A solution for the biggest problem with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has suffered from an entirely different series of problems—primarily surrounding a fickle fanbase and controversy regarding the new Star Wars trilogy.

Disney Imagineers did something truly spectacular with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge—they set the land on a fully unique planet (Batuu) in a specific spot on the official Star Wars timeline. Specifically, your visit to the Black Spire Outpost takes place on a tumultuous day in between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker when the First Order finally catches up to the Resistance, setting off The Battle of Batuu (which you see on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance—the battle that got General Hux demoted by the next film). This was an extremely cool idea, one that added incredible depth to the immersiveness of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

The problem is Disney placed their bets on the wrong podracer--rather, the wrong spot in the Star Wars timeline…

While the new Star Wars trilogy has proven extremely divisive for fans, the Disney+ series The Mandalorian has been almost universally celebrated (along with pretty much everything put out by genius duo, Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau). The Mandalorian has quickly spawned its own rich corner of the Star Wars universe, and many fans have asked if Disney needs to just cut their losses and retheme Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge accordingly. 

There are, understandably, huge problems that would prevent Disney from doing this, both with the expenses of such an undertaking, as well as with the fact that the most popular attraction in Disney history—Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance—is unapologetically themed after the new trilogy, along with Disney’s new ultra-immersive resort experience, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. It’s a serious dilemma—the land is built on immersion locked in a specific spot on the Star Wars timeline, so you can’t just add on a Mandalorian expansion without breaking that immersion.

Or could you?...

Thanks to the World Between Worlds, Disney actually has an in-world means to bridge the gap between different spots in the Star Wars timeline. We already know that a Jedi Temple exists on Batuu (according to companion books like Star Wars: Black Spire). Disney could build this temple as part of an expansion to Galaxy’s Edge. With a Jedi Temple in place, it isn’t completely implausible that Disney could integrate the concept of the World Between Worlds to offer guests “portals” to enter other eras in the Star Wars timeline.

The ramifications of this change of tactics could be massive. Not only could it allow Disney to add a Mandalorian themed expansion onto Galaxy’s Edge—it could provide a means to access any corner of the Star Wars saga, from tales of the Old Republic to the classic trilogy. It’s an idea that positively brims with possibilities for Disney magic, one that already flows with the same logic followed by most Disney parks.

Will Disney do it, though?

This is the ultimate question, isn’t it?

There are several factors at play that work against the idea of Disney using the Marvel and Star Wars multiverses to expand their lands. The most pressing issue is the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney took some major hits during the long closures of their parks, and we’ve already seen changes at Walt Disney World and Disneyland that may become permanent fixtures. Budgets are being relentlessly tightened, projects are being cut, and Imagineers are more frustrated than we’ve seen in years both by upper management’s focus shift to Disney+ over the parks, as well as by the recent forced move of Disney’s Imagineering to Lake Nona, FL.

It would take a big budget, conviction, and some extremely bold and creative minds to implement expansions at Disney parks based on the Marvel or Star Wars multiverses. The possibilities are there, and some are extremely promising—like using the World Between Worlds to open pathways to other portions of the Star Wars timeline or leaning into an East Coast version of Avengers Campus that doesn’t need the characters utilized by Islands of Adventure.

The temptation during this trying season is going to be for Disney to play it safe. We’ve already seen a consistent trend in the management of Star Wars that one half of the company continues to try to maneuver fans into just accepting Disney’s new vision for Star Wars, typified in the new trilogy. Despite their efforts, fans are instead continuing to clamor for more content like Filoni and Favreau’s Mandoverse—content Disney hasn’t even touched within Galaxy’s Edge except via Easter eggs.

As for Marvel, it seems Disney is still waiting to see what’s going to happen with Avengers Campus. While they managed to avoid some of the mistakes they endured with the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, it seems unlikely Disney will want to put their necks on the line and navigate poking the sleeping bear of Universal Orlando Resort by taking risks on multiverse-content to produce another Marvel land on the east coast anytime soon.

Still, these are very real possibilities, and Disney has surprised us before. In the meanwhile, we’ll just have to follow the news, and like The Watcher, ponder the question, “What if?”…

Enjoy this article? What additions to you want to see at Disney parks connected to Marvel and Star Wars? Let us know in Facebook or in the comments. Thanks for reading!