Walt Disney Imagineering head Bruce Vaughn and team demo new free-roaming robotic droid characters to Bob Iger and Josh D'Amaro

Oct 18, 2023 in "Star Wars Galaxy's Edge"

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Free-roaming robotic droid characters for Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Posted: Wednesday October 18, 2023 7:09pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Following last week's playtest of Disney's latest free-roaming robotic characters inside Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland, Walt Disney Imagineering has shared a new photo of the team discussing the next steps with Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro.

Free-roaming robotic droid characters for Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

In a post on Instagram, WDI said, "We're so excited about the variety of ways our Imagineers are bringing new and innovative characters to life using sophisticated technology hidden in little droids like these!"

Free-roaming robotic droid characters for Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

There is still no word on whether these new droid characters will become permanent additions at either Star Wars Galaxy's Edge lands. Still, Disney is clearly enthusiastic about the project and is open about revealing the technology to the public.

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Disney IrishOct 09, 2024

Now this I believe, this new rumor feels a bit sus, that its more someone trying to wish it into existence rather than an actual plan set in motion.

D.SilentuOct 09, 2024

Respectfully, I recall there was a meeting planned to address the underperformance of Galaxy's Edge and brainstorm solutions. As the impact of the looming pandemic became a paramount issue, the meeting was canceled. I suspect this never realized meeting is the source of all the current overhaul rumors.

PhroobarOct 09, 2024

Misted CompassOct 09, 2024

Well GE is based on Star Wars which is a much bigger cash cow than Twilight Zone. Surely they wouldn't undo something based on that IP so soon after opening...

mickEbluOct 09, 2024

On their own those changes wouldn’t really move the needle or be worth the investment. If they came as part of a timeline breaking and OT centric re-working of the land then it would make a lot more sense. However, even if they do end up going with a more OT centric theme I’m not convinced ROTR needs to be changed. Also doubt they’d Jump out of one fixed timeline just to be locked into a new one. Any new attraction though should absolutely be OT themed IMO.

chadwpalmOct 09, 2024

Where do I even begin? 1. ToT cost about $90M to build, not $1B. 2. It was changed after 13 years, not 3. 3. It was changed from a property they only licensed to a property they now own, just like GE is in the era of Star Wars they THEY created, not what the previous owner created. Not really a solid analogy.

Professortango1Oct 09, 2024

Nobody is going on Rise and saying "if only there were OT characters in this ride, I would enjoy it. Otherwise, not a fan." Putting different costumes on the characters doesn't change the ride at all.

Disney IrishOct 09, 2024

Not even the same, as they didn’t spend even close to a Billion on ToT. Heck I’m even questioning if they really spent a Billion on DCA itself originally at this point based on how it turned out when it opened.

ConsumerOct 09, 2024

Disney would never spend a billion dollars only to undo it all a several years later...

chadwpalmOct 09, 2024

No they weren't. There's nothing on God's green Earth that will convince me that Disney built a billion dollar land and then three years later they decided to completely overhaul it. There's not going to be a GE overhaul, the People Mover is not coming back, and there's not going to be a third-gate.

wityblackOct 09, 2024

I remember a rumor where they had mapped out what it would take to turn Rise into an original trilogy attraction. Which I assume would just be changing Kylo to Vader, Hux to Tarkin, Rey and Poe to orig trig characters, re-suiting the storm troopers, altering the x-wing and tie fighter, and redoing the media. I imagine R4, Bek, and Nien Nunb would stay.

Disney IrishOct 09, 2024

Unless you're talking about another project, there wasn't a GE retheme rumor discussed a couple years ago. That would have been big news that Disney was planning a complete overhaul of their new land just after opening. As I recall from a couple years ago was they were talking about possibly putting back the restaurant that was cut. And then I think there was something about maybe a third attraction going in that spot instead if I remember correctly. But none of that was even on the level of what is being discussed this time, which is a complete land overhaul.

truecoatOct 09, 2024

That's not true, they were ready to greenlight something like this a couple years ago.

J4546Oct 02, 2024

Making a massive endor land in DCA would be chill, with all the redwoods and such. could even have a train/monorail connecting the 2 star wars lands if you wanted to go all out with a transport ride as well