Why Star Wars Land Finally Breaking the Rules is Great, But More Changes Are Needed.
Four years ago, I wrote “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Needs to Break the Rules.” That frankly felt overdue even at the time, as the land had a lot of squandered potential outside of Rise of the Resistance, the #1 attraction at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Fast-forward to April 2026, and Disney is finally making many of the exact changes I suggested, from introducing the iconic John Williams score as background music to breaking the sacred timeline by introducing characters from the original trilogy. These changes will be controversial with some diehard Star Wars fans who put story and continuity above all else (presumably a very small percentage of all guests–less than 1%).
As you might expect as someone who advocated for these changes, I’m here in part to defend them. After all I believe that theme parks should be places of joy and fun, not rigid rules. But I’m also here in part to argue that this is only a half-measure, and Disney isn’t going nearly far enough with the changes. That breaking free of the unnecessarily limiting constraints of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a good thing, but it should be just a start of something bigger and better.
I appreciate Imagineering’s decision to make Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge a distinct place in Batuu. As opposed to being a catch-all intellectual property land or setting pulled from one of the movies, it’s a novel location that fits within the existing universe and plays by its rules.
From the outset, doing something different and new was a risky approach. It’s also one that many fans have derided. To this day, we still receive comments from Star Wars fans who are visiting Galaxy’s Edge for the first time and are utterly baffled (and disappointed) by the decision to not set the land in Tatooine (the most common request) or somewhere recognizable from the films.
It would’ve been easier for Disney to simply “play the hits” and give guests what they want in terms of recognizable visuals. Even outside of hardcore Star Wars fans, the majority of casual guests likely would’ve been more satisfied with a familiar effort that checked more boxes in terms of recreating a setting from the movies. Basically, in making it a ‘step into the scene’ from Star Wars, a la Cars Land or the Wizarding World of Harry Potter or World of Frozen.
Instead, Imagineering had creative freedom and swung for the fences. They created the planet of Batuu, a totally new environment but one that speaks the language (both literally and visually) of Star Wars. The design motifs are reminiscent of other planets from the various Star Wars films, in addition to the obvious things like the Millennium Falcon, droids, characters, and transport. Batuu is new, yet familiar.
The end result is a land that is an almost unprecedented mix of intellectual property and original design. For all hardcore theme park fans crow about “original park IP,” this is almost it. Much like how Villains Land with its Art Nouveau and Modernisme-inspired “Conjured Architecture” should be close to original, which is one reason why Imagineers are so excited to work on that project.
Obviously, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is based on blockbuster movie IP, but so much of the setting was built from scratch. There’s a lot that the keen eye will recognize as distinctly Star Wars, but even more than looks original.
This is precisely why we dubbed the land Space Morocco–because outside of the gigantic Millennium Falcon parked in the central courtyard, Galaxy’s Edge arguably has as much in common with Morocco (but in outer space) as Star Wars. Honestly, it almost feels like a knock-off; like some bootleg Space Place Land that another theme park would build to skirt various intellectual property laws.
For fans wanting a wish fulfillment land, this was the first of many disappointments with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Personally, I’m still mixed on the setting of Space Morocco/Batuu. I used to view the original setting as purely an asset and sign of ambition. But I’m also a realist and I’ve heard the complaints enough that I can concede this is a problem–there’s a clear expectations versus reality mismatch with Galaxy’s Edge.
Regardless, redesigning the setting to transform Batuu into Tatooine is a non-starter. It’d be too costly, especially for a land that’s pretty popular, even if not exactly what guests want. Fortunately, there are a ton of other ‘soft’ fixes that can (and are) being made.
Disneyland has now announced that they’re doing exactly that, “unlocking” the sacred timeline and making a bunch of soft changes so that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge better comports with guest expectations (my words, not theirs). Here’s a rundown:
- Rolling back the timeline and bring new storylines to life on Batuu, spanning multiple eras of the planet’s rich history. These updates will make the Galactic Civil War and New Republic, as well as the Age of the Resistance and First Order, part of the story in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
- Introducing Darth Vader, Han Solo, Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker as permanent inhabitants of Batuu, in addition to existing characters (albeit in their own ‘regions’ of the land to preserve thematic integrity to the greatest extent possible).
- The addition of beloved scores from legendary composer John Williams, pulling themes from the first six films.
