Disney will be adding new Star Wars attractions to its theme parks, based on what we’ll see in The Force Awakens and beyond.
In a Variety Q&A with Walt Disney Company chief Bob Iger, we got a lot of new information about how Disney is planning to expand its Star Wars theme park presence.
Originally, Disney was planning to create attractions based on the six existing Star Wars films. However, “I didn’t want someone to say, ‘I just saw the movie and there’s nothing in that movie in this (attraction),” Iger tells Variety.
It is important for Iger that the attractions appeal to new audiences as well as long-time fans of the series. “The curiosity will extend beyond the people who grew up with the movies,” he says.
So they halted production, waiting until J.J. Abrams had something to show them. The main attractions will be based on both The Force Awakens and the planned spin-off movies.
“What we come forward with will have a blend of the past, present and maybe the future,” Iger teases.
While the company is thinking ahead, Disney definitely understands the importance of pleasing the existing audience. In fact, Iger reveals that the teaser trailer almost wasn’t released at all, but was a response to the massive demand from the fanbase.
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He also comments on Abrams’ work with The Force Awakens, criticising the movie industry’s reliance on CGI.
“There’s a sameness to a lot of these films today,” he says. “The wow factor isn’t what it used to be. J.J. decided to create the physical wow factor.”
He promises that the movie will be, “extremely respectful of the look George [Lucas] created in the ’70s,” and believes it manages to strike a balance between the old and the new.