Skip to main content

The Death Star comes to Earth ahead of premiere of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'

Spaceship Earth Transforms Into Death Star | Walt Disney World
Star Wars fans are eagerly awaiting the next installment of the series, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which hits theaters in just over a week. In order to ramp the hype train up to full speed, Disney has brought one of the franchise’s most popular landmarks to life, transforming the iconic Epcot center attraction Spaceship Earth into the Death Star.

Don’t worry, this particular battle station isn’t fully armed or operational. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t even actually exist in physical form. Instead, the illusion was created via projectors, and it does a good job at re-creating the look of the Death Star. If you look closely, the golf ball exterior of the attraction does show through, but it’s still more than enough to wow visitors, especially those on the younger side.

The transformed attraction was revealed at an event at Epcot on Tuesday. In addition to the Death Star itself, Rogue One star Mads Mikkelsen was in attendance, as were several black-clad Stormtroopers officially known as Advanced Weapons Research Troopers. Several more Star Wars-related events and attractions are planned across the entire swath of Disney-owned parks and locations.

Whether the Death Star will continue its residency at Epcot permanently remains to be seen, but it will be there throughout the premiere of the film. With the new Star Wars Land at Disney Hollywood in the works, it would make sense if the Death Star were to stick around for a while at Epcot.

Though it’s not in theaters yet, the movie has already built up a reputation on presales alone — it brought ticket sales sites down when they started. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is in theaters starting December 16.

Editors' Recommendations

Kris Wouk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
The Acolyte’s first trailer embraces the Dark Side of Star Wars
Amandla Stenberg in The Acolyte.

Since the launch of Disney+ in 2019, there have been four live-action Star Wars series, including The Mandalorian and Andor. But the one thing that each of those shows had in common was that they followed the hero of the story. This summer, The Acolyte is flipping the switch on that by putting the spotlight on Mae (Amandla Stenberg), a former Padawan in the Jedi Order who seems to have quite a grudge against her onetime masters. That may be why Mae is attacking and apparently killing Jedi with knives in the first trailer for The Acolyte.

The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+

Read more
Star Wars could’ve had Christopher Walken as Han Solo and Jodie Foster as Princess Leia
An old man talks in Dune: Part Two.

The great thing about a hit movie is that you tend to find out things during interviews, premieres, and press conferences that would have never surfaced otherwise. Dune: Part Two is one such movie. In the lead-up to the movie's blockbuster opening weekend, we've discovered Josh Brolin's hidden talents as a poet and photographer, Javier Bardem's dedication to his children, Zendaya's love for the sci-fi classic Metropolis, and Austin Butler's appreciation for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The most recent revelation, however, tops all of those. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Christopher Walken, who plays Shaddam IV, the film's fearsome Emperor, explains why he came out of a four-year break from acting in films and joined Dune: Part Two. One reason was due to his admiration for the first film, which cemented Denis Villeneuve's status as one of the best sci-fi directors ever, and his appreciation of the sequel's impressive cast, which also includes Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, and Dave Bautista.

Read more
10 surprising facts about Star Wars you didn’t know
Han Solo points at himself in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Thanks to its status as one of the most popular franchises in the history of movies, Star Wars has a hoard of fans that rivals any out there.

It's also got plenty of trivia that has accumulated for decades, and if you're someone who digs deep on everything from Star Wars shows to even the Star Wars movies that don't happen, then you might be interested in some of the facts we've assembled here. Here are 10 facts about the mega-franchise that may surprise even some major fans.
Obi-Wan was supposed to survive

Read more