Season of the Force at Disneyland Will Feature Luke Skywalker
Disney realizes they need a new hope… but only up to a point. Disneyland has a yearly event called Season of the Force, which is a kind of Star Wars celebration (not to be confused with Star Wars Celebration) that features various rides, shows, and other attractions all geared towards Star Wars. This year, the Season of the Force runs from March 28 to May 11, and it will feature Hyperspace Mountain, a revamping of Space Mountain where you fly through the galaxy and dodge TIE fighters as X-wings protect you, and a fireworks show called “Fire of the Rising Moons” will perform every night in Galaxy’s Edge, the Star Wars section of the park. But the big news this year is that the Season of the Force will include Luke Skywalker appearing throughout the event.
Well, sort of. That Park Place describes how the former hero of Star Wars that Disney reduced to a footnote at best will be incorporated into the Season of the Force event. One of the attractions will be a show called “Shadows of Memory: A Skywalker Saga,” which will feature projections of “imagery from Star Wars history.” Presumably, this means imagery from the original trilogy and the prequels to appease those inconvenient Star Wars fans who like stuff that existed before Disney acquired the franchise via its purchase of Lucasfilm. At one point during the show, a guy in Jedi robes described as a “shadowy visitor” appears, and he’s “heavily implied” to be Luke Skywalker. That Park Place reiterates that this event will only happen at Disneyland, whereas Disney World will not partake in the Season of the Force or have Luke Skywalker show up in any capacity, even the silhouette that his Disneyland presence appears to be relegated to.
Does this sound pretty lame to anyone else? I guess it’s better than no Luke at all, to an extent, but not only is it a limited engagement, but it’s also an implication via silhouette in a projection show. As That Park Place points out, this isn’t a meet-and-greet or a full-fledged, Luke-centric experience, like the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular at Disney World (which, I’m amazed to discover, still exists). Imagine having a whole stunt show with Luke’s lightsaber battles with Darth Vader, his escape with Princess Leia on the Death Star, and his Trojan Horse assault on Jabba the Hutt’s palace. Last summer, Park Hoppin’ went to Galaxy’s Edge at Disney World, where Krista and Jay rode the big ride, Rise of the Resistance, for the first time (you can see it for yourself below), and I couldn’t help but think how cool it could have been if it focused on the original trilogy instead of the sequels and their awful characters. How much would guests love to see Luke Skywalker running around fighting Stormtroopers in a ride like that? But nah, the implication of Luke Skywalker is all they’re prepared to give Star Wars fans.
Luke’s kinda-sorta appearance is indicative of Disney’s approach to real Star Wars, which is that they’d rather it go away forever and take its fans with it (but leave their money, of course). They’re at a point now where they recognize that they need to throw the old fans a bone every now and then, but they’ll never fully embrace them or the original trilogy. I can see them holding their noses as they sign off on Luke Skywalker appearing at Galaxy’s Edge, even in such a limited capacity. There was a rumor a while back that Luke would be appearing in more of the Star Wars movies and shows from Disney as he did in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, and after seeing this, I don’t know if I believe it. I am, however, even more convinced that the Rey movie that may or may not be called New Jedi Order will happen; it’s Disney and Disneyfied Lucasfilm’s last chance to push one of their new characters, and they’ll do it one way or the other.
Let us know what you think of Luke Skywalker coming to Galaxy’s Edge in the comments!
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