on schedule. “It feels like [the launch] is a little bit away,” Trowbridge said, but assured “It is the most epic attraction we have ever undertaken.”
Though the new attractions are still pretty underdeveloped, the panel ended with a video screaming of construction in-progress. Check out the some of the on-going work below!
Here’s what the #StarWars theme parks look like right now #SWCO pic.twitter.com/A7LxuvTqwG
— Seth Kelley (@SethMKelley) April 15, 2017
Behind-the-scenes look at creating #StarWars theme parks including concept art #SWCO pic.twitter.com/yzraHD8Nbf
— Seth Kelley (@SethMKelley) April 15, 2017
Some of the concept art for #StarWars land they showed at today’s #SWCO panel pic.twitter.com/w0andkFllj
— Seth Kelley (@SethMKelley) April 15, 2017
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