It’s Rogue One week!!!! OMG! OMG! In six days we get a new Star Wars movie. Yayyyyyy!!!! The premiere is in Hollywood Saturday and Screenings in the U.S. start Thursday evening. I can’t wait! Here’s a little bit of what’s going on in the parks during the most magical Star Wars time of the year.

Rogue One Exhibit Lands

Star Wars Launch Bay has made its first update since opening a year ago. At the entrance, a display case on each side was switched out from showcasing props and costumes from “The Force Awakens” to “Rogue One.”

SW-Dec 9 LP 1

SW-Dec 9 LP 2

SW-Dec 9 LP 3

SW-Dec 9 LP 4

SW-Dec 9 LP 5

SW-Dec 9 LP 6

Spaceship Earth Becomes The Death Star

While both domestic parks got the Rogue One update in Launch Bay, Disney World got something special with it’s unique landmark. This week Disney Parks Blog held a special event for 400 readers to witness Spaceship Earth being transformed into the Death Star.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOVLSO5w9c

Rogue One Primer

Want a little appetizer before seeing Rogue One? Here’s a couple of suggestions. First, you’ve heard me talking about the new novel “Catalyst” that gives the background on the Erso family and leads up to the events of Rogue One.

Catalyst_A_Rogue_One_Novel

I’m reading this now and so far, it’s great! You can get it on hardcover here. Or on Kindle here.

Another great primer is the background of Saw Gerrera, a character from Clone Wars that will appear in Rogue One played by Forrest Whitaker.

Saw_Gerrera

He was in four episodes of season 5 of Clone Wars. They are episodes 2 through 5 titled: “A War on Two Fronts,” “Front Runners,” “The Soft War,” and “Tipping Points.” These episodes are about 25 minutes each, so you could get through these in one sitting. There is also “10 Things You Should Know About Saw Gerrea” with some good info on StarWars.com.

There are tons of commercials promoting the film right now just like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUXPjF3lEM4

And finally, here’s a featurette on the Creature Shop and it’s work on Rogue One.

Spoilers!!!!!

If you read my Disneyland Update last Monday, you know I like to peek at my presents. So, as you can imagine, I can’t get enough of spoilers. If you want to know some juicy stuff, highlight the following section to reveal the invisotext. If you want to avoid the spoilers, scroll on…But don’t get mad at me. You’ve been warned.

INVISOTEXT BEGINS HERE: DARTH VADER HAS A NUDE SCENE!!!! But more on that in a second. Here’s some things to look for:

  • There are going to be some well know Star Wars characters in Rogue One. A few months ago we reported that Jimmy Smits confirmed his appearance as Bail Organa and a clip released this week shows us a quick glimpse.
  • But he’s not the only member of the Organa Family making an appearance. Rumor has it that Avengers: Age of Ultron actress Ingvild Deila will play the young Princess Leia.
  • Actor Guy Henry is said to be the man playing Governor Tarkin, commander of the Death Star in Episode 4.
  • In the TV spot embedded above, look at the screen capture shot where the Rebel ships are flying into battle. It’s from the :07 mark of the spot. At the bottom of the screen is a ship that appears to be the Ghost from Star Wars Rebels. This is in their part of the timeline. Will it be called out or is this just an easter egg?
  • Ok…so go back and watch the Creature Featurette embedded above. At the :20 mark, a creature in fuzzy white legs is walking through the shop. Pause at the very start of that scene. On that man’s left side (viewer’s right) is a model of a human with an oxygen mask on his face. Going further to the right of the screen, there are drawings on the wall of a man with amputated arms and legs. It’s rumored that we will see Darth Vader outside of his armor and in a bacta tank like the one Luke was in during the Empire Strikes Back. Thus…his (semi) nude scene. Scandalous!!!!

INVISOTEXT ENDS.

Holiday Gifts For The Star Wars Fan

Looking for holiday gift ideas for that Star Wars fan? Here’s some stuff from the park to stuff that stocking:

Remember those cool park attraction posters with Star Wars locations?

SW-Dec 9 ME 1

You can get the mugs here.

Or how about the Loungefly bags?

SW-Dec 9 ME 2

SW-Dec 9 ME 5

You can get those here.

SW-Dec 9 ME 6

Or a Yoda Mug? Available here.

SW-Dec 9 ME 3

Funko POP Star Wars figures available here.

These and more Star Wars items can be found on Amazon. If you use any of the links here to do your holiday shopping (SW items or not), you help support this blog. Just click from here and shop away! You can also get a free trial for Amazon Prime which gets you free two-day shipping on eligible items.
Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free TrialStar Wars, Star Wars Land News: Rogue One Is Here!!!!

Star Wars Land Construction

Around the Rivers of America, rocks are popping up left and right and it looks like some big walls are getting set to go vertical around the West end of the park.

SWL Aerial

Based on this aerial photo taken in September, we’ll take a quick tour around the land to see what’s new this week, starting in the North East area where the entrance from Fantasyland to Star Wars Land is getting some rock work along it’s path.

SWL-Dec 9 1

Around the Frontierland entrance to SWL and the pathway to Fantasyland, rocks are in various states of evolution.

SWL-Dec 9 2

SWL-Dec 9 3

SWL-Dec 9 4

Meanwhile, by the Hungry Bear Restaurant, rocks are growing in around the new bridge for the Disneyland Rail Road to pass by the waterfall.

SWL-Dec 9 5

SWL-Dec 9 6

SWL-Dec 9 7

And right behind the Hungry Bear, the path of the DLRR is starting to merge with the new bridge.

SWL-Dec 9 8

On the West side of SWL, the new backstage access road is coming together around the perimeter of the fence along Disneyland Drive.

SWL-Dec 9 9

SWL-Dec 9 10

It looks like the foundations for some potentially big walls are being set along the access road.

SWL-Dec 9 11

SWL-Dec 9 12

SWL-Dec 9 13

The pit that will one day be the Battle Escape attraction is growing more complex and somehow seems to grow deeper and more ominous each week.

SWL-Dec 9 14 SWL-Dec 9 15

SWL-Dec 9 16

SWL-Dec 9 17

SWL-Dec 9 18

That’s the new developments this week. If you want to catch up on how far the construction has come so far, you can check out the archives of Star Wars Land News here.

As Always…

SWN Dec 9 Final A

See you at the theater next week!

Follow Darth Daver on Facebook and Instagram.

Help support Darth Daver on my Paetron Page and shop my Amazon Store. Using this link to do your holiday shopping will help support future Darth Daver updates.

And just to make it extra sweet, click this link to get a free trial of Amazon Prime and get free two-day shipping on all your eligible holiday purchases.Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free TrialStar Wars, Star Wars Land News: Rogue One Is Here!!!!