Disney is shifting up Galaxy's Edge with a notable character being added. Is this a hint at the area's timeline theme changing?
Galaxy's Edge has been a major addition to Disney World and Disneyland and a must-see for any Star Wars fan. It's home to Rise of the Resistance, which regularly tops lists of the best Disney park rides. It's naturally home to some meet and greets, usually characters from the sequel movies and TV shows like The Mandalorian and Ashoka.
Disney is finally teasing a classic character coming to the Disneyland version with images of a cloaked figure with R2-D2. This seems to be Luke Skywalker as he appeared in the now-classic scene in The Mandalorian Season 2 finale.
Thanks to some great de-aging CGI, Mark Hamill reprised his role as Luke five years after Return of the Jedi, battling through an army of killer droids to save the day.
It sounds like Luke will start appearing from March 28 through May 11, the annual "Season of the Force" event at Disneyland. That will also include a fun new hologram light show.
His arrival should be a fun meet and greet while also bringing up that classic debate on Galaxy's Edge: What should the timeline be?
The Galaxy's Edge timeline debate
When Disney set about creating a Star Wars land, it was logical to assume it would be set in the classic movies or the prequels. Instead, Disney decided to put the Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu, an original creation.
Some argued that was a good direction, to expand the Star Wars experience and fresher than repeating something like Tatooine. The tricky thing was the timeline as it was set in the sequel trilogy era, meaning the First Order and Resistance.
So we don't get the old-school Stormtroopers or Darth Vader or the like, but Kylo Ren and others. That's led to some debate among Star Wars fans, who are already an infamously divisive bunch.
It's been added onto by the (let's be fair) heated feelings about the sequel trilogy, including The Rise of Skywalker. Disney's intent on making a new series of films starring Rey set years later makes it more likely that Galaxy's Edge will keep up with this timeline.
Thus, having Luke enter as a younger man is going to be a bit tricky to justify without time travel (which is one sci-fi motif that Star Wars has always avoided). It also leads to the discussion of whether the Galaxy's Edge setting should change.
What should be the Galaxy's Edge timeline?
As noted before, Star Wars fandom is pretty divisive and filled with differing opinions. The prequels were disliked in their time but are now seen in a much better light, and it's possible the sequel films will be seen the same way in a few decades.
Most will still hold to the original trilogy as "true" Star Wars and the wish Galaxy's Edge was set during it. That the Falcon Smuggler's Run becomes a pure Han and Chewie adventure. Or that Rise of the Resistance is retrofitted to Darth Vader, not Kylo Ren and themed to the original movies.
Obviously, there's the issue that Carrie Fisher is dead, Harrison Ford has backed away from the franchise and all the de-aging CGI in the world can't totally turn back the clock for Mark Hamill. So using them to sell these attractions is unlikely.
There's also that some visitors do enjoy how Galaxy's Edge tells a more original story than copying the older movies. Star Tours is already there to replicate periods of the originals and the prequels. The detail of Galaxy's Edge remains top-notch to immerse you in this distant world, and, no matter what timeline it's set in, it delivers a Star Wars experience.
Disney has been trying to spread Star Wars good and bad. Some shows are better than others and while the Galactic Starcruiser failed, it was still a daring attempt at living a Star Wars adventure. Fans will always come and Disney wants to use that.
Disney may be adjusting the timeline of this land as the Falcon Smuggler's Run ride will be adjusted to have the Mandalorian pop in. But a full-fledged transformation to the original trilogy is unlikely as Disney wants to move from that well-trod era.
One possibility is shifting it to the "New Republic Era," that period between the original trilogy and the sequels when the New Republic was establishing itself while the remains of the Empire shifted to become the First Order.
That would have Luke logically fitting in as he was establishing a new Jedi Academy then. We can still have stormtroopers and Imperial officers about and a bit more fun on an era where the good guys seemingly had won when the villains were just licking their wounds and ready to strike back.
An issue with this approach is that, again, some fans really do enjoy this period and theme for Galaxy's Edge. Redoing it would be a bit much, and if Disney is serious about the sequel movies, it'd be harder to shift it for another new era.
There's also how it'd cost a pretty penny by Disney to redo Rise of the Resistance for Vader or someone else, and it may not be worth it. Let's be honest, some fans will never be satisfied no matter what, and Disney may be wiser to avoid that whole mess.
So maybe the nitpickers can ignore how Luke can appear in this time period and just enjoy having a classic character in the Star Wars land. Then again, some fans will complain no matter what, and Luke's appearance will fuel the debate on Galaxy's Edge, which will likely continue beyond a long time ago.