Disneyland Adds Star Wars Heroes Grogu and The Mandalorian

It was only a matter of time before more current Star Wars universe characters found their way to Galaxy’s Edge at Disney Parks. Starting this week, The Mandalorian heroes Din Djarin and Grogu will be appearing in Batuu’s Black Spire Outpost at Disneyland.

That means the area—previously frozen in the latest film trilogy’s specific era—is bending time a bit, since Grogu and Mando’s adventures currently take place a little over a decade before The Force Awakens. And unlike its Marvel Studios counterpart, Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure, which has the multiverse to lean on as an explanation as to why various heroes and variants can come and go, the situation at Galaxy’s Edge is trickier, with a fandom split over this choice. There’s a legion of fans that want to stay true to the original vision of the land, and others who want to see the baby.

The land was originally envisioned as a place where guests could take part in their own Star Wars adventures within an interconnected set of attractions that take place after the events in The Last Jedi. Having it planted in the latest cinematic era of stories conceptually was meant to fit an immersive narrative, but that quickly became outdated shortly after the release of The Rise of Skywalker, as The Mandalorian took over fandom in the franchise. Everybody wants to meet Baby Yoda and now they can—but at the cost of distancing the land from its original intention.

Disney Parks tested these waters a bit recently by having Boba Fett and Fennec Shand appear—a stretch, but still plausible, because the bounty hunters could just have aged very well. (Further complicating the timeline, there’s also been the incorporation of Wookiee holiday Life Day.) With Disney+ now representing the current Star Wars output, it makes sense that Mando and Grogu would show up in the park—it’s just a little unclear whether they’re appearing as their future selves or… Disney’s just scrapping continuity altogether. There’s a loose thematic connection to the arrival of the park’s new Magicbands, which added Galaxy’s Edge experience Batuu Bounty Hunters, in which you can use your “Datapad” (cell phone) to capture bounties for credits. How much for Grogu?

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water.

It was only a matter of time before more current Star Wars universe characters found their way to Galaxy’s Edge at Disney Parks. Starting this week, The Mandalorian heroes Din Djarin and Grogu will be appearing in Batuu’s Black Spire Outpost at Disneyland.

That means the area—previously frozen in the latest film trilogy’s specific era—is bending time a bit, since Grogu and Mando’s adventures currently take place a little over a decade before The Force Awakens. And unlike its Marvel Studios counterpart, Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure, which has the multiverse to lean on as an explanation as to why various heroes and variants can come and go, the situation at Galaxy’s Edge is trickier, with a fandom split over this choice. There’s a legion of fans that want to stay true to the original vision of the land, and others who want to see the baby.

The land was originally envisioned as a place where guests could take part in their own Star Wars adventures within an interconnected set of attractions that take place after the events in The Last Jedi. Having it planted in the latest cinematic era of stories conceptually was meant to fit an immersive narrative, but that quickly became outdated shortly after the release of The Rise of Skywalker, as The Mandalorian took over fandom in the franchise. Everybody wants to meet Baby Yoda and now they can—but at the cost of distancing the land from its original intention.

Disney Parks tested these waters a bit recently by having Boba Fett and Fennec Shand appear—a stretch, but still plausible, because the bounty hunters could just have aged very well. (Further complicating the timeline, there’s also been the incorporation of Wookiee holiday Life Day.) With Disney+ now representing the current Star Wars output, it makes sense that Mando and Grogu would show up in the park—it’s just a little unclear whether they’re appearing as their future selves or… Disney’s just scrapping continuity altogether. There’s a loose thematic connection to the arrival of the park’s new Magicbands, which added Galaxy’s Edge experience Batuu Bounty Hunters, in which you can use your “Datapad” (cell phone) to capture bounties for credits. How much for Grogu?

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water.