Star Wars is making waves, as the iconic sci-fi franchise removes one massive Disney-era project from its star-faring canon. When Disney acquired the Lucasfilm brand from Star Wars creator George Lucas, the House of Mouse was quick to bring the series' central timeline into order. Part of this undertaking included the removal of several, assumed to be canon, projects from the galaxy far, far away's narrative tapestry.
Since that initial wave of cuts, the canonized kicks to the curb have been almost nonexistent in the Star Wars franchise. In fact, Disney and Lucasfilm have been more focused on bringing these now out-of-canon stories back into Lucasian lore, with the likes of Grand Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade.
That was until now, as the Star Wars owners have confirmed the first canon cut in years, and it involves a project directly created under the Disney regime. Disney has revealed that Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge will no longer be considered Star Wars canon, as it undergoes a significant shift in strategy going forward.
The official news comes from StarWars.com, announcing that starting on April 29, Galaxy Edge will begin featuring inclusions from Star Wars' original trilogy.
This will include the addition of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo (as they appeared in the first three Star Wars movies) walking around the park, classic John Williams Star Wars tracks being played at Oga's Cantina, and various Original Trilogy-themed merchandise being available for purchase at the land's shops.
This is a stark contrast to Galaxy Edge's original pitch, which was intended to transport parkgoers into the Star Wars timeline, specifically during the years of the Sequel Trilogy films, with the Disney park being considered a canon part of the Star Wars story.
To this point, this has meant big-name characters like Luke and Leia could not appear, at least in their signature Original Trilogy looks. And someone like Darth Vader was totally out of the question, as he was dead by the time the Sequels rolled around.
Galaxy's Edge's cut from the canon had previously been teased, with a franchise-spanning lightshow introduced early last year, but this officially marks the end of the franchise's in-canon theme park endeavor.
The new Galaxy's Edge rollout begins on April 29 and has been confirmed to be a permanent fixture. At the time of writing, this addition appears to be exclusive to the Galaxy's Edge Disneyland park, with no word on whether it will also be introduced to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Why The Galaxy's Edge Canon Change Is a Good Idea
While some fans may furrow their brows at Disney essentially admitting defeat on its "Galaxy's Edge is part of Star Wars canon" experiment, it is ultimately for the best.
Setting a park in canon was always a novel idea, especially when it came to Star Wars. If Galaxy's Edge had included all the immersive elements initially pitched to fans, perhaps it could have lived up to the hype as the next step in the "live in the world" theme park building. But that is not what ultimately happened.
Instead, the canonicity of the Disney Star Wars parks did nothing more than restrict the franchise from reaching its theme park potential. Many fans were expecting a greatest hits album of Star Wars when Disney announced a park project centered on the sci-fi series; instead, they received a very specific Star Wars experience that may not have been for them.
That's the curious thing about the galaxy far, far away. Like many of Disney's other franchises, Star Wars means a lot of different things to different people. The rest of Disney's parks do a pretty fantastic job at giving fans (no matter what kind of fan they are) moments of delight and surprise with some of their favorite IPs.
By setting Galaxy's Edge at a specific point on the timeline, it significantly reduced this potential. Prequel fans could not get the moments with Anakin Skywalker they wanted, and Original Trilogy fans couldn't shake hands with a young Han Solo as they had always dreamed. It was all Sequels all the time.
But pulling the land out of canon, it allows every kind of Star Wars fan to have what they have wanted from their Star Wars Disney parks experience, while also allowing Lucasfilm itself to create a new mosaic of Star Wars moments that honors the vast history of the franchise.
