Disney has set out to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original Star Wars film with special events, unique merchandise offerings, and changes at the parks and the cruise line to the Star Wars experiences.
The first round of announcements was rolled out 50 days before the start of the 50th anniversary year. We have all the details on how Disney is celebrating the 50th anniversary and what they have said about the changes for Star Wars at the theme parks and what that could include. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including a hint for the reopening timeline of a classic overhauled attraction, and two new Disney World holiday popcorn buckets.
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Star Wars 50th Anniversary Announcements Set By Disney
The original Star Wars movie, which was later renamed Star Wars: A New Hope, debuted in theaters on May 25, 1977. Now, Disney is celebrating that anniversary with a set of new offerings.
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Disney promises that in 2027, starting in January, a global celebration will honor the anniversary film with new projects coming, merchandise, dedicated fan events, archival releases, and “reimagined Disney Parks and Cruise Line offerings.” This is all in addition to the new streaming and theatrical titles.
“It is incredibly special to mark the 50th anniversary by returning the original version of Star Wars to theaters so audiences can experience this part of film history on the big screen,” says Lucasfilm Co-President Lynwen Brennan. “We look forward to celebrating with our fans all year long—from the releases of Ahsoka and Star Wars: Starfighter to exclusive merchandise, new publishing stories, unforgettable experiences and interactive games. We are so thankful for our amazing community and hope these experiences bring joy to Star Wars fans everywhere.”
Let’s get into the concrete announcements and dates that we received from Disney, and then we will get into thoughts on the parks and resorts announcement at the end.
A special 50th anniversary logo with a newly orchestrated score by John Williams will debut. We assume this will be used on all the projects that debut this year.
On January 20, Ahsoka returns to Disney+ for a second season.
On February 19, Lucasfilm will release a restored version of the original Star Wars (1977) in theaters on thousands of screens globally. The film will be available in IMAX 70mm, 70mm, 35mm, IMAX, 4DX and D-BOX. They debuted a new poster by Matt Ferguson, which pays homage to the original created in 1977.
Cosm will debut a Shared Reality rendition of Star Wars: A New Hope (2019 version) in its immersive entertainment venues located in Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit and Los Angeles. Coming March 2027.
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On April 2-3, they will debut the new “Star Wars in Concert: The Skywalker Saga” at the Hollywood Bowl. The show will be hosted by Anthony Daniels, known for his role as C-3PO.
Special performances of John Williams’ iconic film scores will feature scenes and music from all nine Skywalker Saga films. The concert is a sweeping celebration of the stories, themes, and music that have inspired audiences around the world for five decades.
Star Wars Celebration is also taking place that weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The event features panels, hundreds of exhibitors, exclusive merchandise, and legendary guests. This is the Star Wars version of D23. The event is already sold out.
On May the 4th, Lucasfilm will release a brand-new documentary, The Hero Awakens, from acclaimed filmmaker R.J. Cutler on Disney+. The documentary will detail the making of Star Wars. The film will exclusively feature archival footage and audio captured during and around the making of the historic film in 1977.
On May 28, Star Wars: Starfighter hits theaters globally. Directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, this film takes place in an entirely new era of Star Wars storytelling and features all-new characters and locations.
They also teased that new and legacy licensees — including Hasbro, the LEGO Group, adidas, Mars, Aston Martin, Steinway, Hajime Sorayama presented by Complex, and more — will introduce 50th-anniversary collections.
Fans can also step into their favorite Star Wars stories at Star Wars: The Experience, an interactive exhibition coming this February to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Tickets for that experience are now on sale.
Disney promised that these are not the only announcements to come about Star Wars 50th and that there will be even more “cross-generational collaborations later this year and into 2027, featuring major global brands and announcements to delight fans of all ages.”
In the opening of the press release, Disney mentioned that as part of the announcements there will be “reimagined Disney Parks and Cruise Line offerings.” No specific further details were given, but this could relate to multiple projects.
The most notable Star Wars offerings are the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge lands and Star Tours attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World and the Hyperspace Lounge on the Disney Wish. There are also other offerings throughout the parks and older offerings that we would love to see return.
Disney has rolled out changes at Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that brought the iconic John Williams music into the land and iconic characters from the original film. We recently recapped these changes at length. Those changes were announced at the beginning of this year and rolled out as part of the May the 4th timeframe alongside improvements to one of the rides in the land.
Perhaps Walt Disney World has seen the success of these changes and is considering rolling these out at their version of the land as well. Many have hoped that those changes could come as the music adds more life to the land and the classic characters are more iconic. Seeing Darth Vader coming out of the ship and Leia wandering by the Millennium Falcon is a wonderful addition.
This year, a new version of the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run attraction debuted on both coasts, featuring the Mandalorian and Grogu characters and bringing guests to more iconic Star Wars locations. The ride experience is an improvement from the previous version, but I still would have preferred it if they had dropped the marketing integration requirement for the new movie last summer and turned it into a ride where guests get to actually help blow up the Death Star.
We would not be surprised to see the Star Tours attraction updated with new scenes from the upcoming Star Wars titles being released this year. This has been common with other Star Wars releases including the first season of Ahsoka. I expect to see Star Wars: Starfighter integrated here.
In the release, they specifically mentioned cruise line in their improvements. The main Star Wars offering is on the Disney Wish with the Hyperspace Lounge. On every Wish-class ship after that one, the space has been used for the Haunted Mansion Parlor. In other words, that concept was stronger.
We have wondered whether the Star Wars space would be improved substantially or even turned into the Haunted Mansion-themed space when the ship goes into dry dock next. The Star Wars space onboard is fun, and we loved it when we first experienced it. The drinks are thoughtfully themed, and the Star Wars screen behind the bar, meant to be a bay window into space, is engaging to watch. However, the Haunted Mansion Parlor is overall better, and returning to the Hyperspace Lounge after spending time in the Haunted Mansion Parlor really emphasizes the differences.
Beyond the two lands and the cruise ship lounge, there is one other experience that I would love to see get the benefit of this 50th anniversary marketing budget.
The Star Wars Jedi Training Academy was one of the best interactive experiences at the parks before the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
The entertainment experience allowed parents to sign up their younger kids to learn how to be a Jedi before they took on Darth Vader or Darth Maul in a lightsaber battle. The interactive experience was a memory maker and a great entertainment offering that brought young kids into the fun of Star Wars. The cast members who led the show were superb. Previously, Disney offered this experience at Tomorrowland Terrace in Disneyland and the stage outside Star Tours in Hollywood Studios.
This experience would be more popular than ever in the age of social media. That may be both a blessing and a curse, as I could see the limited nature of slots available to sign up being a real issue in this era of “secret offerings” going viral.
Another Star Wars experience we loved was the zany Star Wars Weekends that took place at Hollywood Studios. The event brought stars of the films to the parks in a car parade and featured dance-offs between the Star Wars characters.
Perhaps this is the year when the parks could get the budget to celebrate Star Wars in a bigger way outside of the marquee lands and return these fun offerings, though up until this point Disney has opted for the more serious, immersive tone around the franchise since they took ownership.
What Star Wars experiences would you like to see reimagined at the theme parks? What would you do in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?
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