Since Disney purchased Lucasfilm, it was only a matter of time before the Star Wars theme park attractions at Disney World were going to expand.
Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger spoke about the expansions and plans in an interview saying, “there will be a much larger Star Wars presence in our parks globally. But we want to do this big, which takes time, and to do it right… I didn’t want someone to say, ‘I just saw the movie and there’s nothing in that movie in this [attraction].’ We waited to see what this film would have in it.”
Iger went on to confirm that plans are already in place for new attractions based on the upcoming slate of Star Wars movies, pushing aside the previous plans based on the old saga. “We couldn’t tell them what was new,” Iger said. “I slowed it all down so what we come forward with will have a blend of the past, present and maybe the future. Now we have a sense of what’s in Star Wars VIII and what some of the standalone films will have in them.”
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set for release on December 18th 2015 and sees returning stars Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kenny Baker (R2-D2) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) joined by John Boyega (Attack the Block), Adam Driver (Girls), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Domhnall Gleeson (Dredd), Daisy Ridley (Silent Witness), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Miltos Yerolemou (Game of Thrones), Max von Sydow (The Exorcist), Jessica Henwick (Spirit Warriors), Christina Chong (24: Live Another Day) and newcomers Crystal Clarke and Pip Andersen.
Originally published December 11, 2014. Updated December 2, 2022.
