Spoiler-Free Secrets from The Mandalorian Set Revealed

By Zach Johnson

After the legendary stories of Jango and Boba Fett, a new warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe: The Mandalorian. The first-ever live-action Star Wars series, named after the title character, is set after the fall of the Empire and before the arrival of the First Order. From Disney Legend Jon Favreau and executive producers Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson, the first season will follow the adventures of a lone gunfighter (Pedro Pascal) in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic. The first episode will debut on Disney+ at launch on November 12.

In addition to Pascal, the series’ cast includes Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Nick Nolte, Emily Swallow, Taika Waititi, Giancarlo Esposito, and Omid Abtahi. Recently, D23 attended the global press conference for the series, where Favreau, Filoni, Pascal, Carano and Weathers shared spoiler-free details about the first season.

“We wanted to start fresh with a whole new set of characters you never met before,” said Favreau. Still, there are Easter eggs for longtime fans to find (including ones from the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special). “If you were watching and if you knew about it—and this is where Dave has really been a treasure trove—we tried to work that stuff in.” But to preserve the series’ integrity, the creative forces behind the series showed restraint in that regard, Favreau added: “There is a discipline about it.” Still, he took several creative risks as a writer. Just know that for any change, “We really deliberated over it, discussed it and thought it through. So, if we depart in any way, we know we are—but it’s with a plan. Part of it also is: ‘What is the big arc?’ That is the other thing.”

Although Favreau has directed blockbuster films such as Iron Man, The Jungle Book, and The Lion King, he entrusted Filoni, Waititi, Rick Famuyiwa, Deborah Chow, and Bryce Dallas Howard with the directorial duties on The Mandalorian. Favreau has a keen eye for talent, as Chow was hired in September to direct the upcoming untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+, which will begin shooting in 2020 and see actor Ewan McGregor reprising his role. “You’re going to see a lot of people who are working in this incubator of story and technology—really, people who got together because they love Star Wars,” Favreau shared. “I think the enthusiasm seems to be very contagious.”

Filoni, who cut his teeth in Star Wars animation, admitted he had become a sponge while preparing to direct the first and fifth episodes of The Mandalorian: “I was on set every day the whole season, so I learned by watching every single one of our directors. I learned by watching our great cast and everyone behind the scenes. I treated it as a boot camp for me to learn this type of filmmaking.” Filoni, who had worked closely with Star Wars creator and Disney Legend George Lucas on The Clone Wars and other projects, said his biggest takeaway was determining what he could accomplish in one day. For example, he once arrived on a backlot and the director of photography told him the sun had risen and it was time to start shooting. “I’m like, ‘Oh, right! Because it’s going to go down,’” he said, laughing. “In animation, you don’t really have that problem!”

Everything about the experience was a dream come true for the cast and crew, many of whom had long dreamed of becoming a part of the Star Wars universe. “My first day on set I was on a blurrg, so I was up on this big thing,” Carano said. “I was like, ‘OK, this is it! This is my life now.’” For Pascal, the first surreal moment arrived when he met with Favreau and Filoni and got to try on his helmet. “It fit perfectly… You can’t see very well through the helmet, but I got a pretty clear impression. If you grow up playing with Star Wars toys, and obviously seeing these movies, and then you’re staring at yourself and you are the image of that kind of childhood imagination, it’s a super pinch-me moment.”

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How Disney+’s The Imagineering Story Celebrates Walt Disney’s Legacy

By Zach Johnson

It’s no secret that making Disney magic is in Leslie Iwerks’ DNA. The daughter of Disney Legend Don Iwerks and the granddaughter of Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, the Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker has been telling behind-the-scenes stories about The Walt Disney Company’s history for two decades, starting with the 1999 release of her first feature-length documentary, The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story. Next, Leslie will pull back the curtain on Disney Parks with the Disney+ original The Imagineering Story, a six-hour saga premiering at launch on November 12.

With unprecedented access, Leslie’s series will highlight Walt Disney Imagineering, the little-known design and development center of The Walt Disney Company, inviting viewers discover what it takes to create, design, and build Disney theme parks around the world. Leslie recently appeared in the IDA Presents: Disney+ Nonfiction Storytelling Showcase in Hollywood, where she shared never-before-seen footage from the highly anticipated docu-series and recalled how it evolved from initially being a 90-minute film.