- Updates to buildings and shops throughout the land, including the addition of new props and graphics to better reflect a broader history of Batuu with the new storylines.
We have separate articles covering each of the changes and our thoughts on the moves Disney is making. The TL;DR of all of that is pretty much “what took so long?!” Suffice to say, we’re 100% on board with all of these changes. Frankly, we’re more inclined to argue that they don’t go far enough, not that there are too many changes.
I have consistently and repeatedly been advocating for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to have a soft reboot. And I have hoped that this would be the year that we’d get it, with a relaunch of the land coinciding with the debut of the Mandalorian and Grogu Mission for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
A lot of what we’d expect from a soft reboot is precisely what’s happening. Further bending (or breaking) of the rigid timeline rules, introduction of beloved characters, John Williams music, and other changes to make the land more classically and distinctly Star Wars.
Almost all of this is pretty low-hanging fruit, and the type of thing we’d expect Walt Disney Imagineering to be able to accomplish during overnights (right down to the new props in gift shops) without any construction walls. For the ‘big’ stuff, it should be mostly like flipping a switch from April 28 to April 29, 2026. This is pretty much the marketable ‘package’ of changes that we’ve been expecting for a while. These changes will be great.
My hope, though, was that there’d be more. That alongside the relaunch of Millennium Falcon on May 22, 2026, there would essentially be a whole reimagining of the entire land. Maybe going far enough to justify renaming both the subtitles of that ride and the land as a whole (not like ‘Smugglers Run’ or ‘Galaxy’s Edge’ are particularly powerful branding).
The biggest missed opportunity with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge continues to be the seldom-used catwalks in the land that were intended to come alive for mini-shows. For those who are unaware, the original idea for these catwalks was brief action sequences, such as rooftop battles or shootouts involving opposing characters like Vi Moradi and Stormtroopers.
The goal was to make the land feel like a living world with real conflict and stakes, and action that could arise at any point. These battles would be scripted, of course, but they’d be varied and part of an evolving storyline (loose term) throughout the day, which would immerse guests in the action and reinforce the notion that they were “living their own Star Wars story,” as the original marketing tagline suggested.
If you experienced Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge around opening day on either coast, you might’ve gotten a taste of some of this. Even more was performed on a one-off basis during media events for the respective openings (and again for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance).
If you’ve ever felt that Galaxy’s Edge is lacking in kinetic energy, or has a lived-in quality but still doesn’t quite feel alive, this is more or less the reason. The atmospheric acts and brief battle sequences that were supposed to occur throughout the day would’ve offered exactly that energy and intensity, raising the stakes and truly immersing guests in the action.
Even if you missed all of that, it’s possible you’ve still gotten a taste of it. There have been times when the catwalks have been utilized for more straightforward ‘smile and wave’ purposes, or even the Stormtroopers heckling guests. Even this adds a lot to the land!
When Galaxy’s Edge really hums is when there’s activity along the catwalks that happens to overlap with action on the ground. The way the characters at each level engage, with guests in the middle, can be something special and give a layered quality to the land.
Once again, this is just a small sliver of what was originally planned–but it’s in these brief moments when you can see the full potential of the land. If you squint just right, it’s almost like being part of something special. Galaxy’s Edge no longer feels lifeless, it feels fully alive–like stepping onto the set of a new production and being amidst the action.
Maybe Disneyland has some of this planned with the introduction of Darth Vader, Luke & Leia, and Han Solo. Vader being on the hunt for Luke might be a tease of this, but more likely is that Vader is filling the shoes of Kylo Ren.
The best reference point, for anyone who experienced it, is Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. While I doubt the land itself would’ve ever reached those same stratospheric heights, it’s a similar idea.
Speaking of Starcruiser, this is another sore subject for myself and other fans. Shortly after closing, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro teased that “something will happen” when asked about the future Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. Unlike a lot of fans, we did not take this to mean that the building would see future use as a Star Wars hotel or anything of the sort. (To the contrary. See: Why Walt Disney World Will NOT Reimagine Starcruiser Into a Star Wars Hotel.)
When discussing Starcruiser, D’Amaro also said that “not everything’s going to work. What did work, though, is we took creativity and storytelling to a completely new level, to a level that had never existed before…It didn’t work commercially. And so, when we realized that, you just make a call and move on.”
