Credit: Inside the MagicStar Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is about to be replaced by five themed lands.
Home to the attractions Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is inspired by the long-running franchise that started with George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope in 1977.
The bustling themed land, set in the village of Black Spire Outpost on the remote frontier planet of Batuu (located on the Outer Rim), can be found at both Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Like many planets throughout the franchise, Batuu is a sand-swept environment that exists at the bottom of the galaxy’s food-chain — or as part of its “hive of scum and villainy”, if you will. The pink glow of sunset makes it look very pretty in parts, but it’s hardly eye-candy.
While it does its best to draw from the wider franchise, the main story events of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are set between the sequel trilogy films Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017), and Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
Of course, Galaxy’s Edge isn’t entirely immersive — it features themed stores, restaurants, and other entertainment. While each captivating in their own right, they bring you back down to earth, reminding you that you aren’t actually in the faraway galaxy.
That’s just the nature of the beast when it comes to themed lands — they can only be so immersive. Sooner or later, the veil fades and you realize you’re still in a theme park. But are there any other Star Wars experiences that are more immersive than Galaxy’s Edge?
Related: Disney Unveiling New ‘Star Wars’ Themed Land This Year, Bigger Than Galaxy’s Edge
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
There was Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. For all its many faults (including its outrageous price tags), the Halcyon, which offered a two-night hotel experience for guests willing to part ways with an absurd amount of Galactic Credits, was pretty immersive.
Sure, it didn’t really look like anything from a galaxy far, far away — despite having plenty of familiar aspects — but still, it offered “views of space” and interactive storylines for guests to partake in. Nevertheless, the Halcyon crashed and burned like the Death Star in 2023.
Other Star Wars Experiences
Previously available at Disney Springs in Walt Disney World, “Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge” is a virtual reality experience inspired by Galaxy’s Edge and created for the Oculus Quest/Meta Quest 2 systems, with graphics designed by ILMxLab.
Like the themed land, the VR experience takes place at the Black Spire Outpost on Batuu, offering guests the chance to fully immerse themselves in a virtual rendition of Galaxy’s Edge, minus the distraction of things such as stores, restaurants, and other amenities.
Watch the trailer of the game version below from IGN:
While it’s no longer available at Disney Springs, the game can be enjoyed on Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2, and PlayStation VR2. The downside is that, while relatively immersive, its animation doesn’t look all that convincing. Still, the Force is fairly strong with this one.
Fortunately, there’s another Star Wars game on the horizon. It isn’t VR-based but it looks like the most immersive gaming title in the franchise yet. In fact, it’s the first open-world entry set in the faraway galaxy. Yes, you already know the name: it’s “Star Wars Outlaws.”
Related: Disney Officially Reboots ‘Star Wars’ After String of Disasters, Removes Sequels From Canon
Is “Star Wars Outlaws” Open World?
Developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft, “Star Wars Outlaws” is a completely open-world experience. But though we’re keen to coin the term “open-galaxy,” unfortunately, you can’t explore the entire galaxy, but playing as the titular scoundrel Kay Vess (Humberly González) does allows you to traverse planets old and new at your leisure.
How Many Planets Are There in “Star Wars Outlaws”?
We now know that “Outlaws” features five individually themed planets that you can explore. Three of them have been created specifically for the game — there’s the savanna moon Toshara, the lush jungle world Akiva, and the ice planet Kijimi. Planets already seen in film (but never in full) are the desert planet Cantonica (from The Last Jedi) and the very familiar desert planet Tatooine.
Keeping in line with the world of Star Wars, each of these “Star Wars Outlaws” planets offers a unique biome, allowing players to experience a variety of environments, landscapes, and fauna as you navigate the galaxy’s deadly criminal underworld in a bid for freedom.
Now, a new trailer invites you to “meet the planets,” showcasing all five worlds: Akiva, Toshara, Kijimi, Tatooine, and Cantonica. If you think Galaxy’s Edge is the most immersive Star Wars experience, “Outlaws” is about to replace the themed land for many fans.
Watch the new trailer below, per IGN:
Related: Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser’s Replacement Already Available at Disney Park
Now let’s take a closer look at these five “Star Wars Outlaws” planets.
“Star Wars Outlaws” Planets Explained
Akiva
As you can see from the trailer, Akiva is a tropical, lush jungle environment. But, like every other planet in the galaxy, it isn’t untouched as its natural landscape has been spoiled by towns and cities (key locations include Achra Station and Myrra).