“This started about six years ago, believe it or not. I had screened my film, The Pixar Story, at Imagineering. [Disney Legend] Marty Sklar, who was the former president of Imagineering, saw the film and said to me afterwards, ‘When are you going to do The Imagineering Story?’” Leslie recalled. “I said, ‘Well, you tell me!’” After making a formal pitch, the executives at Disney got back to Leslie and made her an offer. “They said, ‘Actually, we want to commission you for five years. We want you to travel to all the parks around the world. We want you to document behind the scenes and really capture the spirit of Imagineering and what we consider the golden age of that time.’ This was from 2014 to about 2017; it was an amazing experience to kind of relive my childhood.”

With the full cooperation of Imagineering, Leslie and her team spent half a decade filming on location across all Disney Parks—to the point where they had an “avalanche of material” to edit. After assembling a six-hour rough cut, Leslie went back to Disney and asked if they would consider a series. Disney liked the idea. There was just one problem: Where to put it? “There was no outlet at the time,” Leslie explained. By the time Disney+ was announced, everyone knew that’s where it belonged. “It was perfect timing,” she said. “They came in and said, ‘We would love to have this for our launch.’”

Initially, Leslie said her team had “limited access” to archival materials: “We had to pull a lot of the stuff from the Internet, because we had a limited budget.” But after moving under the Disney+ umbrella, her team was able to spend another year “really digging—and doing it properly.” Plus, now that she was making a docu-series as opposed to a film, Leslie had even more time to celebrate the Imagineers’ countless contributions. “As we got into it, we discovered so much really cool material—and it had never been seen before,” she said. “A large percentage of this film is material no one has ever seen, between photographs and archival footage, to transfers from raw negatives in the vault.”

The Imagineering Story

Leslie, who is both the director and the executive producer of The Imagineering Story, also talked to Imagineers past and present about their work in Disney Parks. “Everyone is standing on the shoulders of Walt Disney. Everyone is standing on the shoulders of those who came before them,” she explained. “It was fascinating to see that evolution.”

The Imagineering Story will be told chronologically, to reflect the idea of Imagineers standing on Walt’s shoulders. “That, in essence, is how you build on the emotional thread of that story,” Leslie said. “Each episode, ultimately, has its own story arc, its own ups and downs, its own trials and tribulations—and it has a cliffhanger at the end.”

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Step Inside Jeff Goldblum’s Wacky World on Disney+

By Zach Johnson

The world, according to Jeff Goldblum, is meant to be explored—and he’s doing just that with his new Disney+ series The World According to Jeff Goldblum, premiering at launch on November 12. Produced by National Geographic and Nutopia, each episode will feature Goldblum seeking out the history and science behind a deceptively familiar object—think coffee, denim, and RVs—as he questions the how, the now, and the why.

The series is a passion project for Goldblum. “I think I was always inquisitive,” he said last week at the IDA Presents: Disney+ Nonfiction Storytelling Showcase in Hollywood. Mentioning his 4- and 7-year-old sons, the host and executive producer added, “These kids are very inquisitive and curious and excited and confused about every little thing. As we know, they’ve never tasted all sorts of things, or seen all sorts of things, and so they are interested in learning. They are sponges. I’m sure I was some variation of that.”

The World According to Jeff GoldBlum

Goldblum said he “got a big kick” out of hosting three episodes of National Geographic Explorer in 2017, and he impressed network executives. It wasn’t long before Goldblum was in discussions to host his own show. “We started to talk about it,” he said, “and it evolved organically out of our conversations.” At the start of production, Nutopia had asked Goldblum to record his musings about anything, hoping to find some inspiration. “I enjoyed doing that, too, just by myself—as you can imagine!” Goldblum said with a laugh. “Some of that material became useful, because it had to do with my interests, associations, experiences, curiosities, and strong feelings about some of these topics.”

Disney+ eventually acquired The World According to Jeff Goldblum from National Geographic, and the first trailer debuted during the D23 Expo 2019 in Anaheim, California. Goldblum considers himself lucky to be making the series, and he already has ideas for more episodes. “Time and time again I would say, ‘When, besides the opportunity of [making] this series, would I be here meeting these interesting people? Very rarely, or never,” he said. “It was almost like a bucket-list, delightful odyssey. A great experience.”

The World According to Jeff GoldBlum

The World According to Jeff Goldblum allows its titular star to use his curiosity to inspire the same feeling in others. From the beginning, he said, “I told National Geographic, ‘I think I can contribute something that you’ll like, that may skin the cat and be of interest to people. And I’ll certainly enjoy it if I can be free and if you would allow me to be free.’”

