Galaxy’s Edge

Back on our timeline and a whole decade before Avengers Campus, 2010 served as a reboot to the themed entertainment industry. That June, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at Universal Orlando, inviting guests to step into the world of the generation-defining film series. Incarnate as the to-scale village of Hogsmeade, the Wizarding World created a whole new business model: one where guests would actually wait in line to get into shops and restaurants. 

After the Wizarding World, both Disney and Universal changed M.O.s. The pursuit of universally-beloved IPs perfect for “immersive” Living Lands – and ideally, ones that lent themselves to “in-universe” dining and shopping – was on. New Fantasyland. Cars Land. Toy Story Land. Springfield. Diagon Alley. Pandora. Arendelle. One after another, Disney and Universal’s newest projects sought to be more immersive, more habitable, and more real. 

Arguably, that pursuit peaked with the 2019 opening of STAR WARS: Galaxy’s Edge at both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Reportedly costing $1 billion each, the installations were certainly “best-of” showcases of Disney’s talent – a magnum opus of modern Imagineering.

It goes without saying that despite its immense cost and scale, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has its drawbacks. From its lack of family attractions to its focus on retail; its famously cancelled entertainment and attraction concepts to the “paywall” that locks away many of its must-see experiences, there’s certainly plenty to debate about the land. But whether you agree or disagree with Disney’s design decisions around the land, there’s one element almost everyone can agree was a mistake: its inflexibility.

Certainly, Imagineers didn’t set out to design an “inflexible” land. They set out to design a highly detailed one, and inflexibility just happened to follow as a result. Reportedly, far less ambitious Star Wars lands were initially designed, but with Disney’s sequel trilogy then in production, executives at Lucasfilm and Disney agreed that the future of Star Wars was a better focus than the past. Hence arrived Batuu, an “original planet” in the Star Wars universe firmly set in the timeline of Disney’s sequel trilogy. (In fact, “in-universe,” Batuu relives a single, specific day in the Star Wars timeline every day, with the events of the E-Ticket Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance actually influencing the plot of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.)

On paper, that easily makes Galaxy’s Edge the most immersive of Disney and Universal’s immersive lands. It’s a land so fixated on remaining “canon” that its alien shopkeepers have no idea what you mean when you ask where a bathroom is (it’s called a “refresher”). Unfortunately, that also makes it a Star Wars land without many of the Star Wars characters who exist outside Disney’s relatively small bubble of stories. There’s a Millennium Falcon ride, but no Han Solo or Chewbacca. There’s an evil fascist government, but no Darth Vader. There are Lightsabers, but no Luke Skywalker.

And frankly, it’s not so easy to have it both ways. Star Wars is almost religiously studied by fans; its timeline is immensely guarded; what’s “canon” in the Star Wars universe is practically sacred. But lukewarm reception to the end of Disney’s sequel trilogy might have left some designers wishing they’d based their land on the longstanding classic trilogy rather than the come-and-gone sequels… Executives probably wish so, too, after the breakout success of The Mandalorian on Disney+ (and its highly retail-friendly Grogu character), which is technically verboten in Galaxy’s Edge since it takes place decades before the land’s precise setting. Oops.

Variants

A multiverse can be a beautiful thing when it comes to a land at a theme park, and compared to Galaxy’s Edge, Avengers Campus is a living example of why. Officially severed from the timeline, events, pressures, and changing hero lineups of the MCU, the “MTPU” is quite literally an alternate reality that served as a win-win. 

For guests, a visit to the Avengers Campus isn’t weighed down by the immense pressure of the MCU. For better or worse, it’s a land that highlights the joy, tech, and gee-whiz wonder of superheroes. That also lowers the entrypoint – Grandma can enjoy the land without knowing a thing about the MCU, much less worrying about the drama of the “Snap” or battling a cosmic villain! Meanwhile, fans can count on their favorite heroes being around even after their time in the films has ended.

For Disney, the ability to operate outside the MCU’s “canon” means Avengers Campus is a sandbox; an opportunity to at last just play with the Marvel heroes Disney spent $4 billion to acquire. There are no lead-footed “rules;” no contradictions to avoid; no cloud of Universal’s licensing to tip-toe around. Avengers Campus is a synergistic dream: a space where new costumes will make “BREAKING NEWS” on blogs; where characters can chat with guests about whatever happened in this week’s episode of their Disney+ series, in real time; where heroes and villains will battle on rooftops just as promotion for their film ramps up (currently, it's Black Widow and the Taskmaster) giving Parks guests a new kind of "extended sneak peek".

Consider Loki alone. Despite a heroic sacrifice in Avenger: Infinity War that would’ve ended his presence in a Galaxy’s-Edge-style Marvel land, he was present at the land’s June 4 opening in his iconic Asgardian gear complete with golden beetle horns. 

A week later, he was suddenly sporting a tan jumpsuit with a “TVA” applique on the chest and the word “VARIANT” across the back. Flanked by armed guards from the Time Variance Authority, the land’s walkaround character had shifted in real time to reflect the action in that week’s episode of the Disney+ Original Series Loki.

A week after that, he’d upgraded to a suit and tie, with the dark brown “VARIANT” jacket he donned in episode two. The day episode five premiered, so did a new variant of Loki – ”President Loki” complete with political buttons. This is a land where guests can play with their favorite heroes, and where the heroes play back. That’s the power of a land set in the multiverse; it’s quite literally a constantly-evolving experience for guests, and a marketing coup for the studio.

Compare that to Galaxy’s Edge where – despite overwhelming demand for “The Child” merchandise – Disney didn’t. Er, couldn’t. Disney built a billion dollar Star Wars land… and couldn’t sell their hottest Star Wars property ever within its walls. (“The Child” merchandise eventually came to a cart parked just outside Galaxy’s Edge in Frontierland. Yikes.) And while that makes Galaxy's Edge impressively determined to hold to a high standard, the inherent fun and energy of the Avengers Campus model might leave guests asking... for what?

The Lesson

Compared to Galaxy’s Edge, Pandora, or Cars Land, Avengers Campus looks a little like a cop-out. The tiny land wedged into discarded space at Disney California Adventure doesn’t look like the treatment you’d expect for one of the highest-earning franchises of all time – and one whose popularity is current and growing, at that. It’s easy for fans to wish Disney had given Marvel the same treatment as Star Wars, perhaps building a totally immersive, twelve-acre land recreating Asgard or Wakanda or New York City... 

But we’d offer that there is a lesson to be learned from Avengers Campus. By leaning into the multiverse, Disney created a land that’s a designer’s sandbox; a totally fun space untethered to the “rules.” Perhaps the time-traveling Endgame and the reality-resetting WandaVision, Loki, and Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness all give Avengers Campus more leeway to break from “reality” than Galaxy’s Edge could be afforded… 

This much is certain: in Galaxy’s Edge, Disney tried to build the world’s most immersive theme park land by absolutely obliterating any inconsistencies. Arguably, they succeeded… but was it worth it? Avengers Campus offers a new model: one where characters from across the universe – and indeed, across time – assemble. I guess some super fans might take issue with the contradictions it causes… but for most of us, seeing Iron Man and the Eternals together is just going to be fun, and isn’t that what it’s about?

What do you think… Would Marvel’s “multiverse” model of theme park lands become the new norm? Is adherence to an “in-universe” timeline something only fans care about? Would it ruin Galaxy’s Edge if you could see Darth Vader marching through the market, then escape from his grandson on Rise of the Resistance? Is it “one or the other” for a Star Wars land? Do you wish Avengers Campus was more firmly rooted before or after Endgame, or do you think the “sandbox” model works?