Separately, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser had one of the highest guest satisfaction scores at Walt Disney World of all-time. Countless average guests called it one of their best-ever Disney experiences. The hotel was also hated and highly controversial, but mostly among those who never did it.
We are not interested in relitigating the debate over whether Starcruiser “worked” or not as a cohesive product offering. It did close abruptly and lose $300 million in the process, so it’s a failure by objective metrics. Even so, there is little denying that–at minimum–Starcruiser had kernels of good ideas. It also had instances of great technology, storytelling, and more.
No matter where you stand on Starcruiser, it’s fairly undeniable that there were aspects of the failed experience that could have been salvaged and lived on. Between that and D’Amaro’s teases, we honestly had expected and hoped that Walt Disney Imagineering would “recycle” some of the assets and ideas from Starcruiser by now. From the specific shows to the technology, there is so much that could–and should–live on.
(I can’t speak to their credibility, but there were rumors pre-opening that the catwalk shows in the land had been purposefully withheld for the sake of Starcruiser and the paywall around that. Even if that’s not accurate, it’s easy to see how the overhead shows in the Starcruiser atrium would easily translate to the catwalks in Galaxy’s Edge. Or how the dinner show in the hotel’s restaurant could be ported to the vacant spot behind Oga’s Cantina.)
Ultimately, I’m really pleased by Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm finally being willing to break the rules in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, at least at Disneyland. I know some diehard Star Wars fans who love the strict rules of Batuu might disagree, and that’s perfectly understandable. I also love that Imagineering had the opportunity to take a big swing with Galaxy’s Edge. But over 6 years later, it still hasn’t quite lived up to its promise and it’s clear that the majority of average guests want something different out of the land.
Bending or breaking the rules will help remedy that, making Batuu a vibrant canvas for adventures that comport more closely with what regular visitors and first-timers expect from a Star Wars land. It could make Galaxy’s Edge feel alive and exciting, even if it becomes less coherent from a storytelling perspective. It could also make the land perform better with casual visitors, who hear “Star Wars land” and expect to be able to see Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Leia, Han Solo and other characters they actually know and care about.
At the same time, all of this is just a start. Music will help with kinetic energy. As will characters guests care about. But if Imagineers really want to make this lived-in land–which is so frequently derided by fans as lifeless–feel more alive, then they really need to add atmospheric action. I know modern Disney is practically allergic to spending money on entertainment, but it’s badly needed here.
Beyond that, importing those great ideas that worked from Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser would be a huge win. Most guests have never even seen most of that due to the spectacular speed at which the Starcruiser crashed and burned (and its colossal cost pre-closure), so this would all be brand-new to most guests. Adding the dinner show in an all new-venue behind Oga’s Cantina, as originally intended, also seems like a no-brainer that would be a license to print money that would pay for itself many times over.
All of this is on my longer-term wishlist for truly “fixing” Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. In the meantime, it’s reassuring that Imagineering is listening to guest feedback about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and finally acting accordingly. The land has so much unrealized potential, and this soft reboot of Galaxy’s Edge could be exactly the shot in the arm that’s needed. We can’t wait to experience the “unlocked” land starting April 29, 2026!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you excited to see the timeline “unlocked” in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? Excited for the added characters, expanded story, John Williams music, or any other upcoming changes? Hope that this is the first of many additions, that will eventually include atmospheric action on the catwalks, Starcruiser stuff, etc? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
My understanding is that Imagineering originally designed the land as Tatooine with the original characters and it was Kathleen Kennedy who insisted on theming it to the new films and stripping John Williams music out, etc….another in her long line of failures.
The simple truth is that these things are incredibly hard to predict and it’s easy for us to say they missed from our computer screens. How much to balance new and the old with an incredibly developed IP is an immense undertaking.
I’ve always felt that Disney made a mistake by choosing the landscape it did. It’s simply not all that imposing and it is easy to fall out of the immersion. Sure, they did a great job in detailing every aspect of the land but that’s the thing…I’ve got to actually be looking to notice the detail. Otherwise, I’d feel like I’m just walking through another area of a Disney park.