Goldlbum got his freedom, and it’s evident in his fun, insightful conversations. “I enjoy meeting people,” he said. “They’re very sweet, and I’m proud of whatever they may know me from. And once we get into it, from my standpoint, they’re more interesting than I am, certainly. Soon, they know I’m genuinely interested—and we get interested together, sitting side by side in some mental posture of this thing that we’re exploring.”

Want more Disney+ news? Click here to stay up-to-date with what’s streaming!

5 Behind-the-Scenes Stories From High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

By Zach Johnson

It’s the start of something new, Wildcats! The Disney+ original scripted series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is set to debut at launch on November 12. With meta references and some docu-style elements, it follows students as they count down to the opening night of their school’s first-ever production of High School Musical.

From creator and executive producer Tim Federle, the 10-episode series stars Joshua Bassett as Ricky, Olivia Rodrigo as Nini, Matt Cornett as E.J., Sofia Wylie as Gina, Julia Lester as Ashlyn, Larry Saperstein as Big Red, Dara Reneé as Kourtney, Frankie A. Rodriguez as Carlos, Kate Reinders as Ms. Jenn, and Mark St. Cyr as Mr. Mazzara. Before the first episode airs on ABC, Disney Channel, and Freeform on November 8 at 8 p.m. ET before its Disney+ debut, enjoy five behind-the-scenes stories from the cast!

HSMTMTS Wylie

1. Wylie is a lifelong High School Musical fan. “When I was around 5 years old, there was this contest at my local mall: You had to walk across a red carpet and you could win tickets for your whole family to fly out to L.A. and be a part of the High School Musical 3 premiere,” she says. “Somehow, 5-year-old Sofia walked across this carpet and won for her whole family—which is so strange! I have pictures, actually, of my family and me at the premiere. I was so excited! I still am excited to this day just thinking about it! Now, 10 years later, it’s weird to think I’m able to be part of this amazing show.”

2. Reneé was so impressive she was promoted early. “I was only supposed to be in one episode,” she reveals. “Then, Tim was like, ‘We’re going to keep you around…’ I was like, ‘Thank you!’ I’m so just so grateful.” According to Federle, the decision was a no-brainer: “Someone like Dara Reneé, who walked in and was going to play a one-episode sidekick, brought so much to the table that I had to make her a series regular.”

3. Many of the actors inspired storylines for their characters. In one example, Federle recalls how Rodriguez had auditioned with a song from Aladdin but “knew he had something else” to offer. “I was like, ‘Is there anything else that’s going to speak to a deeper place?’ And he was like, ‘Well, I have Whitney Houston.’ He sang ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ and it literally inspired an entire arc in the series. It’s one of my favorite songs in the series, which Olivia and Dara sing and Frankie and Julia dance to.”

HSMTMTS

4. Filming at the real East High was a surreal experience. “I didn’t think it was possible to be star-struck by a building, but I was genuinely star-struck by the school whenever we walked up!” Cornett says with a laugh. “It was like it was magical, in a way.” Reinders confirms that Sharpay Evans’ locker remains intact (“It’s real!”), with Federle joking, “Paris has the Eiffel Tower, and Salt Lake has East High. It’s a mecca!”

5. Federle and Reinders first met on Broadway. “Kate and I did Gypsy together,” the executive producer reveals. “She starred in the 2003 Bernadette Peters revival, playing her daughter, and I was a chorus boy. I was always intimidated by her!” When Reinders auditioned for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, she brought a flute. That sealed the deal, making Federle realize she already “was this drama teacher who cares so much about theater and has so much to say to the next generation.” Regarding the flute, Reinders says she played the flute, the violin, and the piano when she was a child. So, when she was asked to demonstrate any special skills, she didn’t hesitate. “After I sang,” she says, “I literally pulled it out of a bag and played ‘We’re All in This Together!’”

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Kristen Bell Sets the Stage for the Disney+ Series Encore!

By Zach Johnson

The show must go on—and in the case of Encore!, sometime it must go on decades later! Last week, Kristen Bell appeared at the IDA Presents: Disney+ Nonfiction Storytelling Showcase in Hollywood to offer an extended look at the highly anticipated series, premiering at launch on November 12. Bell serves as an executive producer on the series, which brings together former cast members of high school musicals for a reunion unlike any other. After playing the trailer that debuted at D23 Expo 2019, Bell asked the audience, “Who’s crying? Thank you for admitting that, you guys. I was, too!”

