Unless you’ve been spending the last few months hiding in a Sarlacc pit, you’ll know that the response to the promotional material for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser at Walt Disney World has been so negative that it rivals that of the widely-panned Star Wars sequel trilogy!
But then what’s Star Wars without a little controversy these days? Nevertheless, the criticism has been overwhelming, and is largely pointed at the two teaser trailers for the Star Wars-themed hotel that will soon be docking near Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
And while Star Wars fans are infamous for being a hard-to-please bunch, we think that, on this occasion, much like the backlash to sequel trilogy’s Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) faced, they actually have a point…
While the initial concept art for the hotel experience looked promising, boasting many areas throughout the ‘Halcyon’ bustling with families and creatures from the faraway galaxy, the two trailers leaves a lot to be desired, and ultimately feels like anything but Star Wars.
So things aren’t looking great for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, which means that Disney is likely acting fast to make some changes before it launches in March of this year. Or perhaps they’re being stubborn and sticking to their plasma cannons on this one!
However, we don’t expect that they’ll make any significant changes in that time, but at the very least, they might wish to review those truly staggering price tags, which will set you back a few thousand galactic credits per night (and by galactic credits, we do mean real money).
But rather than dwell on all the negatives, we’ve decided to imagine what a real Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser would look like, or rather what it should look like. So how would we do things differently? Well, let’s address all the issues with the upcoming experience.
1. Aesthetics and Visuals
The biggest problem with Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser are the aesthetics. Despite being a multi-billion dollar franchise, the two teasers we’ve had, look surprisingly cheap, especially for a hotel that charges $3,000 per night. As such, we’d give the Halcyon’s interior a huge overhaul.
Currently, it looks pretty stock and generic, and not even in a stock-and-generic Star Wars way. In fact, that would be much better than what we’re getting, so why not give the Halcyon those iconic white-walled corridors of the Imperial ships, and fill them with stormtroopers.
We understand that Disney has created an original Star Wars experience, but sometimes, less is more, and keeping things simple, especially where Star Wars is concerned, is almost a guaranteed win (just take The Mandalorian, for example!).
It wouldn’t even need to be an Imperial setting, and we appreciate Disney’s efforts to build something unique, even if it currently doesn’t look all that great. An Imperial setting would mean an Imperial theme, in which case Disney would need to commit to this throughout the rest of the experience. But then at this rate, we’re sure guests would rather stay on the Death Star!
2. Characters and Extras
In the first teaser for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, The Goldbergs actor Sean Giambrone is led through the Halcyon, before eventually stumbling into a lounge where Twi-lek singer Gaya belts out a tune. While Gaya wasn’t at all bad, we didn’t get to see any other Star Wars characters.
Fans were also quick to point out how cheap and very un-Star Wars the whole thing looks, and the second trailer did very little to remedy things. In fact, it made things even worse, and the video itself seems like it belongs inside an attraction rather than actual trailer material.
It also didn’t go unnoticed that the Datapad the character in the video is holding is actually a smartphone, while the Halcyon captain – who is revealed in a hologram from said-phone – looks like a character out of Doctor Who, or any other sci-fi franchise that simply isn’t Star Wars.
It’s no mystery that the faraway galaxy is home to a wealth of characters (who are the real selling point of Star Wars), so it begs to question why Disney isn’t using this to its advantage. It’s also the rule of creating any fictional world, whether it’s a book, movie, TV show, or in this case, an immersive hotel – you start with the characters, and then you build your world around them.
3. Less ‘Story’ and More Star Wars
We’d be lying if we said we weren’t remotely excited for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser (or at the very least to see what guests think of it upon its grand opening). And we’d also be lying if we said the concept art didn’t look pretty thrilling.
What does stand in the Halcyon’s favour is the fact that it’s set to be one of the most immersive hotel experiences in the world. And until we see otherwise, we’ve no reason to believe that this isn’t the case. You only need to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to realise this.
However, sometimes, ambition can stand in the way of success, and if Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser really is set to be truly immersive, then it’s possible that this will lend to guests not experiencing the hotel’s full potential. In other words, it can be a bit of a distraction.
Not only that, but the immersive aspect means that the hotel is bound to a certain theme, so that stories can unfold in a logical manner, and that guests believe that they’re on a space-bound cruise the entire time. While it sounds thrilling, it also means foregoing authentic Star Wars experiences in exchange for something that isn’t really synonymous with the faraway galaxy.
While of course it remains to be seen, we’re sure Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser won’t be a disaster of sequel trilogy proportions. But with that said, while those films were torn apart by critics and fans, they were still box office successes, and we’ve no doubt that the upcoming experience at Walt Disney World will turn in a small fortune nonetheless.
