The Mandalorian and Grogu are coming to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at both Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort.
During The Future of World-Building at Disney panel at SXSW, The Mandalorian creator and Disney Legend Jon Favreau was joined onstage by Imagineers Leslie Evans and Asa Kalama to discuss The Mandalorian and Grogu update to Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run that was first revealed back at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in 2024.
Favreau revealed that the attraction update will debut on the same day as The Mandalorian and Grogu film on May 22, 2026. A historic move for Disney as you will have a brand-new film and a mostly all-new attraction debuting on the same day.
“Opening an attraction and such a massive movie on the same day wouldn’t be possible without the relationships we have inside Disney,” Imagineer Asa Kalama told the SXSW crowd. “Jon and Dave have shared their story with us, and now we’ve all worked together to come up with a new mission for Smugglers Run that plays into this narrative.”
“One of the cool things about Disney is how we can tell our stories in so many different formats,” Favreau told the SXSW crowd. “We’re already taking Mando and Grogu from the TV screen to the movie screen, and at the same time, [The Mandalorian executive producer] Dave [Filoni] and I are working with Asa to bring this story to the Disney Parks, too.”
Walt Disney Imagineering worked alongside The Mandalorian team on set for this brand-new update. The new update will include Star Wars locales like Endor, Tatooine, and Cloud City.
Favreau also explained that this attraction will not retell elements of The Mandalorian and Grogu, and it will be more of a mission that takes place off-screen.
“This 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,” Favreau explained to the crowd.
The other big update of the Star Wars section of the SXSW presentation was that Walt Disney Imagineer’s BDX droids will be in The Mandalorian and Grogu. The BDX droids are also going to visit Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris soon.
The Imagineers also debuted a new audio-animatronic they built based on the Anzellan species from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Babu Frik)and season three of The Mandalorian. However, there was no confirmation if this audio-animatronic would be coming to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
The Mandalorian and Grogu update to Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run will debut on May 22, 2026, at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on both coasts.
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Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