It’s hard not to get emotional talking about the series, Bell said. After all, the actress—best known to Disney fans for her voice work as Anna in the Frozen franchise—knew Encore! was something special after producing it as a one-off for ABC in late 2017. So, Bell and fellow executive producers Jason Cohen, Will Gluck, Alycia Rossiter, Jim Roush, and Richard Schwartz tried their luck at making even more magic by turning the special into a series. “We took it to Disney+,” she said, “and they said yes immediately!”

First, they had to lay the framework. “We sat down and tried to figure out: ‘What does an unscripted show like this look like?’” Bell recalled. “Unscripted shows sometimes involve a competition, but that didn’t feel right.” Ultimately, they settled on a simple idea: “We want this to be about real people who want to do this for the sake of human connection.”

Once that was decided, the casting process began. “We would ask people, ‘Do you want to get back on stage? Would you want to do this?’” Bell said. “Someone would send in a Skype interview and a bunch of information about their cast and say, ‘I would want to do it. Here are the 10 people I was in the production with.’ Then, we would have to call all of them. There were a lot of logistics to put this together, but the one thing that was not difficult was finding people. No matter what job you had, everybody wanted to come back. Everybody jumped at the opportunity. I don’t think anybody said no… I think that speaks to how much you grow as a human being from high school into adulthood.”

Kristen Bell

Encore! is a cathartic experience, Bell said, for both the performers and the viewers. In one episode, for example, a cast from Los Angeles High School reunites to perform the Tony® Award-winning musical Anything Goes—44 years after their final curtain call! “They came back onstage… and they nailed it!” a proud Bell said. “There’s something beautiful about reintroducing yourself to your friends, shedding the labels you had and the box you were in—before you knew how to communicate, before you knew what ‘vulnerability’ meant—and coming back and getting to know people, making amends, saying things you wish you had said, or taking back something you wish you hadn’t.”

The Disney+ series will feature former high school classmates staging productions of Annie, Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, and more musicals. Bell added that the producers scoured the country to feature “every kind of person” possible. “There’s so much in this country that divides us, but the one thing that everybody has the same reaction to is when you mention high school,” she explained. “You have that pit in your stomach—whether it was amazing or traumatic or both. It really brings people together.”

Want more Disney+ news? Click here to stay up-to-date with what’s streaming!

Lizzie McGuire’s Entire Family to Return for New Disney+ Series

By Zach Johnson

Best. News. Ever! Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine, and Jake Thomas will reprise their roles as Jo, Sam, and Matt McGuire in Lizzie McGuire, the highly anticipated Disney+ series. They join previously announced star and executive producer Hilary Duff. This week, the cast reunited for the first time in 15 years for a read-through of the first episode! As was revealed at D23 Expo 2019, original Lizzie McGuire series creator Terri Minsky will return as showrunner and executive producer of the Disney+ series. Rachel Winter will executive-produce, and Ranada Shepard will co-executive produce.

“We are incredibly excited to bring back one of the most popular Disney Channel series of all time along with some beloved and familiar faces,” said Ricky Strauss, president, Content & Marketing, Disney+. “With Terri at the helm and Hilary, Hallie, Robert, and Jake back after all these years, it’s our honor to welcome the McGuire family into the Disney+ family.”

Lizzie McGuire Logo

“Just like there is no Lizzie McGuire without Hilary Duff, there is no McGuire family without Hallie, Robert, and Jake,” added Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide. “The original series holds a special place in the hearts of so many, and we can’t wait to introduce fans, both old and new, to an older, wiser, yet still perfectly imperfect Lizzie.”

The new Lizzie McGuire story picks up as the titular character is just about to turn 30. She seemingly has it all­—her dream job as an assistant to a fancy New York City decorator, her dream guy, and a picturesque Brooklyn apartment—but things aren’t always as they seem. With a little help from her friends, her loving family, and her 13-year-old alter-ego in animated form, Lizzie navigates the ups and downs of adulthood.

Want more Disney+ news? Click here to stay up-to-date with what’s streaming!

The Saga Concludes in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker—Plus More in News Briefs

By Courtney Potter

It’s almost time to reacquaint ourselves with the Resistance, and Disney Channel announces a brand-new live-action mystery series… Read more, along with other news from around Disney, in this week’s news briefs!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Resistance is Ready…

We cannot believe it’s almost time to bear witness to the beloved Skywalker saga’s conclusion with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (luckily, we can always relive the first eight parts of the saga on Disney+). In case you’d like a second—or 42nd—viewing of the latest (and final) Rise of Skywalker trailer, take a gander at the incredible clip, above.

Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker—where new legends will be born, and the final battle for freedom is yet to come…

Star Wars Rise of Skywalker Poster

The film’s truly all-star cast (most of whom are seen in the brand-new poster, above) boasts the likes of Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher.

Tickets for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, opening in theaters around the globe on December 20, are on sale now!

Star Wars: Force for Change and FIRST Announce “Build My Droid” Contest

In further fun Star Wars news: If you’ve ever dreamt of creating a droid and seeing it come to life, do not miss you chance to enter Star Wars: Force for Change and FIRST’s brand-new “Build My Droid” contest. You (and your droid) might just win a trip to the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker red carpet premiere this December! We’ve got all the pertinent info; click here to read more.

New Destination Coming to Star Tours – The Adventure Continues

And the Star Wars-related news keeps on comin’! Just this week, our pals at the Disney Parks Blog announced that a new destination—inspired by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker—will be introduced in Star Tours – The Adventures Continue at several Disney Parks around the world. Click here for more!

Sulphur Squad

Disney Channel Announces Live-Action Mystery Series Sulphur Springs

Time travel and mystery are ever so appropriate for this spooky Halloween season, so we’re particularly excited for this latest news from our friends at Disney Channel: There’s a new live-action, genre-bending series on the horizon.

Set to begin production in New Orleans next year, Sulphur Springs is an 11-episode series that follows 12-year-old Griffin Campbell (Preston Oliver), whose family has just uprooted their lives to move to a new town and take ownership of an abandoned hotel—all in hopes of restoring it back to the bustling vacation destination it once was. Not long after Griffin begins his first day at a new school, however, he learns that the hotel he’s just moved into is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a girl who disappeared decades ago. Along the way, Griffin befriends Harper (Kyliegh Curran), a mystery-obsessed classmate; together, they uncover a secret portal that allows them to travel back in time, where they’ll discover that the key to solving the mystery may lie within Griffin’s own family.

Stay tuned for more info on Sulphur Springs—also starring Elle Graham, Kelly Frye, Josh Braaten, Landon Gordon, and Madeleine McGraw—as it becomes available…

Get a Special Look at Frozen 2 at Disney Parks Beginning November 2

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen 2 is set to flurry into theaters November 22—but in the weeks leading up to its big debut, folks set to enjoy some vacay time at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, as well as Disney Cruise Line and Disneyland Paris, will get a sneak peek! See two of the film’s voice stars, Josh Gad (Olaf) and Kristen Bell (Anna), announce the cool news in the clip, above.

Beginning November 3, a special look at moments from the film will be presented in the Hyperion Theater at Disney California Adventure park, for guests gathered to experience the Frozen – Live at the Hyperion stage spectacular. Sneak peeks of the film will also be shown in the Studio Theater at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris starting November 4; as part of the Walt Disney Presents attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World beginning on November 5; and onboard Disney Cruise Line during the month of November.

Frozen 2 follows Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel) as she sets out—together with Anna, Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff), Olaf, and Sven—on a dangerous but remarkable journey to discover why she was born with magical powers. The answer is calling her and threatening her kingdom… Elsa once feared her powers were too much for the world; now, she must hope they are enough. We can’t wait to find out what happens!

ICYMI: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Gets Second Season

We’ve already seen (along with some equally lucky folks at D23 Expo 2019) the first episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and trust us—not only is it hilariously fantastic, but it also made us even more excited to watch the whole series once it launches on Disney+ on November 12. So we’re tickled pink to hear that they’ve already renewed the show for a second season! Read up on the news right here at D23.com.

Chicken Squad

“Bagawk!” Production Has Begun on Disney Junior’s New The Chicken Squad

Do you need some problem-solving chickens in your life? (Honestly, who doesn’t?) Then look no further than an adorable new animated show coming to Disney Junior!

Production has begun on The Chicken Squad, a series aimed at preschoolers and their families that’s slated to debut in 2020. Inspired by Doreen Cronin’s popular book series, The Chicken Squad follows Coop, Little Boo, and Sweetie—a trio of young chicken siblings—and Captain Tully, a seasoned watchdog, who use teamwork and critical thinking skills to solve problems in the neighborhood and keep the peace in their backyard.

