by Ray Keating
News/Analysis
DisneyBizJournal.com
May 4, 2021
May the 4th! Happy Star Wars Day! Here’s an opportunity to take stock regarding what you’re most excited about in the Star Wars universe. As it turns out, there’s a heck of a lot on the way.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
First, what’s the deal with the “real” lightsaber, created by Walt Disney Imagineering Research and Development? Well, we might not find out the full story until Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser starts embarking on two-night journeys in 2022.
And with or without that new lightsaber, I’m exceedingly interested in finding out how guests’ personal adventures will play out on the starcruiser, given the various descriptions that Disney has served up – including this latest one at the Disney Parks Blog – about this immersive experience.
Over at StarWars.com, there’s even more info. Ann Morrow Johnson, an architect and artist at the Disney Parks, reported, “This is the Coruscant, Canto Bight, Dryden’s yacht, Orient Express of space. The food, the dining, the overall experience is an upscale, refined version of Star Wars that guests haven’t gotten a chance to step into yet.” Orient Express of space? Yes, please. I look forward to dining at the Halcyon’s (the name of the starcruiser) Crown of Corellia dining room.
Merch from a Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars merch always grabs my attention, and starting today at the Star Wars Galactic Outpost at Disney Springs, as well as at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, new stuff from a galaxy far, far away was made available, including apparel featuring the new Disney+ series “The Bad Batch” (more on that in a moment).
Oh, yes, new Star Wars desserts, including the Grogu Mini Dome Cake at Amorette’s Patisserie at Disney Springs, sound inviting.
Star Wars Lounge at Sea
For good measure, might a Disney Cruise be on the agenda? Hmmm. Well, perhaps your decision will be helped by the Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge that will be on board the new Disney Wish cruise ship when it ventures onto the high seas in the summer of 2022. This lounge is being billed as “a high-end, immersive Star Wars bar for adults.”
From an interview at StarWars.com, Imagineer Danny Handke provides some intriguing details. Here’s a taste for what people will enjoy: “Some of the galactic destinations that fans can look forward to include Tatooine (set during The Mandalorian), Batuu (‘almost a day in the life of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge,’ featuring the Star Destroyer from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Hondo Ohnaka’s ship), and Mustafar (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story era). And Handke reveals one more locale exclusively to StarWars.com: the home of the Ewoks, Endor.”
What’s Coming Regarding Stars Wars on Screen?
Finally, let’s serve up a reminder of what’s coming to Disney+ and/or in theaters to enhance the Star Wars joy…
“The Mandalorian” – Season 3 has been approved without a release date set on Disney+.
“The Bad Batch” – a 16-episode series arriving on Disney+ on May 4 (today!).
“The Book of Boba Fett” – a spinoff from “The Mandalorian” that will debut on Disney+ in December 2021.
“Star Wars: Visions” – a 10-part anime series on Disney+ due to land in 2021.
“Andor” – a 12-episode prequel series to Rogue One due on Disney+ in 2022.
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” – a six-part limited series with Ewan McGregor back as Obi-Wan. It’s due on Disney+ in 2022, and takes place ten years after Revenge of the Sith.
“Rogue Squadron” – a movie about X-wing pilots is scheduled to hit movie theaters in December 2023.
“Ahsoka” – another spinoff from “The Mandalorian” will star Rosario Dawson on Disney+, but it has no release date as yet.
“Rangers of the New Republic” – another spinoff from “The Mandalorian” is supposed to bring a group of New Republic soldiers to Disney+. (No release date.)
“The Acolyte” – a mystery/thriller series on Disney+ dealing with the Dark Side a century prior to The Phantom Menace. (No release date.)
“Lando” – a series about Lando Calrissian, which also is expected to come to Disney+. (No release date.)
“A Droid Story” – a Disney+ movie featuring C3PO and R2D2. (No release date.)
In addition, Taika Waititi is supposed to direct his own Star Wars film, and Marvel’s Kevin Feige is developing a Star Wars film. No specifics or release dates have been announced.
If that’s not enough Star Wars for you on Star Wars Day, no doubt, more projects will come along (with a few, by the way, likely never becoming a reality).
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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.
The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?
Keating has two new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13ththriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And pre-order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story.
Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.
You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York from Amazon or signed books at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know.
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