Star Wars characters from the original trilogy and sequel trilogy will soon harmoniously coexist in Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland, which raises the obvious question: What about the prequel trilogy, Clone Wars and everything in between?
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 Walt Disney Imagineering introduces storylines from the “Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” eras of the sweeping space opera.
“Since the very inception of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, we really always imagined it as a platform for storytelling,” Walt Disney Imagineering Executive Vice President Asa 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.”
Up until now, Galaxy’s Edge has been focused on sequel era characters from “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker” along with the recent addition of characters like the Mandalorian, Grogu, Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker.
Kalama was asked during a press briefing whether the introduction of Vader, Han and Leia in Galaxy’s Edge could unlock the potential of adding characters from the prequel trilogy and Clone Wars eras in the Star Wars themed land.
“Our goal is for the land to continue to grow and evolve and change over time,” Kalama said during the press briefing. “Today we’re announcing this focus on this more classic era. But our goal is for the land to continue to change and evolve and to celebrate new characters and new stories as we move on into the future.”
Star Wars characters from the prequel trilogy that could appear in Galaxy’s Edge include Padme Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, Darth Sidious, Darth Maul, Jango Fett and Jar Jar Binks along with young versions of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The same goes for Star Wars characters from the Clone Wars and other characters with Disney+ shows like Lando Calrissian and Cassian Andor.
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Maintaining the continuity of the Star Wars storyline is of paramount importance to Lucasfilm and Imagineering — to avoid impacting untold stories or tying the hands of future storytellers. Too many exceptions to the rules and the narrative thread begins to fray around the edges.
Obviously, having Darth Vader appear alongside a young Anakin Skywalker or Kylo Ren in Galaxy’s Edge would create storytelling complications that Imagineering and Lucasfilm would want to avoid.
To address those storytelling concerns, original trilogy characters will make appearances in a phased rotation in Galaxy’s Edge 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 zone in the village shops.
“They will be staying in their respective storylines,” Disney Live Entertainment Executive Creative Director Michael 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.”
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.
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 Star Wars experience and timeframe.