Darth Vader’s search for Luke Skywalker has brought him to Batuu with a squadron of Imperial Stormtroopers now that Walt Disney Imagineering has expanded the Star Wars timeline in Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge to include the original trilogy of movies.
Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia meet-and-greet characters started making appearances on Wednesday, April 29 in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at the Anaheim theme park after Imagineering introduced storylines from the “Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” eras of the sweeping space opera.
Iconic John Williams orchestral scores and themes from the first six Star Wars films also started playing Wednesday as background music in Galaxy’s Edge.
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Disneyland brought back Hyperspace Mountain and released a new line of Aurebesh merchandise and collectible popcorn buckets earlier this week just in time for the annual run of Star Wars Nite after-hours parties.
The expanded Star Wars timeline in Galaxy’s Edge rolled out ahead of the new mission starring the Mandalorian and Grogu coming to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run on May 22.
Imagineering and Lucasfilm have been careful to introduce the original trilogy characters in Galaxy’s Edge in a way that’s authentic to their locations and relationships to each other.
You won’t see Darth Vader and Kylo Ren appearing side by side in Galaxy’s Edge since the two Star Wars villains were never alive at the same time during the sweeping epic. Darth Vader dies a year before the birth of Kylo Ren in the Star Wars saga.
The Kylo Ren meet-and-greet character has left Galaxy’s Edge and gone over to Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland for photo ops — replacing Darth Vader.
Galaxy’s Edge opened in 2019 with a very limited timeline focused on the sequel era of stories and characters set between “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker.”
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).
Up until now, Galaxy’s Edge has been set between 34 and 35 ABY in Black Spire Outpost, the outer rim village on the Star Wars planet of Batuu.
Imagineering’s expansion of the Star Wars timeline in Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge now stretches from 3 ABY during the Empire Strikes Back era to 35 ABY during the Rise of Skywalker era.
Disney’s creative arm has been very careful not to introduce any new characters or storylines that would upset the galactic timeline in Galaxy’s Edge — which is considered canon in Star Wars lore.