The first phase of moving the sequel trilogy out of Galaxy’s Edge has begun. Guess who has been reporting on this for years before it was announced?
It may be one of the biggest confirmations of a rumor straight from WDW Pro that this site has ever confirmed. According to a press release from Disney Parks, we are about to see the Favreau-Filoni Star Wars universe characters appearing in Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland. Though this does not yet “replace” the sequel trilogy characters, there will now be far more Favreau-Filoni Star Wars characters in the land than the sequel trilogy personalities. Though the press release is careful to tread with caution about how this works narratively, this seems to be the beginning of a necessary transition demanded by the monetization of it all. This also seems to confirm prior reporting by WDW Pro about a Grogu animatronic having been developed and constructed.
Here’s the press release:
The legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand will soon stake a claim in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland park. Starting tomorrow, May 28th, visitors may find themselves encountering these two attempting to remain in the shadows around Black Spire outpost. Din Djarin, known as the Mandalorian, and Grogu, the child who found protection with Mando, also will journey to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland park at a later date. Mando, Grogu and their journey together can be seen in the first two seasons of “The Mandalorian” on Disney+.
We are committed to the long history of Batuu and the collection of amazing characters who inhabit the outpost including our legacy characters and original characters and know that we will feel the same about new and future characters from the ever-expanding galaxy of Star Wars storytelling. 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.”
Here’s a video covering WDW Pro’s first reporting on this subject all the way back from December 2020 when he wrote for Pirates and Princesses:
So what about Disney World? Why does the press release not cover that Galaxy’s Edge situation?
Well, that gets even more interesting according to WDW Pro. Apparently, Disney may use the Favreau-Filoni Star Wars characters on the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser. And, in discussions with WDW Pro late tonight, the prolific Disney analyst says that Disney may want to keep appearances of those characters exclusive in Disney World to the Starcruiser in order to drive up attendance if possible. That would mean some Disney+ Star Wars characters are heading to Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios, but others might be reserved for the Starcruiser. Here’s Pro’s original article:
So the leading option for the Galactic Starcrusier’s first changeup is to have Grogu on board the hotel and revealed on the first night. He’s a stowaway, being taken by Chewbacca across the galaxy to avoid detection by Admiral Thrawn. During the second night, however the ship would be boarded by unnamed baddies; they’ll be there to take Grogu. One of the scripts allegedly calls for Grogu and Chewbacca giving themselves up so that the rest of the guests are not harmed instead. Just as Grogu is being handed over to the bad guys, Luke Skywalker would arrive and save Grogu once again. A thank you message potentially could then be played for the guests from Princess Leia, expressing gratitude for their help in protecting “the child”.
One might imagine that having the ability to meet Luke Skywalker and Grogu aboard the Galactic Starcruiser might just be the thing Disney would resort to in order to get the hotel back to capacity usage.
For all the latest news, and the rumors you can count on, keep reading That Park Place. As always, drop a comment down below.
The target audience of the Galactic Starcruiser seems to be rich people who think Star Wars is cool, rather than the typical Star Wars fan. In that case I am not sure having Luke and Grogu will make much of a difference.
I work with these kinds of people. A lot of them would rather take a video / picture with an animatronic Grogu to flex on their friends and for clout.
As far as I’m concerned, this is too little too late. Had they done something like this at Mandalorian season 2 finale (and not fired Gina) this probably would have put the hype train into overdrive. Now, the Star Wars brand is damaged and I don’t see this even moving the needle.
Making the part ‘tied’ to a specific time period was idiotic. The park should have been flexible enough that you could cover ALL eras and have a rotation of characters that would cycle through the park over time. That way it’d stay fresh and different for repeat visitors instead of being stuck in the one time period. Sounds like they ‘might’ have learned that lesson?