Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Creatives Panel

[Ravenclaw78]

Universal's Wizarding Worlds around the globe had, for better or worse, the draconian fist of JK Rowling enforcing her will about every tiny detail. It resulted in incredible recreations of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, with so many hidden secrets that you can find something new every time you visit. On the other hand, it also resulted in a lot of cuts and compromises. A walk-through Hagrid's Hut in Hogsmeade got cut because she insisted it had to be identical to the movie set, which had a very non-ADA compliant set of steps instead of the ramp that would have needed to be built in the theme park. The otherwise-vegan Butterbeer can't be ordered without the dairy "foam" topping (because it wouldn't look authentic enough) or with alcohol (and the employees WILL stop you if they spot you trying to mix an adult beverage into a Butterbeer, as some friends of mine discovered). The USO entrance to the Hogwarts Express had to be moved outside the land. Other than Celestina Warbeck, no characters from the books or movies can be portrayed by live actors, so the only photo ops are with a generic bus driver and train conductor. Etc, etc.

Maybe SWGE would have benefited from George Lucas's guiding hand. On the other hand, Han Shot First, and he never met a crappy piece of merchandise he didn't approve of if he thought he could make a buck off it. Chances are, fans would be just as annoyed at a Lucas-led land as they are with a Chapek-led land.

 

[Jones14]

You're talking about two shows per land that happen periodically. They are not all the heart of the lands or in any way similar.

I disagree completely. Tales and Celestina in particular are key to making Diagon feel bustling and vibrant, and (in my mind at least) are more valuable to the land than Gringotts.

 

[TalkingHead]

...George Lucas's guiding hand. On the other hand, Han Shot First, and he never met a crappy piece of merchandise he didn't approve of if he thought he could make a buck off it.

Speaking of lame merchandise, have you seen all the Skyliner junk?

Surely Disney has equaled or surpassed Lucas’s penchant for embarrassing merch.

 

[Ravenclaw78]

Speaking of lame merchandise, have you seen all the Skyliner junk?

Surely Disney has equaled or surpassed Lucas’s penchant for embarrassing merch.

I've seen pictures. It's certainly tacky! I can't say whether the quality of the merchandise is good or not, but I'm not sure who thought people would be lining up to buy die-cast toy Skyliner cabins...

 

[erasure fan1]

I've seen pictures. It's certainly tacky! I can't say whether the quality of the merchandise is good or not, but I'm not sure who thought people would be lining up to buy die-cast toy Skyliner cabins...

I would if it was a 1/64 scale diecast made by hotwheels. Other than that, NOPE.

 

[UNCgolf]

Weirdo prequel fans.

The prequels are mostly trash -- they're definitely worse movies than the sequels, despite having a far more interesting premise.

With that said, I'd love to visit Naboo. Why wouldn't you? It's gorgeous. I'd be much more excited about visiting Naboo than visiting Batuu solely because of the visual aspect.

 

[Joesixtoe]

I do love all the people who complain about Batuu being depression or run down or what and if only Disney had built a classic established location then all would be right in the world. Because Tatooine and Hoth and Bespin are such happy, fun filled places!

(The closet thing to an endearing place to visit would be Naboo and who the heck wants to visit there?)

Naboo would be pretty cool, but yes I understand what your saying. I cant think of many endearing places from the movies that aren't all sand, snow, forest, city, lava, swamp.. so making their own land I think was the best idea.

 

[JohnD]

Naboo would be pretty cool, but yes I understand what your saying. I cant think of many endearing places from the movies that aren't all sand, snow, forest, city, lava, swamp.. so making their own land I think was the best idea.

I understand what everyone is saying about planets with boring locales (sand, forest, etc.) but my pick would have been Mos Eisley. Primary reason: set it during the OT. People love the OT characters
Millennium Falcon - check
Cantina - check
Droids - check
Native shops - check
Interaction with OT characters - check
Comparable Rise of the Resistance ride involving the Empire and the Rebels
I can imagine Diagon Alley touches like C-3PO's and R2's hiding place.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I understand what everyone is saying about planets with boring locales (sand, forest, etc.) but my pick would have been Mos Eisley. Primary reason: set it during the OT. People love the OT characters
Millennium Falcon - check
Cantina - check
Droids - check
Native shops - check
Interaction with OT characters - check
Comparable Rise of the Resistance ride involving the Empire and the Rebels
I can imagine Diagon Alley touches like C-3PO's and R2's hiding place.

Lots of blank, beige walls too.

 

[ChrisFL]

Why isn't C3PO and R2D2 anywhere in GE? (other than the one R2D2 you can buy)

 

[MisterPenguin]

Why isn't C3PO and R2D2 anywhere in GE? (other than the one R2D2 you can buy)

They're contractually obligated to appear in Star Tours.

 

[Joesixtoe]

Precisely. While I don't think there's any arguing with the idea that Rowling's attention to detail (mostly) made WWoHP more successful, you couldn't have trusted Lucas to do the same. The man has long been more concerned with technology than the art of storytelling. Like adding the extra CGI scenes in the special editions just for the hell of it.

And have you read what Lucas wanted to do with his Star Wars sequel trilogy? He wanted to explore the "microbiotic world" of Midichlorians. That sounds dreadful and boring.

FWIW, Rowling's grasp on what audiences love about the Wizarding World may be faltering too. Just look at the reception to Crimes of Grindelwald.

But just because someone created the universe doesn't mean they understand what fans love about it.

I think the lack of technology when creating the original 3 made him commit to more story elements rather than visuals and advance technological aspects. Dialogue and acting is so far superior in the OT than the PT.. Then Disney came in and wanted to get the acting and older visuals back on track, and I think they did a good job on that.

 

[Scrooged]

Reading this thread seems like reading a "word salad" forum post.

 

[_caleb]

Reading this thread seems like reading a "word salad" forum post.

Bots can only do so much at this point. Just give it time...