Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Needs to Break the Rules
I’m a big fan of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. My review of Batuu offered effusive praise, and I think Rise of the Resistance is the #1 attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. However, I also question whether some of what I originally loved about the land is holding it back, and if better balance is needed.
One of the aspects of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that I appreciate is Imagineering’s decision to making it a distinct place. It’s not simply a catch-all intellectual property land or setting pulled from one of the movies, but rather, 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 would’ve been easier for Disney to simply “play the hits” and give guests what they want in terms of recognizable characters and visuals. The Star Wars brand is highly popular and recognizable, and outside of hardcore fans, the majority of casual guests likely would’ve been satisfied with a familiar but phoned-in effort that checked more boxes in terms of recreating things from the movies. Instead, Imagineering had creative freedom and swung for the fences.
Disney went to great lengths to create 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. Obviously, it’s blockbuster movie IP–that’s right there in the first two words of the name, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. But so much of the setting was built from scratch, following only the design language of Star Wars universe. There’s a lot that the keen eye will recognize as distinctly Star Wars, but even more than looks original.
Depending upon your perspective, this was potentially a great or terrible decision. We’ve heard from many disappointed fans of the original trilogy who clearly wanted to step into those Star Wars movies or settings. The desire to relive favorite moments, iconic scenes, places, etc. is strong and understandable.
In this regard, Galaxy’s Edge fails to deliver. It feels like a “knock-off” of Star Wars, in their words, like some bootleg Space Battle Land that another theme park would build to skirt various intellectual property laws. I suspect this group wanted something more akin to Cars Land or Hogsmeade, both of which do a superlative job of making guests feel like they’ve walked into an iconic scene from a favorite piece of pop culture.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are live action role playing enthusiasts who love Galaxy’s Edge. As the original marketing tagline suggested, it gives this group the ability to “live their own Star Wars story.” They enjoy Batuu as something of a blank slate that’s not simply a Cliff Notes version of a movie scene or setting.
For them, Galaxy’s Edge provides the rubric and parameters, but the adventure is theirs. They have the opportunity to interact with the land and its inhabitants, enjoying or imagining something original. Even though the structure is more rigid, the story is not already written in the same way it is in the now-concluded film trilogies.
I probably haven’t perfectly explained either camp’s position, which is because I don’t belong to them. To the extent that it exists, I’m team “make theme parks ambitious, standalone entertainment that isn’t totally beholden to existing movies.” I love when Imagineering is given the artistic liberty to experiment with original ideas, and some of my favorite lands and attractions don’t use IP at all, or only as a jumping off point for something fresh.
In my view, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a great example of this. The multi-billion dollar IP is present, but the core conceit is ambitious and envelope-pushing. It’s refreshingly original, unlike some other recent IP lands that recognize the drawing-power of their characters and ended up being perfunctory projects.
All of this makes what I’m about to write so difficult.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge takes things too far. In creating a place written around rigid rules, it’s almost as if Imagineering forgot this was a land that would exist in operating theme parks and be visited by millions of guests per year while on vacation.
At times, it feels like Galaxy’s Edge was meant to exist on the pages of an internal memo at the Lucasfilm Story Group, informing the writers of some yet-untitled Disney+ release planned in 2023. Like the team behind it was singularly focused on authentically crafting something unique, original, and with a coherent timeline that they forgot to ask, “what would be most fun for regular guests?”
While I love Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and its ambition, there are two lesser lands that are instructive in this regard. The first is Toy Story Land. While it pretends to be set in Andy’s Backyard to a degree, it breaks its own rules for new characters (Forky). More importantly, it offers a general sense of whimsy and fun, not taking itself too seriously. Toy Story Land has tons of room for improvement, but it’s best when embracing whatever while pretending it’s all in Andy’s Backyard with the oversized stuff style.
The other is Avenger’s Campus. This land is not good at all. It looks like someone took the contents of a RadioShack having a going out of business sale and installed all of it around a defunct Circuit City. The setting leans way too heavily on Imagineering’s “repurposed ____” trope, and is utterly uninteresting.
However, Avengers Campus is redeemed to a large extent because the land itself is primarily a canvas for the action and actual characters. And as with the movies, that’s where Avengers Campus shines–it comes alive with a range of heroes and villains from the various MCU properties, with little explanation offered as to why each is there. To whatever extent Avengers Campus works, it’s on the shoulders of the story-breaking characters.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is better than Avengers Campus by orders of magnitude, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any lessons from the latter than could be applied to improve the former. Similarly, Galaxy’s Edge could revisit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Pandora, Cars Land, and Arabian Coast to see what works about each of those.
