That’s a story aspect that I actually agree with. Sabers are sacred thing in the lore. They don’t want the dark side/first order knowing about the rebellion building them. Sure they maybe could pull you aside and “whisper” how to find them instead but I’m not completely against this aspect.
This is a bit of a debate you raise here. Me and a friend once went to see the Guardians of the Galaxy Show at American Adventure. Framing the show was a backstory about how the guardians of the galaxy were helping the planet Xandar reach out to Earth, and Peter had suggested Epcot as the perfect place for the first aliens to have a cultural exchange on Earth. The Xandarian musical group begins to play some of their tunes which are terrible, and so the Guardians of the Galaxy help them play some of the classic tunes from the movie. At the end my friend said to me "it's cool they didn't just throw it out there, but that they took the time to craft a story." My response was a mix of horror and amusement at such a clunky plot. They literally could have called it The Music of Guardians of Galaxy, and just played songs from the movie. Instead they had the whole cast painted different colors and Gamora was out there doing some cringe dance moves.
Which one is actually the better story? Is it the convoluted backstory or the simple concert?
My friend leaned towards the backstory while I strongly preferred a more simple explanation. It's ridiculously easy to come up with a backstory for everything. Just look at the new Avengers Campus under construction. They happen to build it right next to an ancient temple which happens to be next to the Collector's museum who just happens to have captured the Guardians of the Galaxy. Sometimes an explanation can actually make a really bad story.
Take this no lightsaber policy because of "story reasons." Take it back just one step. What is the story of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge? While they'd love to tell you about some run down spaceport, that's not the core message this place is trying to communicate.
What then is the point of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge? The theme of this land is that any person, regardless of background, can be a hero or make a big impact on the world. I believe that's what Trowbridge said (someone can find the exact quote). That theme is the core of the land, and the primary story that is supposed to be communicated.
With that lens, does Galaxy's Edge really tell the story well? Wouldn't you want every child (and adult
) swinging their lightsaber around and wearing their Jedi robes? Feeling like a hero doesn't mean hiding your lightsaber in your bag, no, it means being part of an adventure. What about the lack of any reference to the Force? They built a land but didn't include one of the best parts of Star Wars! The part of Star Wars we all want! Who hasn't been sitting in bed reaching for something just out of reach and thought "dang I wish I had the Force?" Or the beloved Jedi Academy which has been ported around the world, but was left out of the land because of timeline problems. Or what about those awesome knights wielding laser swords?
The story problems are easily resolvable. For example, what if Batuu was a place in the galaxy strong with the Force? A place where even those with limited abilities can suddenly have the power to do epic feats? Or it could be a place where the Church of the Force (appeared briefly in VII) has a monastery and helps teach the ways of the Force, and even the skills of the Lightsaber. As we are all aware, recently Star Wars showed training was quite unnecessary so who knows, we could just get "lucky" and be strong with the Force.
Rigid self imposed constrains have hampered this land's actual story.
When you go, you'll be glad to find out the "sacred thing in the lore" can be purchased for $200 in a gift shop, just like in the movies!
Having anything to do with the Force hidden is so much better than the Jedi Academy where kids used to dress in Jedi robes and have the time of their lives openly learning the ways of the Force and fighting classic Star Wars villains with the help of their Jedi masters. What a stupid, non-immersive idea!
Now those same kids can go into Dok Anders and be told all of those people are dead.
Bright Suns!
Yeah that is pretty funny. The Kyber Crystals are also supposed to be worth their weight in Gold. But I think they go for under ten dollars at Galaxy's Edge. If it's merch accuracy is only so important.
So wouldn’t that be Iger’s and Chapeks fault not theirs? The execs are the ones who approved this. Iger has gone on record saying he told the imagineers to be more ambitious and obviously he felt this was. I think there are so many factors at play here to create this perfect storm rather than just the lands design.
We can all agree that the SWGE was created by many hands, but we also should realize a couple points too. Many of the people on the panel were integral in designing the story we are experiencing. Many people think that story is terrible. Think of blockbuster movies that have a generous budget, but face overruns in production. Certain elements get cut, and it is reviewed horribly and bombs. Is it the executives fault? Yeah, but we can also agree that the directors and producers are terrible too.
Was Bob Iger the one who accidentally installed the tracking chips into the ground incorrectly, costing 10s of millions? Was Bob Iger the one who decided to go for the small cantina? Was Bob Iger the one who came up with all these crazy policies? He might have had a hand, but when creatives have 1 billion dollars and screw up this bad the problems are bigger than an executive.
Just because it was created by WDI does not mean it's good. In fact, recent memory shows they've had a middling track record at best...
