Star Wars’ 50th Is Coming to Disney Parks. Here’s What Could Change at Galaxy’s Edge and Star Tours

The biggest clue is on the West Coast. On April 29, Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge moved off the sequel era, which had set Black Spire Outpost between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker since 2019. The land now spans Return of the Jedi through The Mandalorian, as we covered when Darth Vader and the original trilogy heroes were announced.

Darth Vader and his stormtroopers now patrol near the TIE Echelon searching for Luke Skywalker. Han Solo reunites with Chewbacca at the Millennium Falcon, and Leia Organa made her first Galaxy’s Edge appearance in a white battle outfit. Ahsoka Tano, R2-D2, the Mandalorian and Grogu are still around, and Rey can still be found near Rise of the Resistance, which did not change.

The land sounds different too, with John Williams themes from the first six films playing throughout and “Cantina Band” at Oga’s Cantina. First Order Cargo became Black Spire Surplus, a shop selling Rebel and Empire gear, and Dok-Ondar’s, Savi’s Workshop and the Droid Depot got updates.

At the time, Disney said the changes were for Disneyland only. Disney pointed to the Mandalorian movie and the 50th anniversary as reasons to focus on the classic era there, and said different timelines on each coast give fans a reason to visit both. Imagineer Asa Kalama told StarWars.com the land was always meant to be “a platform for storytelling, a land that would continue to live and grow and evolve.”

A Galaxy’s Edge timeline change. Florida’s Galaxy’s Edge is still set in the sequel era, with First Order Cargo and Kylo Ren’s TIE Echelon. The 50th anniversary is the strongest reason yet to bring the classic era east. Disney’s own comments about keeping the coasts different mean a full copy is not a sure thing, but the new John Williams music and a classic-era character or two would be easy places to start.

New Smugglers Run missions. The Mandalorian and Grogu mission launched May 22 on both coasts, along with new Unreal Engine 5 software and new hardware. That mission already sends crews to Bespin, Coruscant and the wreckage of the second Death Star. With the new system in place, a mission built around A New Hope, with stops like Tatooine or the first Death Star, would be a natural fit for 1977’s anniversary.

A Star Tours update. Disney recently filed a “General Construction” permit for Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with an engineering firm as the contractor and an expiration date of November 2, 2027, WDWNT reported. The permit does not say what the work is, and Star Tours last added new scenes in April 2024, featuring The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and Andor. Star Tours has a long history of adding scenes from new films, so a Star Wars: Starfighter scene ahead of the May 28 release, or a tribute to the 1977 film, would follow that pattern.

New character meet and greets. Since Star Wars Launch Bay closed in September 2025, Darth Vader has met guests in Echo Lake near Star Tours, and Chewbacca moved to Galaxy’s Edge near the Falcon. Disneyland now has Luke, Leia and Han. Bringing the original trilogy heroes to Florida, or adding an Ahsoka meet with Season 2 arriving January 20, would give the anniversary year something new to do in the park.