To this day, the most glaring and easily fixable problem in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the lack of background music. The soundscape of Batuu is delightful and creates something of a lived-in atmosphere, but not including a soaring John Williams score sets it back. There’s a reason the Star Wars scores are so iconic, and the films would feel a lot flatter with those removed, and only sound effects in their place. Same goes for Galaxy’s Edge.
Not having background music in a theme park land because there wouldn’t be music at random if Batuu were an actual planet is a bridge too far. Batuu probably also wouldn’t have public restrooms, drinking fountains, outdoor vending carts selling Coca-Cola, or credit card readers. Yet all of those things are accepted as the practical realities of existing in an operational theme park.
When it comes to these intrusions, the threshold question should be whether the average guest (not the hardcore Star Wars fan in search of thematic or storytelling inconsistencies or “plot holes”) would easily notice them and if they’d ruin the illusion. Would certain additions impede the suspension of disbelief or enhance the overall experience and atmosphere?
In the case of a John Williams score, the answer is a no-brainer. It’d be an unequivocal improvement that no normal person would question. It would give the land a greater sense of energy and exhilaration, and make it feel more “Star Wars-y,” which is critical for the sake of authenticity since it’s an original planet.
When it comes to other potential changes, things aren’t so clear cut. Would adding the Mandalorian or Baby Yoda/Grogu be problematic? Taking that even further, what about characters from the original trilogy, like Darth Vader?
Canonically, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is set during the Star Wars sequel trilogy between Episode VIII – The Last Jedi and Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. That’s why any character alive at the end of the Last Jedi is fair game, but not those who died during the original trilogy, like (spoiler alert) Darth Vader. It’s also why there are no young versions of Princess Leia, Han Solo, or Luke Skywalker.
Grogu is most definitely fine as he could conceivably be alive and find his way to Batuu. The Mandalorian is also okay by me–who’s to say there’s not an elderly bounty hunter under that helmet. This alone is significant, as Disney+ is the company’s hot “thing.” A willingness to incorporate characters from the streaming service’s shows into the land would offer fresh offerings courtesy of the Disney+ marketing budget, as has been the case with Avenger’s Campus.
A bit more controversial, but I’d also be fine with Darth Vader…and literally anyone else. If a story contrivance is necessary to “explain away” why Darth Vader and his pals are on Batuu, there’s gotta be one. You can’t tell me that a franchise filled with clones, force ghosts, hyperspace, and various ways of toying with the space-time continuum can’t offer up some half-hearted (but plausible) explanation for certain characters making appearances.
The truth is, the overwhelming majority of guests will not bat an eye. They won’t ask why Darth Vader is on Batuu–they are already asking why he’s not on Batuu. In general, I’d make the argument that including more traditional elements of Star Wars, even if they aren’t canonically appropriate, strengthen the land, rather than weaken it.
Most guests are experiencing theme parks for enjoyment, and are more inclined to question an “obvious” omission rather than a slightly dubious inclusion. They notice details and environment, but often on more of a surface-level. They’re not there to critique, deconstruct, or probe for flaws. They want to have fun with their families.
When it comes to suspension of disbelief, Imagineering needs to have more faith in both itself and guests. Disney does a tremendous job at designing immersive environments. Guests crave escapism, and are downright eager to suspend disbelief when stepping into those lands. That’s how you can have a Swiss mountain next to a German castle next to the mid-century/steampunk “future” next to turn of the century small town America and have it all work just fine.
This isn’t an excuse to turn Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge into a free-for-all IP land. A lot of its success is a direct result of Lucasfilm and Imagineering’s high standards and commitment to its structure. There’s a happy medium in between the two extremes of “anything goes” and “strict timeline.” Balance is what we think Galaxy’s Edge should strive for, loosening its rules but not abandoning them entirely.
The loudest fans might take issue with Disney “expanding” the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge story or timeline, but the company shouldn’t confuse that type of volume for the overall volume of guests. (Plus, that vocal minority is going to take issue with everything Disney does with Star Wars.) This isn’t just true of Star Wars fans–we diehard Disney fans often engage in the same pattern of overanalysis. I know I’m guilty of that–but not when I’m actually in the park, enjoying myself.
Good faith guests aren’t actively looking for faults, they’re filling them in. This is something that seems to get lost in present-day Imagineering from time to time. They concoct unnecessarily elaborate backstories so everything makes perfect sense. It doesn’t need to, and if it does, that probably reflects fundamental flaws that won’t be remedied by pages and pages of story fluff (except among superfans, who eat it up because it gives them “insider knowledge”).
