It’s been expected for a while now that Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm would result in a bigger presence for the sci-fi franchise in its theme parks, and now we have a better idea of what form that presence will take, thanks to Disney CEO Bob Iger.
“There will be a much larger Star Wars presence in our parks globally,” said Iger during a Q&A event hosted by Variety. “But we want to do this big, which takes time, and to do it right.”
Fans of the original Star Wars trilogy might want to brace themselves for some disappointment, though.
According to Iger, Disney halted development of attractions based on the original Star Wars trilogy and prequels in favor of producing amusements that focused on the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens and future sequels and standalone films. This will leave the long-running “Star Tours” attraction as the only one to feature the franchise prior to The Force Awakens.
“I didn’t want someone to say, ‘I just saw the movie and there’s nothing in that movie in this (attraction),'” explained Iger. “[So] we waited to see what this film would have in it.”
Still, Iger teased that Star Wars fans can expect to see a lot more of the franchise in not just Disney’s theme parks, but in the company’s resorts and other projects, too.
“We bought the thing. We can do that now,” said Iger.
Fans are expected to get the first look at what Disney has planned for Star Wars in its theme parks next year, closer to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on December 18, 2015.