This is one of the most anticipated “Star Wars Outlaws” planets — the soothing tropical downpour and dark jungle ambience are a far cry from the usual sandy settings. Hopefully, Akiva will also double as a retreat in addition to those inevitable dangerous missions.
Toshara
Like the Forest Moon of Endor, home of the Ewoks, Toshara isn’t a planet — it’s a savanna moon (although there doesn’t appear to be any forest-dwelling teddy bears in sight). And thankfully, there aren’t many forests in sight, either — Toshara’s sprawling plains certainly allows players to maximize the use of Kay’s speeder.
Key locations here include Jaunta’s Hope and Mirogana.
Kijimi
The icy planet of Kijimi will undoubtedly draw comparisons with Hoth from Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), however, it isn’t desolate or barren as the Wampa-inhabited world as it’s the home of the beautiful Kijimi City.
In fact, if it’s snow-capped mountain villages weren’t under Imperial occupation (there appears to be stormtroopers at every turn in the above trailer), it would look rather peaceful. The planet’s seemingly perpetual snowfall will likely be a huge draw for players, too.
Tatooine
It’s fair to say that Tatooine is the real “hub” of the faraway galaxy — after all, it’s where characters such as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) were born.
It appears throughout the Star Wars movies, from hosting the iconic pod race in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999) to serving as Luke’s home in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (1977). It also appears in The Mandalorian (2019) and serves as the main location in the spinoff shows The Book of Boba Fett (2021) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).
Tatooine’s key locations are Mos Eisley, Desert Valley, Bestine, Wayfar, and Mos Algo.
Cantonica
Cantonica doesn’t show up in the new trailer, however, it does appear in the game — which is unsurprising given the criminal-centric concept behind “Outlaws” and the fact that it’s also where Kay Vess spent her childhood learning to become a thief.
The planet was introduced in The Last Jedi, in which it plays host to the casino resort Canto Bight, which is populated with all sorts of alien species from across the galaxy. There, Finn (John Boyega) and Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) must locate a mysterious “codebreaker”.
Canto Bight is Cantonica’s key location in the game.
Is “Star Wars Outlaws” Fully Open World?
While there are only five planets on offer, players will be able to explore them in their entirety. In an interview with IGN in July, Creative Director Julian Gerighty revealed that it takes “four or five minutes nonstop” to ride from one end of Toshara, Akiva, and Tatooine — all of which are roughly the same size as one another — to the other on her speeder.
“Four or five minutes nonstop, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but once you’re committed it’s a fairly large amount, and you are always going to be distracted,” he said.
Ubisoft has emphasized on many occasions over the past year that the focus is quality over quantity. So, while they don’t sound particularly big (by speeder, at least), the five planets appear to be quite rich, offering their own unique environment, landscape, wildlife, inhabitants, and day-and-night system. Weather systems are yet to be confirmed.
And when you aren’t working with or betraying crime syndicates like the Hutt Cartel, Zerek Besh, Crimson Dawn, Ashiga Clan, and the Pyke, or undertaking one of the many side missions on offer on these planets, you can simply chew the striking scenery on offer.
In addition to the five planets, players can also experience (mostly) seamless surface-to-space travel onboard their own ship. Unfortunately, you can’t go anywhere in the faraway galaxy, but five planets and all the space between them is a pretty good start.
Additional “Star Wars Outlaws” planets may become available down the line.
Who Are the Main Characters in “Star Wars Outlaws”?
Kay Vess is the main protagonist in “Outlaws,” aided by her Merquaal companion Nix.
The game also features Star Wars characters such as Jabba the Hutt and Han Solo — who’s frozen in carbonite during the time of the game. Kay Vess steps in as a replacement scoundrel, although the game may break canon and wake Solo from his forced slumber temporarily for a side mission.
Of course, “Outlaws” won’t be replacing Galaxy’s Edge — it’s a video game, and Batuu is here to stay. But it remains to be seen if the themed land at Disneyland and/or Disney World will incorporate elements of the video game at some point in the future.
Either way, we can probably expect to see Kay Vess and Nix show up at Galaxy’s Edge at the very least. Move over, Din Djarin and Grogu — there’s a new dynamic duo in town!
When Can I Play “Star Wars Outlaws”?
“Outlaws” will be released on August 30, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.
Are you excited about “Outlaws”? Do you think it will be a more immersive experience than Galaxy’s Edge? Let Inside the Magic know whether you’ll even be playing the game!