Ultimately, I’m not suggesting that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge throw the baby out with the bath water and start fresh. To the contrary, I hope it’s very clear from all of the foregoing that I love this largely-successful land. What I think is needed is better balance, and a willingness to break the rules if it produces something that’s more fun and better meets guest expectations. (Plus a water feature or two and a whole lot more shade/rain cover, but that’s another issue entirely!)
It’s great that Disney gave Imagineering creative freedom with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and that’s borne out in the end product. However, some of their worst impulses and fixations also are apparent in the result–something so steadfastly stuck on storytelling isn’t ideal. There’s nothing wrong with just “playing the hits” from time to time, and it’s reasonable to do so with Star Wars, in particular. There are undoubtedly ruses Disney can use when rewriting the Galaxy’s Edge backstory to satisfy the fans looking for a coherent timeline, too. Imagineering has used superfluous story to dupe dozens of diehard Dino-Rama fans into thinking that dumpster fire is actually good, so I’m convinced they can do the same with a land that actually is good.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you think Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge should break its own rules or stick to the fixed timeline and story? Would you like to see the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda in the land? What about Darth Vader and other original trilogy characters? Think Galaxy’s Edge should focus on fun, canon, or a mix of both? 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!
Absolutely agree. Especially during these last Covid years with fewer live characters roaming and engaging the visitors, the area has seemed dead. In December, Chewie was the only live character around and it became awkward for the initially excited to see Chewie people waiting for ROR riders. Music, characters, action is needed to bring Batuu to life. Needs pizzazz beyond the incredible rides.
I agree with you. Adding music and some shade would be great. Music adds to the ambience of all of the parks…part of the immersion exper. I also wouldn’t mind if they had some signs in English. I can never figure out what anything is because of the signage. They could make them in the script they use for Batuu, but in a language we can understand so that we can find things without having to ask a cast member every time.
I would love for Batuu to be a canvas where each of the trilogies can play out, with consistently timed characters all descending on the land at the same time. Each time you entered the land, you wouldn’t know which era you were in until you started to recognize the characters. It would create re-visitability, even within a day.
Great insights.
I might be older than the desired target market (9 years old when the original Star Wars came out in 1977), but I can’t help but find Galaxy’s Edge a bit underwhelming.
I was so completely excited about it when it was announced. And I really enjoyed it when it opened. But now, aside from an occasional ride on “Rise”, there’s not a whole lot pulling me on there.
I’m kinda shocked. As a lifelong Star Wars fanatic I thought this would be a must visit on every single trip. But no, it’s simply not for me.
A lot of your points help explain why that is. Hope they make some changes.
Agree. SWGE is an excellent work of themed design. And it’s few faults are mostly artibrary constraints imposed on it by the people (both imagineers and fans) who obsess over backstory, timeline continuity, and related nonsense that is (or should be) largely irrelevant to themed design.
100% agree on the music. That would be an instant upgrade for the land.
“Good faith guests aren’t actively looking for faults, they’re filling them in. This is something that seems to get lost in present-day Imagineering from time to time. ”
I also agree here. While not a super fan, I have seen all the Star Wars movies enough times to be cognizant of timeline/storyline. But if I saw Darth Vader walking around Batuu I wouldn’t think “What is he doing here?” I would just think ” DARTH VADER!!”
If the sequel trilogy had incorporated Tatooine into its narrative as a significant setting (and it could have pretty seamlessly been substituted for Jakku, arguably making more sense), then Batuu could be pretty easily rebranded as that locale. From there, Disney could accommodate each era by designating a day of the week as occurring during a specific time. “Sequel Sundays”, “Mandalorian Mondays”, “Original Trilogy Tuesdays”, etc. That way, you could have characters from each respective era freely roaming the land without creating any sort of time paradox. The Rise of the Resistance could probably accommodate each era with a few minor tweaks each day (switching out videos to showcase era-appropriate characters and changing heads to reflect Clone Troopers, Stormtroopers, or First Order soldiers; swapping out animatronics might be a little more challenging, but it could be done). Smuggler’s Run might be a little more challenging for the Prequel Era, but the imaginneers could almost certainly come up with something that would explain it’s presence.
This gives fans of each era the opportunity to see the characters they love, and it would certainly increase the revisitability of the land. Unfortunately, when they made the sequels, they elected to not incorporate a planet into the narrative which had played such a prominent part in the Star Wars lore up to that point (aside from the three minutes at the end of Rise of Skywalker when Rey visits Tatooine). Oh well.
