Out with the old, in with the new. At
Variety‘s Dealmakers Breakfast,
Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that
Walt Disney Imagineering is currently designing theme park attractions based on the new
Star Wars sequels and spinoffs. We'll get our first look at those new attraction at some point next year. The designs could've been done a bit sooner, but Iger wanted to wat until
Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams had finsihed mapping out his vision.
Iger stopped early development on theme park attractions at Imagineering. “We couldn’t tell them what was new,” Iger said, until Abrams was finished developing and producing the sequel. “I slowed it all down so what we come forward with will have a blend of the past, present and maybe the future,” referencing upcoming sequels and spinoff films. “Now we have a sense of what’s in ‘Star Wars 8,’ and what some of the standalone films will have in them.”
We all knew this day was coming after
Disney purchased the rights to
Star Wars from
Lucasfilm for
$4 BILLION. Disney parks, worldwide, will have more of a
Star Wars presence going forward. “
But we want to do this big, which takes time, and to do it right,” Iger told Variety. Currently, the Disney parks have attractions featuring elements from the older
Star Wars films, but Iger felt going forward the focus should be on the newer films. Iger explains, “
I didn’t want someone to say, ‘I just saw the movie and there’s nothing in that movie in this (attraction). We waited to see what this film would have in it.”
Also, thanks to
Star Wars fandom we saw
The Force Awakens trailer sooner then planned.
Disney nearly didn’t release a trailer, Iger admitted. Abrams is known for wanting to keep footage of his films under wraps. But the rabid “Star Wars” fanbase prompted Disney to come up with the brief introduction of what the new film would look like.
Star Wars: Episode VII - Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film. It's being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on
December 18, 2015.