Star Wars Land Timeline Expanding to Classic Era
Disney is “unlocking” the timeline of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in the biggest way yet, to include the classic era and characters from the original trilogy of films. This post covers dates and details of the upcoming changes, plus our commentary.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is set on the remote planet of Batuu, located around the borders of the Outer Rim and Wild Space. Batuu is home to Black Spire Outpost, which is an infamous stop for smugglers and rogues…and a village that time has sorta passed by despite its pivotal role in galaxy affairs for hundreds of years.
Since the land’s opening in 2019, both the Resistance and the First Order have had presences on opposite ends of Batuu. In addition to that, Hondo Ohnaka has set up shop with Ohnaka Transport Solutions, a smuggling operation that ‘borrows’ the Millennium Falcon. Upon its debut, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has been set during the brief window between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.
Regardless of how you feel about the planet of Batuu, backstory of Black Spire Outpost or the sacred timeline, the original choices were ambitious ones. They were distinct and deliberate storytelling decisions. There are a lot of instances of backstory being used as a crutch to paper over shortcomings, but not in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The substance of the land is even more ambitious–if anything, it’s constrained too much by the lore.
And this is precisely why Disney has eased off the strict adherence to the timeline over the last few years.
The gradual ‘erosion’ of the stringent story standards for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge began back in 2022, when Imagineer Scott Trowbridge explained that storytelling would evolve in the land with the introduction of new characters: “While we as visitors may be able to experience different stories throughout Star Wars history, the characters on Batuu can not. They will remain in their specific story and timeline and won’t intersect with other characters or stories that would not be appropriate for them.”
Since then, there’s been a steady stream of new characters into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, including Mandalorian and Baby Yoda at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, as well as Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, Sabine Wren, and Ahsoka at Disneyland.
Last year, a young Luke Skywalker appeared in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland for Season of the Force, which was the biggest breaking of the sacred timeline to date. Prior to that, there was a bit of wiggle room or plausible deniability with just “The Mandalorian” characters.
Young Luke Skywalker eliminated that, at least on a seasonal basis, opening the door for much more. And now, Disney is pushing things further with an official shifting of the sacred timeline of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Star Wars Land Timeline Shift at Disneyland in April 2026
Disney has announced that beginning April 29, 2026, visitors will be able to experience different points of the storied saga inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland, with new characters and storylines. These updates to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will enable visitors to experience even more of the eras of the franchise at Disneyland (Batuu West).
New storylines will be brought to life on Batuu West, spanning multiple eras of the planet’s rich history beginning April 29, 2026. These updates will enable you to experience the Galactic Civil War and New Republic, as well as the Age of the Resistance and First Order.
Black Spire Outpost will roll back in time several decades, thoughtfully introducing fan-favorite characters from across the Star Wars timeline, new props and graphics in some areas, musical selections from Star Wars film scores throughout the land and more. Each era will be brought to life with the same care and attention to detail that the land was originally designed with, masterfully weaving together stories from across time and space in one location.
Original Trilogy Star Wars Characters Coming
This will include Darth Vader in search of Luke Skywalker (who is also returning), as well as Leia Organa and Han Solo. These iconic heroes and villains of the Star Wars saga will join familiar faces you may see now in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
The forested area on the outskirts of Black Spire Outpost will continue to represent a time inspired by the Age of the Resistance. You may find Rey around this Resistance camp, and if you’re bold enough, become a hero yourself in a climactic battle with the First Order aboard Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Speaking of which, we’ve confirmed with Disneyland that there will be no story changes to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance during the upcoming refurbishment. That’s regular, routine maintenance that’s unrelated to the timeline changes. And although we still don’t have an end date for this, don’t expect it to last as long as is currently reflected on the calendar.
As Batuu’s history is represented with new storylines, you may notice some updates to buildings and shops throughout the land. First Order Cargo will transform into Black Spire Surplus, a military salvage operation offering artifacts from across the history of the galaxy, including Imperial and Rebel items from the Galactic Civil War.
As antiquities shops often do, Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities will display a different array of one-of-a-kind items from its past. The curiosities and artifacts in his shop certainly change with the times.
An earlier generation of the Mubo family will operate Droid Depot, where they will be prototyping the BB style of droid. You’ll still have the opportunity to purchase and create your own droid companion at this shop.
In his search for information on lightsabers and the Force, Luke Skywalker will be interested in meeting with Savi. You may continue to have the opportunity to purchase and build your own lightsaber under the guidance of Savi’s Gatherers.
Although there are no reported physical prop changes at Oga’s Cantina, the Imagineering and Lucasfilm team confirmed that the story here will also shift. In the era of the Galactic Civil War, proprietor Oga Garra only recently opened this watering hole, which is already becoming a popular spot for intergalactic travelers as she looks to expand her empire.
This and other changes are based on “Star Wars: Echoes of Empire,” an upcoming comic that will offer expanded origin stories of the characters on Batuu. The first issue of this series will be released April 22, 2026.
