Welcome to another edition of Star Wars Land News! This week we’re going to look at a movie title, the title of Disneyland’s seasonal promotion and construction of a new land that really doesn’t officialy have a title – I have some thoughts on that! But first, the big news this week is…
| The Last Jedi |
With only eleven months to go before its release, Star Wars Episode VIII got a title. While that may not sound tardy to most, at this point before “The Force Awakens” we had a title and a trailer. With Rogue One we had a title before we had ANYTHING, even what the movie was about. And because we are passionate about Star Wars, even a simple title release has sparked an intense discussion: Is Jedi plural or singular?
While filming Murder On The Orient Express this week, Josh Gad grilled Daisy Ridley on the meaning of the title.
Do you think she gets these kinds of questions a lot?
In The Force Awakens, the opening crawl provides a clue:
“Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire and will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed.”
And in the film, Supreme Leader Snoke makes reference to Luke:
“The droid will soon be delivered to the Resistance, leading them to the last Jedi. If Skywalker returns, the new Jedi will rise.”
So…if Luke is the LAST Jedi, what becomes of Rey?
And after the news of the title broke, Director Rian Johnson posted a photo this week with the quote,”Felt so good to drop this into the cut this morning.”
| News From The Outer Rim |
With “The Last Jedi” in Post-Production for a December release, next year’s Star Wars Story is ready to start filming. This untitled spin-off is the origin story of Han Solo starring Alden Ehrenreich as the young Solo and Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. Woody Harrelson has also been added to the cast.
Woody let it slip during an interview this week that he will be playing Garris Shrike, a bounty hunter who was Han Solo’s surrogate father. He was first introduced in the 1997 Legends book The Paradise Snare and has been mentioned in several books since. Now he’s cannon.
| Season Of The Force Updates |
In Temporary Star Wars Land (or Tomorrowland as it’s titled in the Disneyland maps), the Season of the Force recently returned. The only new addition to this revived promotion was new banners that hang from the abandoned PeopleMover track. Whereas the old banners were simple silhouettes for the light side and the dark side, the new banners feature character photos and incorporate newly introduced characters from “Rogue One”.
| Star Wars Land Construction |
What do you think Disney should call the Star Wars expansion? My opinion: Star Wars Land. Period. What else could you call it? “The Star Wars Experience?” That sounds like something with an upcharge. Or even worse, an AP blackout. But don’t get me started on that blasphemy.
Unless Imagineering comes up with a better title, it’s Star Wars Land. And here’s what it looked like in September:
.MiceChat created a graphic that shows what the area was like before, and what we expect the layout to look like when complete.
[beforeafter]
[/beforeafter]
Turning to the Northeastern section of SWL, a berm has been built to separate the atmosphere of SWL from the newly re-routed Disneyland Railroad. On the other side, the Railroad will go into a tunnel before coming out into the Toontown station. This week, the area started getting trees!
The Southeastern area will be where the Fantasmic backstage will be along side the entrance to SWL from Frontierland.
The south section of SWL is where the DLRR will pass in front of a waterfall into the Rivers Of America and a walkway will go from Critter Country around the Hungry Bear Restaurant and into SWL.
The western portion of SWL, the concrete forms for the basement of the Battle Escape attraction came out this week.
If you want to catch up on how far the construction has come so far, you can check out the archives of Star Wars Land News here.
| As Always… |
Please help support Darth Daver by doing your regular Amazon Shopping using this link: Darth Daver Store