Jakku is a perfect example of the way Disney/Lucasfilm execs were thinking during the initial concept development of the sequel trilogy and Galaxy’s Edge. Namely “give fans something that looks the same as what they remember, but isn’t that thing exactly”. “Starkiller” and “Death Star”? I mean, come on.
Honestly Disney could still go back and say “oh, Jakku is just what people on the southern hemisphere of Tatooine call that planet…yeah, you can only see one sun from down there”. There have been many worse retcons in Star Wars history.
Went once Oga’s Cantina.
I found it OK – nothing great. Our family got a table near the cantina DJ and could see the show somewhat fine from the table. We never seemed rush – we got a round of drinks and some of the snacks to try. We stayed long enough my son got another different drink to try. Thought the atmosphere of the Cantina was more lively than the land because of the DJ. Wasn’t expecting to see any role playing or characters but would have been great to see some kind of Star Wars characters or droid mingling about in the Cantina. I read before our visit that they were limiting time to about 30 – 45 minutes. We were never rushed or kicked out, we spent about 45 minutes inside. The Bar set-up didn’t lend itself for us to stay any longer. The bar is in a circle and the table are faced by a standing counter with people in front mainly blocking any people watching or viewing much from your table besides the DJ if your table is close enough. My son spent most of the time walking around to view the different areas – which took away from our time. We stayed put in thinking we would lose the table if we all got up at once to walk around. When he got back I walked around briefly and got back to the table – walking around takes away from enjoying as a family. I would go back but not rushing.
Well said, Tom! Star Wars is such a vibrant universe, there’s a nearly endless supply of characters and story elements to incorporate to make the guest experience better. Just off the top of my head, there’s no reason Naboo couldn’t send Batuu a fountain as a goodwill gesture to get that water feature you mentioned. And I’d love to see scheduled character sightings like they have at Avengers Campus. On our upcoming trip, we have a half-day set aside just to spend at the Campus to watch the Marvel characters interact with the guests. That’s the real Disney magic.
https://youtu.be/t4_dZPVg8KI
Amen brother. Good article….It’s kind of ironic that Avengers campus looks cheaper but feels much more dynamic because of its characters and music while Galaxy’s Edge is the polar opposite….it looks great but feels dead. Seems like such an easy fix though. Add some iconic music and for heavens sake some aliens and characters! Having a Mando/Grogu/Boba Fett character in the parks right now seems like the biggest no brainer in the history of the Disney
company!
An easy solution to this would be to have different period characters come in bunches at different times of the day. Picture prequel and clone wars characters in the morning, original trilogy in the afternoon and sequel trilogy in the evening. It would really add strong replay value to the area and keep things fresh without making it broken for timelines.
My family visited Batuu in Disneyland. We are huge Star Wars fans and loved it. We were fortunate to be able to visit Oga’s Cantina twice. The cantina DJ is the former (and humorously failed) droid pilot of Star Tours. He is appropriately funny and “spins” the right tunes. Our drinks and meal were interrupted due to “something going on” that impacted the power. The “cast members” were in actor mode the entire time which made both visits fun. One evening just strolling down a side street/area in Batuu we noticed what looked like four Batuu shop workers standing around a high top table so we wandered over just to see what they were doing. When they noticed us, one guy immediately came over to us asked if it was our first visit to Batuu and invited us to get in on their game of Sabacc. I asked if we could just watch and they insisted one of us actually play. They taught the simple rules and we played three rounds; the entire time they were all “in character”. Once done, we walked about 20-30 steps and one guy ran up to us and in a hushed voiced and asked “Have joined the Resistance?”. I’m slow, so it took a few seconds to play along and said, “yes, it’s been amazing.” He took out this cell-phone looking device and told us to take out our “data pad” (the Disney Play app). We did and he scanned our phones allowing us an any-time entry to ride Rise. Those experiences matched what we had read about Batuu being like and I hope that there’s lots more of that for other visitors. My suggestion . . . GO to be part of the immersion experience and play along. NOT being a Star Wars fan or knowing Star Wars canon is a strength of the Batuu strategy with just enough Star Wars movie stuff to really feel like Star Wars. Plus, the architecture and attention to detail is both Star Wars and Disney amazing. I do think Disney will adjust to eventually find a sweet spot. I love some of the suggestions others have made – especially incorporating some of the Rise technologies to common areas of Batuu.
