The Walt Disney Co. is making a major change to a galaxy far, far away.
The company is changing the timeline in its Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge world in Disneyland, with plans to bring characters and elements from the original Star Wars trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) to the land.
That will include characters like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia Organa roaming the land (look for Han near the Millennium Falcon… and the cantina), as well as bringing John Williams’ iconic scores from the film franchise, which will play throughout the land.
The changes will go into effect beginning April 29, 2026 at Disneyland Park. Galaxy’s Edge in Walt Disney World will remain unchanged for now.
The new characters will join the other characters that are currently roaming Batuu, such as R2-D2, Chewbacca and The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Disney says that the plan is to have the official timeline in Batuu’s Black Spire Outpost “roll back in time several decades” in order to bring in the characters, while characters from Disney’s most recent trilogy, like Rey, will continue to roam in the Resistance Camp section of the land.
The result of the changes are that Galaxy’s Edge will now include more parts of the Star Wars film timeline, from the Galactic Civil War and New Republic to the Resistance and First Order, and bring in the characters that are most closely associated with the franchise.
But it is also a pivot for the land, which opened to fanfare in 2019 with the specific idea of a world set in the universe of Disney’s Star Wars sequels, which focus on characters like Rey and Kylo Ren. While the sequels were successful, they haven’t had the same cultural resonance as the characters from George Lucas’ original trilogy.
(L-R) George Lucas, Billy Dee Williams, Mark Hamil, Bob Iger and Harrison Ford lattend the pre-opening launch of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland on May 29, 2019 in Anaheim, California
Photo by Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images
The rides in the land like Rise of the Resistance won’t be changing (though Disney previously announced plans to bring a new experience to the Millennium Falcon-set ride set in the world of The Mandalorian), though there will be some tweaks to the shops and restaurants in the land. That will include Williams’ famous Cantina Band, which will now play in Oga’s Cantina.
It is also the second pivot that Disney has had to make to a Star Wars-themed project at its parks: Back in 2023, the company shuttered its immersive Galactic Starcruiser hotel after less than two years. While it was by far the most immersive experience Disney ever created (guests literally participated in a story over the course of their stay), it’s steep price tag limited the market.
But bringing the classic Star Wars characters and music to Disneyland is the sort of thing that could excite fans of the franchise, as it prepares to return to theaters this year with The Mandalorian and Grogu.