I always felt that they should have done a theme that would look totally different at night…perhaps a planet like Coruscant. During the day, CarsLand is great. But a night it is truly spectacular so you’ve really got to go during both times to enjoy the full experience. I don’t feel I have to go back to Galaxy’s Edge during the nighttime to capture the land. In fact, some areas are really dark and offer nothing of interest (it doesn’t help they didn’t do much with the vendors).
It’s not cost prohibitive to change Batuu to Original Trilogy Tatooine. First thing is the paint color should be changed to a sand color. That’s not hard. Turning Batuu into Mos Eisley Spaceport should be relatively easy. They used the original plans for Batuu. The bones are there.
The harder part is changing Rise of Resistance to an Original Trilogy story. Change Rey to Leia, and Kylo to Darth Vader. Change the lame story about recruits. We are going to Death Star!!!
Smugglers Run should be changed to a Han Solo ride with Han in the pre-ride queue instead of the character that no one heard of. We should meet Luke Skywalker who visits us in a X-Wing fighter. Easy peasy.
I agree with everything you said, but a lot of people know who Hondo Onaka is. He first debued in the Clone Wars episodes, and then reappeared in the Rebles series. I think Having Hondo as the pre-ride queue was good for a ride based on pirating and smuggling.
Not as important than most, if not all of these … but still, they’re not ending the SW meet & greets at the old DL Launch Bay. This makes no sense to me, particularly when adding more characters to GE seems like the major point of this particular effort. Is this a way to avoid dealing with the dead mall vibes under Star View Station or did someone fumble the logistics?
That’s also a Disney Visa meet & greet location, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s contractual language between Disney, Chase and Visa about offering that.
What they’ve done/not done with that whole building really is confounding, though.
It’s genuinely insane that they built an entire Star Wars land and didn’t include an animatronic Yoda. That’s a day-one, slam-dunk, must-have decision. The same goes for the cantina — no classic cantina music, and no room full of aliens playing instruments? That’s pure low-hanging fruit. It doesn’t take a team of elite creatives to come up with that. At least they’re finally adding the music, but the fact that it was missing at all is baffling.
If you’re going to build a land around an IP like Star Wars, you’re selling nostalgia — that’s where the money is. To almost deliberately withhold nostalgia, the very thing that makes a land like this work, is completely insane. It honestly makes you wish Universal had the Star Wars rights, because they would have delivered something fans actually want.
At the very least, they should replace the Hondo animatronic on the Millennium Falcon ride with the Mandalorian. Going on a Mandalorian-themed experience and then being greeted by an animatronic of a character most guests have never even heard of is absurd. And the excuse that it would cost too much doesn’t hold water. They just built a brand-new animatronic for the Zootopia Tree of Life show, which was a very similar — if not smaller — upgrade, largely involving updated on-screen content.
Galaxy’s Edge is great the way it is. But I wouldn’t mind an expansion. Shootouts on the catwalks, dinner theater, speeder bike roller coaster – they all sound good to me.
Much like the early demise of Harmonious at Epcot, this news mostly just refreshing/encouraging to have WDI implicitly admit they made miscalculations with Galaxy’s Edge and they are willing to make some of the necessary adjustments.
While it is easy to admire the ambition of a “original” (but heavily IP-informed) land, Galaxy’s Edge clearly should have been more like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attractions. WDI understood this with Cars Land but seemed to have lost sight of that when it came to Star Wars. Admittedly, WDI probably was encouraged (if not outright told) to make the new land focus on the newer movies and shows.
I agree and really appreciate the ambition. But I do not like the land (save for Rise of the Resistance). I get that they wanted a new world, but it’s like it’s Tattooine’s cousin–it gives vibes of Tattooine without actually being the Tattooine that everyone wanted. If it was going to be something that we didn’t know, make it something unique that we didn’t know.
What Galaxy’s Edge really needs is a kinetic energy ride. The land is huge. How amazing would a speeder bike themed coaster around the perimeter of the land be? Zooming in and out of the foliage, through a building or two, and over some of the rooftops. Basically a peoplemover, but in Endor speeder bike coaster form. Imagine how much that one addition would improve the land!
The fundamental distinction that Disney missed by creating a “timeline” for Batuu was that difference between LARPing and themed entertainment. Themed entertainment does not need a complicated backstory or timeline. Guests shouldn’t need a lot of information to enjoy themed entertainment. One example to illustrate is the difference between Blizzard Beach and Volcano Bay. Blizzard Beach is perfect themed entertainment. One need only to understand the theme of a ski resort melting in Florida to fully enjoy BB. On the other hand, Universal created ornate backstory for Volcano Bay, which could help certain guests. But it is not great theming. The same with Batuu–the backstory did nothing for 95% of guests that just want to be immersed in theming of Star Wars.