Thanks for further insights from the west Edge of the Galaxy! (I’m curious to see if Disneyland operates the extremely similar land differently from Hollywood Studios, so I really do appreciate this.)
I can second Michael’s experience. Batuu East is my more frequent home, but the cast at Batuu West definitely are much more interactive. Also, the third entrance still blows my mind.
I love John Williams scores but if they add background music to a park land I would much rather they do music thats John Williams-ISH rather than just plop existing film scores into a land. Universal does that and it drives me crazy. Film scores have ups and downs and turns corresponding to events that we’re not seeing, and if its too familiar it just sounds like someone stuck the soundtrack cd in and mashed Play :p. Better to get some original music that quotes or plays with Star Wars motifs but is more dynamically constrained and properly atmospheric or tone setting.
For me, after my second visit when Rise was finally opened, I realized two things about Galaxy’s Edge: 1) they should take like 1/3 of the tech from Rise (the hologram thingy, some of the animatronics) and put it into the “planet” to fill out the dead space and liven it up a bit. 2) Hollywood studios desperately needs an out-of-the-Sun play environment for kids. Why not add some kind of play area themed around the caves and pipes of Batuu to solve that? (Or add one to Toy Story Land)
I’m of the generation that lived with the first three (which were actually the middle three) Star Wars movies. They were phenomenal for their time. I haven’t seen any of the new ones.
“Star Wars Land” blew me away!!! We didn’t have a whole lot of time so all we did was walk through, but WOW! I was transported to a galaxy “far, far away”! I LOVED it!!!
I agree there is no sparkle….nothing going on…..no reason to go except for two good attractions, and one nice walk-through. Then I return to HS where there is a little noise/action and fun.
I am not a huge Star Wars fan, but do remember all the fun from the Original Movie coming out and the wonderful soundtrack. I think the land looks super cool , however that is it… it doesn’t bring back the fun from the original movies. I want to see all the characters I think of when Star Wars is brought up. We need all the iconic characters that everyone young and old know. I for one really have no idea who all of the characters in the newer movies are, yes that’s my fault because I have not watched those movies. Visiting Star Wars Land doesn’t make me want to go and watch the newer movies either, in fact I’m kinda bored after about 10 min in the land. If the soundtrack from original movies were played and Original characters were around it would probably hold my attention longer and stir up memories from back in the day when were seeing Star Wars for the first time. I do think ROR is a awesome ride though!!!
The Cantina is so disappointing. Nothing happens there. No energy.
There needs to be a confrontation of some sort, a proprietor walking around asking if you are having a good time, a dancer, storm troopers walk through looking for someone who then appears hidden someplace…SOMETHING.
When I visited, most people left after about 30-45 minutes, because they weren’t haven’t fun. What a missed opportunity!
I agree – it’s like an airport bar (except you have to stand and the people-watching is significantly worse). We did it in Disneyland last summer and I was really disappointed.
We had a fine time at Oga’s but it isn’t a ride or a show, it’s a themed bar. Sounds like you were expecting something that it isn’t meant to be.
As for ‘most people left after 30-45 minutes’….. from the Oga’s page on the WDW website:
“This experience takes place in an enclosed space with low lighting levels and high activity, and is limited to 45 minutes per party.”
I really loved this article Tom (and all your articles). I enjoyed Galaxy’s Edge and thought it was incredibly beautiful but agree more Star Wars in it would improve it (we sadly missed Rise of the Resistance opening by a few months on our visit).
I think it’s hard to compare Universal’s Harry Potter and Galaxy’s Edge. I LOVE Harry Potter and was blown away by WWOHP each time we visited. But the Harry Potter stories have far less “major” locations within the stories (pretty much what they have built, Hogwarts, Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, are the places most fans would want to visit).
Compare that with Star Wars, 100s is planets – heaps of fans divided over their favourite. What do you choose – Tatooine or Coruscant, Hoth or Endor etc (which is why I think we still have Star Tours). From that perspective I think the imagineers plan to create a new planet makes sense.
I was never really bought into the whole “create your own story” element. I am not much of a role player and simply want to “experience” the land, it’s attractions and details. Most other IP lands that are successful (like Cars and Arabian Coast that you mentioned) are similar to Harry Potter – more limited locations for guests to want to visit within the story.
Avengers suffer from the same story issues as Galaxys Edge I think, with so many movies/locations that they had to come up with one place that all the heros could be together so that makes sense to me. I haven’t visited but from pictures I’ve seen it seems less inspired but a lot more vibrant because of the characters and the storytelling.
Anyway thanks for all the work you put into this site and your articles – they are always enjoyed