The series’ voice cast includes Ramone Hamilton as Coop, the enthusiastic and inventive leader; Maxwell Simkins as Little Boo, the quick and confident younger brother; Gabriella Graves as Sweetie, the strong and big-hearted sister; and friend-of-D23 Yvette Nicole Brown (Disney+’s Lady and the Tramp) as Captain J.J. Tully, a caring retired police dog and mentor to the Chicken Squad.

You Need to See These Adorable Dogs at the Special Lady and the Tramp Screening

By Jocelyn Buhlman

Last night was truly a “Bella Notte” in New York as stars (and so, so many adorable dogs) attended a special event screening of the Disney+ original movie Lady and the Tramp. Tessa Thompson (voice of Lady), Justin Theroux (voice of Tramp), Yvette Nicole Brown (Aunt Sarah), Adrian Martinez (Elliott), F. Murray Abraham (Tony), Rose (Lady), Monte (Tramp), Director Charlie Bean, Producer Brigham Taylor, and Associate Producer Kayla Fishman joined representatives from North Shore Animal League America, as well as special guests, for the screening. Many of the dogs in attendance were adoptable rescue dogs—plus the film’s furry stars Rose and Monte, along with Justin Theroux’s pet dog, Kuma. The photos from the screening are a must-see for any dog enthusiasts out there, so check out our gallery to see all the adorableness in action.

Lady and the Tramp will debut on Disney+ on November 12.

Want more Disney+ news? Click here to stay up-to-date with what’s streaming!

Star Tours — The Adventures Continue to Add New Destination Inspired by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

By Jocelyn Buhlman

Our friends at Disney Parks Blog just announced an exciting addition to our exploration of the galaxy far, far away. We’re all eagerly awaiting December 20, when the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, debuts in theaters. We’re delighted to discover that on that December date, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue will be adding new destinations inspired by the latest episode of the Star Wars saga at Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney Resort.

We’ll be sharing new details as Disney Parks Blog reveals more!

Build a Star Wars Droid and You Could Win a Stellar Prize

By Zach Johnson

Is your droid the one we’ve been looking for? Star Wars fans who’ve long dreamt of designing their own droid will get the opportunity to do just that through the “Build My Droid” contest. As part of an initiative to inspire the next generation of heroes and innovators in science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), and creative arts, Star Wars: Force for Change and global robotics community FIRST are teaming up to give fans and artists ages 16 and up the chance to create a droid for the Star Wars galaxy.

Not only will the winning droid be featured in a future story set in the Star Wars galaxy, but the winning designer will be invited to the world premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in December for the public debut of his or her droid design on the red carpet!

“The ingenuity and creativity of Star Wars fans has always amazed me,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy says. “When FIRST teamed up with Force for Change, we saw a great opportunity to both highlight their incredible talent and reaffirm the importance of STEM programs. I can’t wait to see what designs they come up with.”

The contest launched today, and applicants must submit their droid design in the form of a sketch, drawing, or painting at StarWars.com/BuildMyDroidContest by November 13, 2019. Eligible countries include United States; Canada, excluding Quebec; Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales only); France; Spain; Belgium; Japan; and Mexico. The judges will be Neal Scanlan, Star Wars creature and special makeup effects supervisor; John Swartz, Lucasfilm vice president, creative producer; Pablo Hidalgo, Lucasfilm senior creative executive; Mayim Bialik, celebrity Star Wars fan and STEM advocate; and FIRST founder Dean Kamen, inventor of the LUKE Arm, a revolutionary prosthesis.

John Boyega

FIRST inspires innovation and leadership through engaging, hands-on robotics challenges developed to ignite curiosity and passion in students in grades K-12. The support of FIRST is part of The Walt Disney Company’s commitment to provide inspiration and opportunity to the next generation of innovators. The 2020 FIRST RISE season is powered by Star Wars: Force for Change. Registration is open for all FIRST programs.

*NO PURCH. NEC. 16+ in 50 US & DC, Canada (ex. Quebec), Mexico, GB, Spain, France, Belgium, Japan. Ends 23:59:59 Pacific Standard Time November 13, 2019 (08:59:59 Paris Time November 14). Prize requires travel to U.S. in December 2019. Max 1 entry per person. Rules/T&Cs: www.starwars.com/BuildMyDroidContest. Void in Quebec and where prohibited. Sponsor: ABC, Inc. d/b/a Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, USA.