Ever since Disney purchased Marvel and Lucasfilm a few years ago, we all knew that it was only a matter of time until both franchises began to pop up in the company’s signature theme parks. In recent years, we’ve seen a few superheroes like Captain America, Star-Lord, and Baymax make their way into the parks, but ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ have been staples for decades. However, reports about a ‘Star Wars’ expansion in Tomorrowland started to circulate once again last year that suggested that some cosmetic changes were coming soon and then more rides would come later. But those talks slowed since then and now it sounds like some attractions are in the pipeline this very minute and could be unveiled as early as next year.
According to Variety, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that Walt Disney Imagineering is currently designing brand new ‘Star Wars’ theme park attractions based on ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, its sequels, and the spinoffs instead of just the two existing trilogies. A few things were actually in the works prior to this, but Iger and company took a few steps back to wait until J.J. Abrams finished fully developing the latest adventure to a galaxy far, far away:
“We couldn’t tell [Imagineering] what was new. I slowed it all down so what we come forward with will have a blend of the past, present and maybe the future. Now we have a sense of what’s in ‘Star Wars 8,’ and what some of the standalone films will have in them. We want to do this big, which takes time, and to do it right. I didn’t want someone to say, ‘I just saw the movie and there’s nothing in that movie in this [attraction]’. We waited to see what this film would have in it.”
With Star Wars Celebration and the release of ‘The Force Awakens’ coming in 2015, there is a really good chance that we could be seeing some preliminary designs for what Imagineering has in store for the future of ‘Star Wars’ in Disney parks very soon. In fact, May 4, 2015 would be a pretty good time to share new and exciting ‘Star Wars’ developments, right? But until we know for sure, what sort of things do you think are on their way? Do you think that Tomorrowland is getting a complete overhaul? Will ‘Star Wars’ get their own land in Disneyland or Disney World? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
