Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Welcome to Batuu

With the opening of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios only a month away, it’s time to start preparing!!!

To start our journey into this new land, let’s start by talking about where we find ourselves in the Star Wars galaxy itself. 

The Planet of Batuu

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is set on the planet of Batuu which is a far-flung destination along the galaxy’s Outer Rim, on the frontier of Wild Space – the uncharted region beyond all known star systems. 

Batuu was once a thriving stop for traders and travelers before advancements in lightspeed technology. 

Now its lush forests and majestic mountain regions are known only to those who dare to venture this far into the Outer Rim to visit its Black Spire Outpost. 

When guests arrive at the Black Spire Outpost, they will find themselves immersed in a world set somewhere after the events of The Last Jedi and shortly before this December’s Episode IX where they will encounter aliens, droids, and other inhabitants of Batuu as they search for rare and unique goods, discover unusual food and drink, or even join a crew seeking adventures. 

Recently, the struggle between the First Order and the Resistance has made its way to this remote planet.

Scott Trowbridge, the Portfolio Creative Executive for Walt Disney Imagineering, has said that this elite garrison from the First Order is known as the ‘Red Fury’.

These Stormtroopers are searching for someone or something, and you can find them near the life-sized version of the TIE Echelon, a new ship which has a cockpit similar to Kylo Ren’s batwinged shuttle but the curved foils of Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced x1.

Just be careful…The Red Fury doesn’t like strangers approaching their ship.

But if you venture beyond Black Spire’s gates, you’ll find where the resistance has set up a hidden headquarters.

Be on the lookout for a Blue Squadron X-wing, parked on a low platform alongside an A-wing fighter. This area is meant to be part of Batuu’s tranquil Surabat river valley, where early planetary beings set up their own community in cliffside and cave dwellings. 

Keep in mind, the Resistance doesn’t think of this home base as permanent. They are in a weakened state, and if The First Order strikes, they’ll have to take off in a hurry.

They’re here on Batuu out of necessity, but you’ll have to visit the park (and maybe see Episode IX) to understand exactly why this place is important to both sides.

Characters in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Off the beaten path, this outpost has become a haven for the galaxy’s most colorful — and notorious — characters. 

While exploring the Black Spire Outpost on the planet of Batuu, guests may also encounter some familiar faces such as Rey, Finn, Poe, BB-8 and Chewbacca, and could even find themselves face-to-face with Kylo Ren himself.

They won’t be meeting guests, signing autograph books, and doling out hugs ..these characters aren’t an attraction, they are on the streets as part of the land’s story, 

Rey and Chewbacca can be found near the ancient ruins outside Black Spire Outpost recruiting locals and visitors to join the Resistance.

The First Order Stormtroopers search The Black Spire Outpost in search of the Resistance near the First Order encampment at Docking Bay 9, and even Supreme Leader Kylo Ren joins the hunt during the day. 

But there’s also a character you may not know roaming the streets 

Resistance spy Vi Moradi may be new to Black Spire Outpost visitors, but her story has close ties with General Leia Organa and Captain Phasma and in Black Spire Outpost as she keeps tabs on the First Order and lets visitors know that the Resistance is growing. 

And Disney’s Cast Members are also immersing themselves into the story of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. 

As local citizen’s of Batuu, Cast Members have their own personas and story of their roles at the Black Spire Outpost. 

The Language of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

When you are walking the streets of the Black Spire Outpost, you’ll notice that the writing on the wall, literally in most cases, and on Cast Member name tags aren’t in English but in Aurebesh, the written language in the Star Wars galaxy.

You can find several decoders online, but the easiest way is to use the free Play Disney Parks App…which we will be talking about next time!

There are also some sayings that you might hear around the Black Spire Outpost that you will want to familiarize yourself with including:

• Bright Suns = Good Morning
• Rising Moons = Good Evening
• Travelers = Humans visiting Batuu
• On Planet = In the Land
• Datapad = Cell phone 
• Refresher = Bathroom
• Hydrator = Water Fountain
• Being “Off World” = You’re going outside of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
• Ignite the Spark = Greeting for the Resistance
• Light the Fire = A Resistance callback to “Ignite the Spark”
• Only the ancients know = I don’t know
• Til the Spire = Farewell
• Good journey = An Informal Goodbye
• May the Spires Keep You = A Formal Goodbye

Reading more about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

While you don’t NEED to know anything about Star Wars to enjoy your visit to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge the creative minds at Lucasfilm, Marvel Comics, and Disney have been working on building the history of Batuu. 

Over on Laughing Place, they have done a great job of breaking down the ‘essential’ reading for Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.

According to the site, “This deep and complete narrative will immerse fans in Star Wars lore, guide them around the planet, introduce essential characters, and reveal interesting secrets that can all be discovered from the comfort of home.”

Here’s what they had to say…Starting with the five-part comic series, of which two have been released. 

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge focuses on Dok-Ondar, the Ithorian junk dealer who has spent his life collecting countless artifacts from the entire history of the Star Wars galaxy. On a side note, visitors to Batuu will be able to visit his Den of Antiquities and purchase a variety of mysterious and interesting items from every era of Star Wars.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge #2 picks up with the First Order’s presence in Black Spire Outpost becoming a nuisance for the locals.

Then there are the Junior Series of novels.

While Lando’s Luck tells a tale that doesn’t take place around Black Spire Outpost, fans might just find a few flashes of Batuu in this first entry of the Flight of the Falcon series.  

Pirate’s Price sees Hondo Ohnaka sitting down in Oga Garra’s Cantina in Black Spire Outpost to tell mercenary Bazine Netal three exciting tales about his relationship with the Millennium Falcon. Fans will even encounter Hondo and the legendary ship on Batuu at the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction.  

And finally 

Fans can dive into the lore of Batuu with the novel Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson, set to be released on August 27, 2019. 

The novel’s description on Amazon reads:

Walk the ancient streets, meet the colorful characters, and uncover the secret history of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the new expansion to the Disney Parks experience!

After devastating losses at the hands of the First Order, General Leia Organa has dispatched her agents across the galaxy in search of allies, sanctuary, and firepower—and her top spy, Vi Moradi, may have just found all three, on a secluded world at the galaxy’s edge.

A planet of lush forests, precarious mountains, and towering, petrified trees, Batuu is on the furthest possible frontier of the galactic map, the last settled world before the mysterious expanse of Wild Space. The rogues, smugglers, and adventurers who eke out a living on the largest settlement on the planet, Black Spire Outpost, are here to avoid prying eyes and unnecessary complications. Vi, a Resistance spy on the run from the First Order, is hardly a welcome guest. And when a shuttle full of stormtroopers lands in her wake, determined to root her out, she has no idea where to find help.

To survive, Vi will have to seek out the good-hearted heroes hiding in a world that redefines scum and villainy. With the help of a traitorous trooper and her acerbic droid, she begins to gather a colorful band of outcasts and misfits, and embarks on a mission to spark the fire of resistance on Batuu—before the First Order snuffs it out entirely.

We are really excited to share even more about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!

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