Entertainment
Disney’s Most Ambitious Failed Star Wars Attraction Is Coming to SDCC
This September will officially mark three years since Disney‘s ambitious Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hosted its last passengers at the Walt Disney World Orlando Resort. After opening in March 2022, this lavish hotel, designed like a luxury cruise liner among the stars, lasted only one and a half years before shutting down despite so much promise. Hopes were high for the two-night experience, which offered an immersive live role-playing experience for fans to step aboard the Halcyon, interact with beloved Star Wars characters, hone their skills with a lightsaber, and join the battle between the First Order and the Resistance. However, its execution, while dazzling and impactful for those fortunate enough to experience it, was marred by a sky-high price tag of nearly $5,000 for a couple and $6,000 for families that prevented most customers from ever enjoying it.
While the attraction was understandably grounded in controversy, filmmaker and Star Wars fanatic Carrie Coaplen wanted to capture the real impact for the people who got to go on their own adventure in a galaxy far, far away. She helmed the feature-length documentary Halycon Daze: The Final Voyages of Disney’s Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser, a partially Kickstarter-funded exploration into the experience with copious footage from inside the attraction and interviews with the people who made it possible, from designers, actors, and crew to industry experts and the fan community who fell in love with it. It’s meant both as a reflection on everything the Starcruiser was and aimed to be, and the work that elevated it into a brief, yet thrilling way to become immersed in the Star Wars universe. Now, the film, built on the dedicated efforts of fans and researchers, is coming to one of the pop culture events of the year.
Halcyon Daze is officially slated to screen on the first day of San Diego Comic-Con next Thursday, July 23. Not only that, but the feature is also bound for the tabletop-gaming staple Gen Con in Indianapolis the following weekend on Saturday, August 1. It’s a chance to see a fan-focused documentary that has been met with widespread acclaim so far and represents both a community-focused affair and the journey of one filmmaker from casual Star Wars fan to a true diehard. In an official statement, Coaplen expressed her excitement for being able to share the deeply personal passion project on such a big platform. “At its core, Halcyon Daze has always been about the people who made the experience possible and the community that found connection and meaning on the Starcruiser,” she said. “It’s a thrill to bring the film to events like Comic-Con that are really about connecting fans with things they love.”
‘Halcyon Daze’ Has Already Been Met With Widespread Praise
So far, Halcyon Daze has enjoyed screenings at the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, Indy Film Fest, and the Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival, even earning Best Fan Documentary honors at the latter. The Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation, and Technology has also named it as an official selection and nominated it for Most Innovative Documentary. For lead researcher and producer Carly Kocurek, attending Gen Con next feels particularly fitting because of how Galactic Starcruiser was designed with interactivity in mind. “I first got interested in the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser because of the way it leveraged game design, turning its guests into active participants,” they added in a separate statement. “Bringing the documentary to a gaming celebration like Gen Con feels a little like going back to the beginning of the project.”
Halycon Daze: The Final Voyages of Disney’s Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser screens at San Diego Comic-Con and Gen Con this year on Thursday, July 23, at 9:30 p.m. PT at Grand 6, Marriott Marquis San Diego, and on Saturday, August 1, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Capitol Ballroom III in The Westin Indianapolis, respectively. Additionally, the Flyover Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, will also host a screening at the Kentucky Science Center on August 1 at 5 p.m. Members of the team behind the documentary will be in attendance for all three events.
Check out the official trailer in the player above.
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