Disney Parks’ Galaxy’s Edge (when you can safely go again) does a pretty remarkable job of whisking you away to the Star Wars galaxy. Mickey Mouse’s fully-armed and operational budget will help do that, yes, but it’s down to the incredible artistry of years of concept work and design that helped make Batuu what it is — and Gizmodo has a look inside a new book celebrating that work.
The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, written by Amy Ratcliffe and published by Abrams Books, explores the massive concept process that went into realising a brand new space in the Star Wars galaxy — Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu, the new location created for the Disney Parks that has gone on to appear in books, games, and comics in the Star Wars galaxy’s interconnected multimedia behemoth of a tie-in universe.
Everything from the details of rides, costuming, potential store vendors, and wandering attractions had to be imagined, designed from the ground up as if they were being conceived for a Star Wars movie as much as they were a physical space in Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Not every idea panned out, as you’ll see in our exclusive gallery from the book below — like a potential animatronic alien bartender or even drone-like First Order recon droids accompanying wandering Stormtroopers. But you can see just how much work went into making Galaxy’s Edge feel like a part of Star Wars in our own universe, nonetheless.
The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge hits shelves tomorrow, April 27.