In a weekend full of Star Wars news during Star Wars Celebration Japan, we got new details for the upcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu-themed update coming to Disneyland’s Star Wars area, Galaxy’s Edge, and its first ride, Smuggler’s Run.

 

The panel was titled, “Disney Experiences: Building the Galaxy with Walt Disney Imagineering,” and was hosted by Ahsoka actress, Ashley Eckstein with Lucasfilm Story Group’s Matt Martin, Walt Disney Imagineering’s Anisha Deshmane and Asa Kalama, and Disney Live Entertainment’s Michael Serna making up the panelists.

 

The group begins by discussing the upcoming changes coming to the ride, Smuggler’s Run, where guests currently take on the role of flight crew trainees working for Hondo Ohnaka. They need to fly the Millennium Falcon on a mission that currently takes them to Corellia, stealing hyperfuel from the First Order.

 

Concept art for the updates coming to Smuggler’s Run for “The Mandalorian and Grogu”

 

That mission is about to change with an all-new update themed around The Mandalorian and Grogu, which releases on the same day as the film, May 22, 2026, and is set around the events of the story.

 

Disney had already released some information about the changes coming to the ride, but on the panel, the creatives went into more detail about the locations being added to the ride and the enhancements being made to the role of the flight crew’s “Engineer.”

 

We now know that guests playing the engineer will be able to select one of four different planets to send the Falcon to, namely Tatooine, Bespin, Endor, and Coruscant. All four planets will feature completely different flight paths and missions, which the panelists explained in some limited detail, along with some stunning, all-new concept art.

 


Concept art of Coruscant for Smuggler’s Run



Concept art of Tatooine for Smuggler’s Run


Concept art of Endor’s Death Star debris field for Smuggler’s Run


Concept art of Bespin for Smuggler’s Run

 

The concept art released during the panel shows some interesting Easter eggs, including Star Tours in the background of Bespin, Pirate Snub Fighters from The Mandalorian in the Endor debris field, and the insides of a massive Krayt dragon on Tatooine. That’s a lot more planets, and I for one want to be the first one to see them all!

 

 

The job of picking the planet and interacting with Grogu himself will belong to the currently least-involved member of the flight crew, the engineer. Now the engineer plans your flight path and gets to entertain the baby while the pilots and gunners do their work.

 

In an interview with IGN, panelist Asa Kalama explained that the engineer will need to deal with Grogu because:

 

There may be times when Mando has to deboard the Razor Crest and Grogu, left to his own devices, might get a little happy on the control panel. So, we love the idea of there being these fun little vignettes and moments where you’re sort of on the comm with Grogu.

 

It sounds like it will be up to the engineer to make sure Grogu doesn’t blow the mission by stomping on the controls, and we got a sneak peek at what that may look like from the engineer’s perspective.

 

Concept art featuring Grogu from the engineer’s perspective on Smuggler’s Run.

 

Each version of the mission will start with Hondo, who, according to reporting by Laughing Place;

 

Catches wind of a deal on Tatooine between ex-Imperial officers and pirates, setting the stage for a high-stakes chase across the galaxy. Guests will team up with Mando and Grogu to track them down and claim a bounty in a dynamic, galaxy-spanning adventure.

 

The relationship between the ride’s updated story and the upcoming movie was previously clarified by director Jon Favreau, who said that the ride:

 

Isn’t going to retell what happens in the movie – it’s more like participating in something that’s happening just off-camera from what you see in the film.

 

The panelists also brought up the staggering work that went into this update, with Kalama saying the process took about 18 months of complete partnership with ILM to make it happen, all in VR using Unreal Engine.

 

After wrapping the panel’s time talking about the update to Smuggler’s Run, the panelists spoke about the park’s BDX droids, who will also feature in The Mandalorian and Grogu, and the changes to the nighttime offerings, like fireworks and the new projection show, “Skywalker: Shadows of Memory,” which was introduced to the park starting with Season of the Force this year.

 

Concept art from the projection show, “Skywalker: Shadows of Memory” now playing nightly at Disneyland

 

I always love seeing how the creatives behind Galaxy’s Edge make their choices and decide what and how to bring Star Wars into the real world, while keeping with the canon and making sure that the park remains new and exciting.

 

I cannot wait to take the Falcon for four all-new flights and learn how Hondo and his semi-legitimate shipping company factor into The Mandalorian and Grogu. Galaxy’s Edge is an amazing place to spend a day, and I thank Lucasfilm and Disney for giving me yet another excuse to take a trip to a galaxy far, far away.

 

See you on Batuu!

 


Colin is a lifelong Star Wars fan and researcher who enjoys diving deep into every corner of this weird and wonderful galaxy far, far away.