Our Commentary
As I’ve mentioned in countless other posts by this point, I’m a staunch advocate of relaxing the rigid rules in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. If anything, this doesn’t go quite far enough from my perspective, but that’s not necessarily due to the way they’ve opened up Batuu, but rather, the budget (or lack thereof) for doing so.
What I will say is that even as someone who is unbothered by the bending or breaking of the sacred timeline, I’m actually pleased that Imagineering and Lucasfilm is maintaining some rules and guardrails for the sake of continuity. With the original Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, they created something special. The execution wasn’t always perfect (hence our multi-year pitch to break the rules!), but it was a great idea.
We’re glad that isn’t being abandoned entirely for the sake of a Avengers Campus-style free-for-all. While there’s a lot that the Marvel land does get right when it comes to character interactions and fun, it’s also a fundamentally different experience. And by that, I mean that the land itself just isn’t very good. Having it be a free-for-all where anything goes is an asset, and one that doesn’t undermine the land (because the land is impossible to undermine).
By contrast, there are–at absolute minimum–kernels of good ideas in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The underlying design is great, the backstory is clever, and the land has a lived-in sensibility. It definitely is not what a lot of Star Wars or Disney fans wanted, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It absolutely isn’t–it just doesn’t comport with guest expectations, and there’s a massive difference.
In a nutshell, I’m just glad that Disney isn’t throwing out the baby with the bathwater, and is trying to retain as much as possible of what makes Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge an enthralling, original place while also meeting guests where they are. All of this sounds like it’s going to be thoughtfully-executed with the level of attention to detail you’d expect. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Batuu West continues to evolve, and hope there’s a lot more to come!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you excited for Disneyland to “unlock” the timeline in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? Do you think these changes will eventually make their way to Walt Disney World? 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!
our generation have brought our kids up to love the original characters and films that we loved, like Mickey and Minnie they need to live on and will attract a far wider audience young and old alike
Since I hadn’t watched the more recent Star Wars movies I had no idea of the storyline that was supposed to be happening at GE. Like others, I assumed it was supposed to be Tatooine / Mos Eisley. While I appreciate what they were trying to do from the standpoint of telling a story/creating an environment, the GE theming went completely over my head, full of references to movies I’ve never seen with characters I’ve never heard of. I’m not here to give Imagineering a hard time; the franchise has moved on and I have not. So while I understand why they would be reluctant break the storyline/theming they’ve established, relaxing this a bit is probably a good idea to appeal to those of us who haven’t watched a Star Wars movie in 20+ years.
I find their lack of dedication to immersive storytelling and commitment to the timeline to be disturbing.
Hi Virgil,
I am feeling like I agree.
As much as I had thought I wanted to see the original characters, now that I am actually picturing Han and Leia walking around, I am thinking I was wrong.
It will be very weird seeing original timeline characters now.
I agree with both – relaxing the rules a little but definitely not a free for all. I went through a learning curve with GE. When I visited the first time, I just assumed to be in a generic Starwars setting, that looked very much like Mos Eisley. It took me quite some time to catch on to the backstory / Batuu. Once I did, I got over the lack of original characters and started to appreciate a setting that tries to involve guests without the prejudice from movie scenes. But this also illustrates the issue. I’ve been an OG fan and probably have way too much knowledge about everything SW. And it took me a long time to get what Disney was aiming for. Or perhaps this kept me from getting it? Either way, it’s very ambitious to expect all guests to bother with the backstory and appreciate that nuance. While I’ve come to appreciate the storytelling – I think it’s easier to feel part of the story if it’s an untouched locale that is still part of the overall timeline – I also think it can’t hurt to sprinkle in some different timeline aspects to broaden the appeal for very casual fans. I also appreciate that Disney is weaving this in rather than just giving up on the concept altogether.
I hope they make changes in Disney World too.
This feels like it could be The Rise of Skywalker all over again.
I don’t think Tom has argued for changes in bad faith, so this isn’t about his arguments here.
But many “fans” are very loud and very angry and do so in bad faith. This feels like being overly sensitive to the group of people who thrive on being negative regardless of the product.
The reaction to this type of fan is why Rise of Skywalker is both a mess and makes the other movies worse.
There is a reason that people know the phrase, “No one hates Star Wars like a Star Wars fan”.
Disney will never make those fans happy, they will complain that the land doesn’t have a cohesive story and/or it doesn’t make sense to be able to see Vader and then Rey or that the main Star Wars theme isn’t something that’s in the movie so it shouldn’t be here. Or something else equally as dumb to complain about.
I think if Disney wanted to make changes like this, merging the timelines is kind of a mess. Make West the original trilogy and East the sequels. You would need to do something with Rise though, but is it that hard to make it Rise of the Rebellion?
Disneyland has always done more with Galaxies edge than the version at Hollywood studios. For example, they have nighttime shows during the season of the force. Those could be replicated at Galaxies Edge east. I hope these changes migrate across in time for May the fourth.
Agree – long overdue. Still won’t be as good as Star Wars Weekends back in the day, but it’s a step closer.