Disney admits multibillion-dollar mistake by bringing back ‘Star Wars’ characters
It was only a few years ago that the Walt Disney Company was proudly announcing and opening its “Star Wars” themed area in many parks across the country.
Disney invested billions of dollars in the design and development of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, based on a fictional world called “Batuu.” They have developed technology and immersive experiences aimed at enhancing the guest experience and allowing fans to spend hours on Galaxy’s Edge. And come back time and time again to build up experience points by interacting with props and actors.
“Batuu” was purposefully placed in the world of the new trilogy, led by characters like Rey and Kylo Ren. All thanks to advice from the then head of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, to the then CEO of Disney, Bob Iger.
A Stormtrooper stands in front of a TIE interceptor during a media preview of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at the Walt Disney Co.’s Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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And now, after just a few years in the works, new leadership at the top is completely changing the entire program behind Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. In the process, they admitted that they completely missed the mark with their multi-billion dollar project.
Star Wars Lands Brings Back Original Characters
A former executive at Walt Disney World once explained in an interview why Galaxy’s Edge focused on the new trilogy and not on popular movies and original characters. Because Kathleen Kennedy gave bad advice to Bob Iger.
“We got a call the other day,” said former WDW deputy Dan Cockerell. “They said, ‘Well, we have news for you all.’ And the Imagineering guys, they’ve heard this line many, many times over the course of their career. And I had never been through this.” “They said, ‘Well, yesterday Bob Iger met with Kathleen Kennedy, who a lot of people probably know was a kind of George Lucas’ and suggested Lucasfilm. And they had a conversation. They had a meeting. And Kathleen Kennedy, her view was, there are more Disney Star Wars stories ahead of us than behind us. So we really have to think about what we want and build Tatoine in terms of what we can do to make Taoine. fifty somethings remember Star Wars or we want to create something else that will appeal to all future generations who will know new stories.’
Don’t focus the world on characters that people love, focus on new movies, says Kennedy. And Iger listened. Of course, those new movies have come and gone, and “Star Wars” has never had a say in the national conversation. Indeed, under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, Disney announced this month that they are bringing Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker to Galaxy’s Edge, and finally featuring John Williams’ beloved score from the original films.
That’s how you know they admit they made a big mistake by listening to Kathleen Kennedy.
Bringing these characters into Galaxy’s Edge doesn’t make much logical or practical sense, especially since they were portrayed as their younger selves in the original trilogy. But Disney is eager to make their huge investment in Galaxy’s Edge worth it, so they’re hoping that characters people really like will bring in new fans and keep them around for a long time.
Park visitors walk by the entrance of the Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run ride during a preview of the Star Wars-themed world, Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios in Disney World. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