Totally agree. I was just thinking, it’s like Disney built an entire land designed for LARPing…but nobody can actually LARP…and that’s not appropriate for a busy theme park…and it’s also a super niche hobby…
Maybe other people already know this, but very curious why Disney took this exact approach when the most crowd-pleasing strategy would clearly be to include the most legendary characters, a recognizable movie setting, and/or John Williams music. I’m sure there were calculations at play here that just weren’t totally right, but in times of sticking Cars in Frontierland, the weird level of adherence to thematic integrity in this specific land really sticks out.
I was thinking up a long comment here, but this is a perfect summary. GE is the first time Disney tried an “immersive” environment, and it’s easy to take the position that two things can be true at the same time: first, that it’s an amazing swing for the fences for that kind of idea, and second, that the the idea just misses the people that spent a small fortune to just experience the familiar.
I think a personal anecdote illustrates the highs and the lows of the land. Just prior to the Covid shutdown, I was at GE at HS with my then 10yo son. Not a Star Wars obsessive, but totally into the land…the kind of kid that the whole “use the app to scan the QR codes around the land” hit perfectly with. As we’re doing this, a pair of Stormtroopers come over, look at him and are like “What are you doing scanning all this stuff?” My son, brilliant as he may be, froze and mumbled something about using the app as it was intended. After an awkward little stare down, the troopers go “carry on” and continue about the land. It was an incredible, realistic point of interaction that just fell flat because a 10yo wasn’t ready to banter with Stormtroopers.
Which to me is a simple encapsulation of the highs and the lows of GE. It’s straight up designed around Star Wars LARPing – there’s no getting around that. On the other hand, maybe 2% (being generous) of the folks going to GE on either coast are into that – they’re there for “hey, cool, Star Wars.” If you’re in that 2%, the GE is a home run – the idea to interact in a “lived in” world is such a cool idea and implementation that its a home run. For the other 98% – give me the classics. Give me the characters that I’ve known and grown with over 50-odd plus years. The interactivity is a distant second to playing the hits. Combine that with sticking the whole land in the middle of what can generously be called a “controversial” point in the Star Wars timeline, this pivot makes total sense. Just a question of when, not if, it makes its way to Batuu East
Tom, help us understand the “whys” here (even if it’s just you speculating):
– why just Disneyland and not WDW?
– WHY (this is the one I really want to understand) aren’t the catwalk skits a regular thing? You’re absolutely right that that would transform the “feel” of the land in a really incredible way, and seems super-simple to implement. What is preventing this?
Agree with both of these questions!
I agree with you about the LARPing. Cars Land is exceptional but in a sense is easier because the area isn’t tied to a specific time period.
I’ve always felt that Disney made a mistake by choosing the landscape it did. It’s simply not all that imposing. Sure, they did a great job in detailing every aspect of the land but that’s the thing…I’ve got to actually be looking to notice the detail. Otherwise, I’d feel like I’m just walking through another area of a Disney park.
I always felt that they should have done a theme that would look totally different at night…just like Carsland. During the day, CarsLand is great. But a night it is truly spectacular so you’ve really got to go during both times to enjoy the full experience.
I am very curious as to whether East will see these changes one day. Seems like an inevitability. Particularly notable to me in the official release is the idea of Luke Skywalker’s interest in lightsabers and the mystery construction project in the Savi’s courtyard. Could they be related?
I am appalled that this isn’t coming to Walt Disney World and I cannot for the life of me understand why. California once again gets everything. Shameful.
Any speculation on if/when these changes might occur for Batuu East?
my question as well
As long as they don’t just repaint that Resistance X-Wing and try to pass it off as Red 5…
That’s in the upper part of the land and will remain in the sequel’s timeline.
Yeah, I don’t expect them to ever actually do that. But that’s a line I always worry they’ll cross whenever the topic of retheming Galaxy’s Edge to the Original Trilogy comes up. The Sequel Trilogy X-Wings, A-Wings, and AT-ATs are completely different from the Original Trilogy ones!