Commentary — ‘Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run’ Adapts To Canon

Unlike most amusement parks, Disney tries to create a truly immersive storytelling experience with their attractions. This goes doubly true for rides connected to their most popular franchises. Ever since Disney acquired Star Wars, it’s been finding unique ways to expand the Galaxy’s Edge Star Wars land in Disneyland and Disney World’s Hollywood Studios into a place fans can further their love of the characters and the stories. Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run incorporated Hondo Ohnaka (Jim Cummings), a character that had yet to make a live-action appearance. However, as the franchise continues to grow, Disney revamps their rides to include the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu, proving that these attractions are ever changing and adhering to franchise canon.

The ride consists of six people participating at once, each with a designated role, inside the Falcon‘s cockpit. There are two pilots, two gunners, and two engineers. The ride began with Hondo recruiting the riders to raid a First Order convoy, setting the story firmly in the Sequel Trilogy’s Age of Resistance. But the storyline has changed to coincide with Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu film. Hondo is still a major part of the experience, except now he has recruited the Mandalorian and Grogu to hunt down ex-Imperial officers, placing the story in the Mandalorian’s era after the Age of Rebellion.

This is an extremely wise move on the part of Disney. Fans love to see more of the franchises they love. This means rides can become stale if parkgoers experience the same storyline over and over. By updating the storyline and characters, the ride has adapted to new canon, giving fans more to chew on. Theoretically, these changes could continue forever, and not necessarily just with new releases. It would only take a small change for Smuggler’s Run and other rides like it to shift their storylines into something fresh, giving fans a treat upon every return visit to Galaxy’s Edge.