This past weekend saw the annual Star Wars: Celebration event take place in Chicago and though the biggest news out of the convention was the unveiling of the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer, we were able to learn some interesting new tidbits about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, opening next month at Disneyland and this August at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Yoda will be appearing in some form in this new land, and he’ll sound just like you remember
Image: Disney
It was confirmed last week that fan-favorite character Yoda will appear somewhere in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (we don’t know if this will be in an attraction, queue, or something completely different) and when fans encounter this character, they’ll be hearing a very familiar voice as Frank Oz will be reprising his role as Yoda inside both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Though Yoda has been (Spoiler alert!) dead for some time, as we learned from the most recent Star Wars trailer, anything can come back, so hopefully we’ll know more about how this character fits into the Black Spire Outpost soon.
Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities animatronic shown off
Image: Disney
Though we already knew Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be home to some cutting edge animatronics, this past weekend Disney showed off the interactive Ithorianalien shopkeeper who will run the Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities gift shop.
Interestingly, guests will have to communicate with the creature (and his human assistants) in order to haggle for items, bartering and negociating with this character before you can make a purchase.
And though there will be plenty of things for guests to buy, the walls and shelves in this shop will also contain relics that are Easter eggs and references to other movies and stories, including a familiar looking Wampa, that definitely won’t be for sale.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to have special Coke bottles
Image: Disney
Though some wondered if soft drinks from this universe would be sold inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disney confirmed this week that they would be selling Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite and Dasani bottled water in specially-designed bottles that will fit in with the Star Wars theme. You can check out the design of these bottles above, and as you might expect guests will only be able to find these designs this on Batuu.
New concept art showcasing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance transporter shown off
Image: Disney
Also this weekend a new piece of concept art showing off the Resistance shuttle that will take guests “off world” during the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction was released. This transport shuttle isn’t actually part of the main ride experience, but is actually one component of a lengthy pre-show experience. Unfortunately, though we have this new piece of concept art to check out, there is still no release date for this attraction which has been delayed until later this year, and will not open with the rest of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Story behind Captain Rex appearance revealed
Image: Disney / Lucasfilm
Though we already knew that original Star Tours pilot Captain Rex would be appearing at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge inside the Oga’s Cantina watering hole, over the weekend Lucasfilm story group member Matt Martin shared exactly how this character went from flying ships to becoming a DJ:
“The short story is Rex flunked his way out of Star Tours, and eventually through some misadventures, he found his way to the Rebellion in the final battle of the galactic civil war, the battle of Jakku. In an epic TIE Fighter chase, he ends up crash landing on Baatu. There he is rescued by the local droidsmith Mubo, where he is repaired and made into a DJ for Oga’s cantina.”
