Disney adds original Star Wars trilogy characters to Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland

Movieweb reports that seven years after Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opened in Disneyland, fans will be able to see original trilogy characters such as Darth Vader, Han Solo and Princess Leia roaming the themed land.

The park originally featured sequel-trilogy figures like Rey, Kylo Ren, BB‑8 and First Order stormtroopers, though Disney has over time experimented with non-sequel characters including The Mandalorian, Grogu, Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano. The move to add original trilogy characters, plus an announcement that John Williams' iconic Star Wars music will be played, was described as long-awaited by fans. Galaxy's Edge was designed as Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu to create an immersive, original Star Wars spaceport rather than a mix of locations from different films.

The timing is not presented as a repudiation of the sequels: Rey will remain at Rise of the Resistance and Walt Disney World will reportedly keep sequel-era theming. The change at Disneyland is framed as a marketing move ahead of Star Wars' 50th anniversary in 2027 — including a February 2027 re-release of the original non-special-edition film and the Star Wars Celebration convention in Los Angeles from April 1–5, 2027 — and reflects Galaxy's Edge's built-in flexibility to swap characters or timelines when park attendance warrants retheming.

Key Topics

Culture, Disneyland, Galaxy's Edge, Black Spire Outpost, Darth Vader, John Williams