Even before Disney had acquired Lucasfilm, the two legendary movie companies had quite the relationship, especially when it came to Walt’s popular theme parks. Attractions based on George Lucas’ iconic films appeared in the parks around the world, but arguably the most popular ones are related to ‘Star Wars’. In fact, there’s even celebrations for a galaxy far, far away every weekend in the summer known as ‘Star Wars’ Weekends in Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. It was here at these yearly events that ‘Jedi Training Academy’ was born. Now a permanent attraction at various Disney Parks, the show is an interactive guest experience that teaches young Padawans the teachings of Jedi Knights as they prepare for battle against Sith Lords Darth Vader and Darth Maul. Unfortunately, the training session is only open to children. Naturally, older fans are bummed out by this, but none more so than ‘Star Wars’ spinoff writer Gary Whitta.
Last week, we learned that Whitta would be writing the first ‘Star Wars’ standalone film for ‘Godzilla’ director Gareth Edwards. The ‘Book of Eli’ scribe was naturally excited to be given the opportunity to tell a story in such a beloved universe for himself, but the comments he shared in that press release wasn’t the first time that he addressed something related to ‘Star Wars’ in public. Back in 2011, the writer appeared on Tested.com’s ‘This Is Only A Test’ podcast. In this episode, he shared his enthusiasm for all things ‘Star Wars’, but then went off on a particularly funny rant about the ‘Jedi Training Academy’ because he is not eligible to participate due to his age. You can check out the hilarious tirade in the video below where he shares his vision of the theme park attraction:
Honestly, his frustrations are understandable. After all, donning the robes of a Jedi Knight and battling the Sith does look like a lot of fun. However, there are moments that come along during this show that absolutely make it worthwhile to be in the crowd. For instance, what if a Padawan turns to the Dark Side? The answer lies in one of my favorite videos related to the ‘Jedi Training Academy’ when a little girl does just that! You can watch it below and just take in all the adorableness:
What do you think about Gary Whitta’s comments about Disneyland and Walt Disney World’s ‘Jedi Training Academy’? Do you think that they’ll make a special exception for him now that he’s writing the first ‘Star Wars’ spinoff? Share your theories in the comment section.
Source: MovieWeb
