Darth Vader’s search for Luke Skywalker will bring him to Batuu with a squadron of Imperial Stormtroopers when Walt Disney Imagineering expands the Star Wars timeline in Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge to include the original trilogy of movies.
Darth Vader, Han Solo and Princess Leia meet-and-greet characters will make appearances in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at the Anaheim theme park starting on April 29 when Imagineering introduces storylines from “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” eras of the sweeping space opera.
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The Star Wars storyline expansion is only coming to the West Coast version of Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland. The Batuu East version of Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida will maintain its current experience and Star Wars timeframe.
The Star Wars themed lands on both coasts opened in 2019 with a very limited timeline focused on the sequel era of stories and characters set between “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker.”
The Star Wars galactic calendar marks time on either side of the attack on the Death Star, known as the Battle of Yavin. Dates fall before the Battle of Yavin (BBY) or after the universe-saving attack (ABY).
Up until now, the twin Galaxy’s Edge themed lands in California and Florida have been set between 34 and 35 ABY in Black Spire Outpost, the outer rim village on the Star Wars planet of Batuu.
Imagineering’s expansion of the Star Wars timeline in Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge will now stretch from 3 ABY during the Empire Strikes Back era to 35 ABY during the Rise of Skywalker era.
That extra three decades creates opportunities and challenges for Imagineering from a storytelling standpoint.
“With these new updates, we’re going to be rolling back the timeline several decades to really start to celebrate an entirely different era of Star Wars,” Imagineering Executive Vice President Asa Kalama said during a press briefing. “This is going to allow us to thoughtfully introduce some iconic, beloved characters from across the Star Wars timeline, new props in some areas and a bunch of other little details.”
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Disney’s creative arm has been very careful not to introduce any new characters or storylines that would upset the galactic timeline in Galaxy’s Edge — which is considered canon in Star Wars lore.
“Much like all of the incredibly detailed story work that went into the original launch of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, that same level of attention and care and thoughtfulness has gone into this update as well,” Kalama said during the press briefing.
The Star Wars timeline in Black Spire Outpost has expanded since the opening of Galaxy’s Edge in 2019 with the introduction of characters like the Mandalorian, Grogu, Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker.
“That has allowed us to redistrict and find these regions throughout the land where these characters can roam and we can experience them,” Disney Live Entertainment Executive Creative Director Michael Serna said during the press briefing. “Their stories remain locked a little bit in their worlds and that will continue as we move forward.”
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The original trilogy characters coming to Galaxy’s Edge will make appearances in a phased rotation that’s authentic to their locations and relationships to each other.
Original trilogy storytelling will be focused near the Millennium Falcon, Oga’s Cantina and TIE Echelon Fighter. Sequel trilogy characters will hang out near the Rise of the Resistance. Mando and Ahsoka will stay in the middle amid the village shops.
“They will be staying in their respective storylines,” Serna said during the press briefing. “That’s very important to us to make sure that you don’t have a crossover that gets very confusing and unpleasant. We are going to keep them where they belong storywise.”
Han Solo will linger near the Millennium Falcon and Oga’s Cantina. Leia Organa will also show up near the Falcon recruiting travelers and locals to help keep Luke safe. Darth Vader will make appearances near the TIE Fighter with a show moment before roaming the land with a pair of Imperial Stormtroopers.
Leia will sport an adventurous look while Han will wear his distinctive black Corellian vest. Vader will be unmistakable in his intimidating black armor and helmet.
The newly-introduced original trilogy characters will often roam in familiar pairs: Luke and Leia, Han and Leia or Han and Chewie.
No word yet on whether Darth Vader will be running into Luke, Leia or Han in Batuu. Additional details about the original trilogy characters will be shared in the coming months.
The Kylo Ren meet-and-greet character will leave Galaxy’s Edge and head over to Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland for photo ops — replacing Darth Vader once he moves to Black Spire Outpost.
Rey, the main protagonist in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, will stick around the forested area on the outskirts of Black Spire Outpost near the Rise of the Resistance attraction. Chewbacca and R2-D2 may join Rey from time to time at the Resistance base camp.
The backstory for some of the Black Spire Outpost shops will also change a bit with the timeline shift in Galaxy’s Edge.
First Order Cargo will become a military salvage operation offering Imperial and Rebel artifacts from the Galactic Civil War. The new Black Spire Surplus will be run by two brothers who fought on opposite sides in the Clone Wars.
Droid Depot will be taken over by an earlier generation of the Mubo family that currently runs the droid-building shop in Batuu.
Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities will offer a new line of merchandise tied to the expanded Star Wars timeline.
Oga Garra will still run the cantina, but the proprietor will now be relatively new to Black Spire Outpost in the expanded timeline and yet to take control of the Batuu underworld as the local crime boss.
Rise of the Resistance will go down for a short refurbishment on Jan. 20 unrelated to the timeline changes coming to Galaxy’s Edge.
The new extended Star Wars timeline in Galaxy’s Edge will roll out just before Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run gets a new mission starring the Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22 and ahead of the 50th anniversary celebration of the epic space saga in 2027.
“Since the very inception of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, we really always imagined it as a platform for storytelling,” Kalama said during a press briefing. “That’s part of the reason we designed this neutral Wild West space town, because it allowed it to be a framework under which we could project different stories.”
Disneyland fans looking for more backstory related to the Galaxy’s Edge timeline expansion will want to get a copy of the Echoes of the Empire comic book coming out April 22 that will preview the new characters coming to Batuu.