This weekend, Star Wars fans got a new glimpse of a galaxy far, far away. Only, it wasn’t that new. Disney released three concept images from the upcoming Mandalorian and Grogu reskin of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run that’s coming to Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts on May 22, 2026, the same day that The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters. The big news was that release date—but there might be more to the story, if you’re willing to speculate.
The keys to this discussion are the concept images, which you can see in full below. They appear to show the Falcon flying on Bespin, through Death Star wreckage presumably around Endor, and on Tatooine. Because of the nature of the release, we can safely assume these are the locations you will fly the Millennium Falcon through along with Mando and Grogu on the ride. And, if it was just a ride not linked to canon, a la Star Tours, there would be no further discussion beyond that. Who wouldn’t want to fly the Millennium Falcon through Bespin, Tatooine, or in the space around Endor? Sounds awesome.
However, we also know these images have a link to the film itself. Disney Imagineer Asa Kalama, who has been working on Smugglers Run since its conception and was the person who told us way back in 2019 the plan was to reskin it to keep it fresh, said the following: “Opening an attraction and such a massive movie on the same day wouldn’t be possible without the relationships we have inside Disney. Jon [Favreau] and Dave [Filoni] have shared their story with us, and now we’ve all worked together to come up with a new mission for Smugglers Run that plays into this narrative.”
They’ve “shared their story” with Imagineers. That’s interesting. Then Favreau himself, the writer and director of the film, added this: “This isn’t going to retell what happens in the movie—it’s more like participating in something that’s happening just off-camera from what you see in the film.” From those quotes, we can with some certainty say that The Mandalorian and Grogu is going to, if not directly visit these places, at least reference them. And clearly these are all iconic, classic Star Wars locations. One from each original film, in fact. If there’s anything we know about The Mandalorian, it loves to interact with iconic, classic iconography.
So, time to speculate. If The Mandalorian and Grogu is visiting or referencing at least three locations from the original Star Wars trilogy (and maybe four, as there was a Hoth-like snow planet in the D23 Expo footage) could the plot of the film be about discovering something from the original trilogy? Could they be on the hunt for someone who can point them to Yoda, perhaps, not knowing he’s dead? Does a character like Lando Calrissian hold a clue they need? Have they been hired to hunt down, say, the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine and put together clues by piecing together the plots of the original movies? Or will these locations just so happen hold pieces to a puzzle involving mythosaurs, with a knowing “wink, wink” to the audience?
Also of note, in the news about the ride, was confirmation of something tangible in the film. The BDX droids developed for Disney theme parks will appear in the movie. Could Batuu itself, the planet Smugglers Run begins on, factor into the film?
Again, this is all just pure speculation. We don’t even know for sure if these locations are in the movie, just that they are “happening just off-camera” from the movie. So maybe something on the same planet or maybe missions that impacted the plot but happened before the movie?
Either way, as we wait for the first Star Wars film in seven years, it’s all fun to think about. And we’ll probably learn more next month when The Mandalorian and Grogu has a full panel at Star Wars Celebration Japan.
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