Disneyland has finally answered the question that has hung over Galaxy’s Edge since the Star Wars land opened in 2019: Is it more important to adhere to a strict timeline in the epic saga or let fans enjoy all of the galaxy far, far away all at once?
A young Luke Skywalker meet-and-greet character will appear during the Season of the Force seasonal event that runs March 28 to May 11 at Disneyland. Additional details will be announced by Disneyland on Monday, Feb. 10, according to the official Disney Parks Instagram account.
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The move breaks more than five years of strict adherence to a storytelling rule established by Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm that limited Galaxy’s Edge to a time period between the events of “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker” — the last two films in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
That means Darth Vader, Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi may soon be joining Luke Skywalker in the Black Spire Outpost village on the Star Wars planet of Batuu, the setting for the 14-acre land at Disneyland in Anaheim.
Up until now, the old school characters from the original Star Wars trilogy had been effectively banned from Galaxy’s Edge by Imagineering.
From a storytelling standpoint, 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). Galaxy’s Edge is set between 34 ABY when “The Last Jedi” takes place and 35 ABY when “The Rise of Skywalker” film is set.
Up until now, those storytelling rules created by Imagineering and Lucasfilm carved out a very specific and limited timeframe for Galaxy’s Edge that determined which characters could — and could not — appear in the Star Wars themed land based on the sprawling space opera.
The appearance of the young Luke Skywalker in Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland changes everything and tosses out all the previous storytelling rules established for the land.
While this may seem trivial to the casual fan, it’s of paramount importance to Lucasfilm, Imagineering and legions of Star Wars devotees.
Up until this point, Galaxy’s Edge has been canonical in the Star Wars universe — which means the stories told in Black Spire Outpost were part of the official mythological history of the fictional saga.
Luke’s appearance in Batuu could toss that canonical distinction out the window and put Galaxy’s Edge into the non-canonical “Legends” storytelling category.
Up until now, the storytelling rule involving characters could be boiled down to this: Dead Star Wars characters couldn’t appear in Galaxy’s Edge.
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That meant you would never see Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Padme Amidala, Jyn Erso or Cassian Andor wandering around Black Spire Outpost — because they were all dead by 35 ABY.
Force-sensitive characters were an exception to the “Dead and Gone” rule. They could appear in spirit form in Galaxy’s Edge. The main example was Yoda, who makes a spirit appearance in Savi’s Workshop during the lightsaber building experience. Yoda also shows up in the Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge virtual reality game, which is set in Batuu.
Up until now, the cast of Star Wars characters that could appear in Galaxy’s Edge had been limited largely to Rey, Kylo Ren, Chewbacca, Finn, Poe Dameron, Hondo Ohnaka, Dok-Ondar, General Hux, Nien Nunb, Lieutenant Bek and Vi Moradi. Several droids also popped up throughout the land: R2-D2, BB-8, R-3X and 8D-J8.
Imagineering and Lucasfilm bent the Galaxy’s Edge rules a bit in 2022 and 2023 when the Mandalorian, Grogu, Ahsoka Tano and Boba Fett characters made appearances in the land.
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All four characters showed up in “The Mandalorian” on Disney+ which takes place in 9 ABY a few years after “The Return of the Jedi” — and more than two decades before the time period for Galaxy’s Edge.
Dropping Mando, Grogu, Ahsoka and Boba Fett into the canonical Galaxy’s Edge meant the four characters couldn’t die until 35 ABY — effectively tying the hands of future Star Wars storytellers.
D23 Expo attendees got a first look at the Mandalorian and Grogu meet-and-greet characters that will be coming to Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. (Disney)
With the addition of Luke Skywalker to Galaxy’s Edge, it appears Lucasfilm and Imagineering have decided it’s finally time to shake up the timeline in Batuu.
Will Disney reset Galaxy’s Edge to a new date in the Star Wars timeline? Will Imagineering come up with a new storytelling conceit to govern Batuu? Or will Black Spire Outpost fall out of canon and become a hodgepodge of Star Wars history?
We will find out in late March when the Season of the Force kicks off at Disneyland.