Disney’s Controversial ‘Star Wars’ Choice Could Be Reversed With Rise of the Resistance Replacement
One of Disney’s biggest Star Wars gambles is back under the microscope – and fans may finally have their solution.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has spent more than six years as one of Disney’s premier attractions. The technologically ambitious ride mixes enormous physical sets, a trackless ride system, Audio-Animatronics, and projections into an elaborate escape from the First Order.
Its continued popularity makes any major overhaul seem unlikely. Rise of the Resistance still commands some of the longest wait times at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World, even as enthusiasm for the sequel trilogy itself remains significantly more divided among Star Wars fans.
However, Disney has already shown that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge does not necessarily need to remain locked to its original timeline forever.
Earlier this year, Disneyland Park loosened the land’s sequel-era restrictions, allowing more familiar faces from other chapters of the franchise to appear. That change has revived an old debate over whether Disney could eventually take the same approach with Rise of the Resistance.
Fans Want Disney to Rewrite Rise of the Resistance
The original Galaxy’s Edge was deliberately built around Disney’s sequel trilogy, placing guests on Batuu during the conflict between the Resistance and First Order rather than recreating locations from George Lucas’ original films.
As a result, one of the most common complaints about Galaxy’s Edge is that guests cannot spend much time exploring the version of Star Wars many grew up watching. Instead of Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia, or planets like Tatooine, the land initially centered characters such as Rey and Kylo Ren on a new Outer Rim planet known as Batuu.
A theoretical Rise of the Resistance overhaul could change that dramatically.
Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) could become Darth Vader. Rey (Daisy Ridley) could be replaced by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), while Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) could give way to characters including Han Solo and Admiral Ackbar.
Even the attraction’s title lends itself to the concept. Rise of the Resistance could become something along the lines of Star Wars: Rise of the Rebellion, shifting its entire conflict into the original trilogy.
Some fans are firmly onboard.
“I enjoy ROTR, it’s Disney’s top next gen ride. But an OT retheme would elevate this attraction,” one fan wrote on X, adding that “the sequels are a stain to the brand.”
This is 100% going to happen for the following reasons.
– to revive the attraction
– because the sequels are a stain to the brand
– it's an easy retheme. Change the story a bitI enjoy ROTR, it's Disney's top next gen ride. But an OT retheme would elevate this attraction… https://t.co/3OJKVLWVsh
— Ivan (@Valiantes_) August 28, 2026
Another fan wrote, “It’s an amazing ride but imagine Leia being the hologram, Akbar being the pilot, Finns being Han Solo, Kylos as Vaders, Hux as Grand Moff Tarkin, etc.”
One said, “There are real Star Wars fans out there starving for OT content. Let’s put an end to the fake sentiment for the Disney slop and give us what the people really want.”
Others expressed similar frustration with Disney’s original Galaxy’s Edge strategy:
For those fans, an original trilogy version of Disney’s flagship Star Wars attraction could address what they consider Galaxy’s Edge’s greatest missed opportunity: building an expensive immersive land without leaning heavily into the characters and stories that made the franchise a phenomenon.
Hell they should do it now
Galaxy’s Edge is cool but all I can think is “damn this would be so much better if it wasn’t the sequels”
I still think this is one of Disneys biggest mistakes. They totally could’ve had a land that compares to the Wizarding World. But no.
Hell they should do it now
Galaxy’s Edge is cool but all I can think is “damn this would be so much better if it wasn’t the sequels”
I still think this is one of Disneys biggest mistakes. They totally could’ve had a land that compares to the Wizarding World. But no. https://t.co/nrNAf63l17
— The Carnotaurus from DINOSAUR (@OdysseyJurassic) August 28, 2026
A Rise of the Resistance Replacement Would Be Hugely Complicated
There is one major problem: Rise of the Resistance is not an attraction Disney could cheaply reskin overnight.
Disney has never publicly confirmed its final price tag, but estimates have placed the cost of each version at Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios at approximately $450 million.
Any comprehensive retheme could involve replacing or modifying enormous environments, prerecorded performances, special effects, vehicles, programming, and many of the attraction’s roughly 65 Audio-Animatronics.
Using original trilogy characters creates another complication.
Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill are now decades older than Han Solo and Luke Skywalker were during the original films. Disney would need to recast characters, avoid showing them extensively, or employ the digital technology Lucasfilm has increasingly used to recreate younger performers.
That technology has already proved controversial.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) digitally recreated a younger Carrie Fisher as Leia, while Peter Cushing — who died in 1994 — was recreated as Grand Moff Tarkin. The latter fueled a wider debate about the ethics and effectiveness of digitally resurrecting deceased performers.
Not everyone believes Disney would consider the expense worthwhile anyway.
“Disney is not targeting middle-aged men,” one fan wrote. “If they do update Galaxy’s Edge, it will be to match the next wave of films, not movies from 50 years ago. As it is, the sequels made four billion dollars, and Rise is consistently one of the most popular attractions in the parks.”
Another pointed to Disneyland’s handling of its Fantasmic! dragon as evidence Disney may have little appetite for an expensive overhaul.
“If they’re not even willing to spend the money to fix Murphy, I strongly doubt they’re going to spend the money to retheme what’s arguably one of the best rides they’ve ever developed. I just don’t see it happening.”
Murphy, the enormous Maleficent dragon Audio-Animatronic formerly used during Fantasmic! at Disneyland Park, was destroyed by fire in 2023. More than three years later, Disney has yet to introduce a direct replacement.
Rise of the Resistance also lacks the most obvious reason for an attraction replacement: declining popularity.
Data shared by Queue Times puts the average waits at roughly 55 minutes at Disneyland Park and 48 minutes at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as of 2026. Whatever some fans think about the sequel trilogy, guests clearly have not abandoned the attraction built around it.
Disney is simultaneously spending billions on new theme park projects, including major expansions and replacements across Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort. Rebuilding an attraction that continues attracting substantial crowds would therefore be difficult to justify.
For now, there is no credible indication that Disney actually plans to replace Rise of the Resistance with an original trilogy version.
Still, Disneyland’s decision to loosen Galaxy’s Edge’s timeline proves that one supposedly permanent creative choice has already changed. And for fans who believe Disney picked the wrong Star Wars era from the beginning, that is enough to keep the idea alive.
Do you think Disney should retheme and replace Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance?
