When the upcoming “The Mandalorian and Grogu” movie blasts off in theaters in 2026, it will also touch down at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. A brand-new story featuring Mando and his youngling is coming to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. This brand new mission will begin at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios on May 22nd, 2026. That is the same weekend the new film comes out. The following post contains all of the updates over the last year and a half on the project.

During Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, Star Wars creative executive Dave Filoni joined Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro onstage to discuss the upcoming addition to the attraction in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. As Dave explained, the Lucasfilm team uses Epic’s Unreal Engine to create some of the virtual sets for “The Mandalorian.” Now, with the expanded partnership between Disney and Epic Games, Epic’s Unreal Engine will help bring to life the latest adventure in a galaxy far, far away.

“The intersection of storytelling and innovation has always been central to Lucasfilm and we’re excited to see where this collaboration will take us next,” Dave told the crowd. “Just imagine it: you’ll be able to fly alongside Mando and Grogu on thrilling, and dangerous, missions.”

Expect to see this new mission jump to lightspeed when “The Mandalorian and Grogu” hits the big screen in 2026. This is the way.

Update from SXSW

During South by Southwest in Austin, Imagineers and Jon Favreau were together onstage to give a few details on the project. Both the upcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu movie and this update to Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run will debut on May 22, 2026. 

“Opening an attraction and such a massive movie on the same day wouldn’t be possible without the relationships we have inside Disney,” Kalama added. “Now we’ve all worked together to come up with a new mission for Smugglers Run that plays into this narrative.”

Working alongside The Mandalorian team, the Imagineers captured scenes for the attraction on the movie set, and you might see some familiar (and beloved) Star Wars locations aboard the Millennium Falcon.

Update from the Japan Star Wars Days

After the SXSW update, Disney has announced even more details from Star Wars Days in Japan. We have the deets below.

Take Control with New Powers for the Crew 

Starting May 22, 2026 at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will allow guests to control the iconic ship like never before. For the first time ever, the crew will be in control of their own destination, leading to potential adventures on Bespin, the wreckage of the second Death Star around Endor, or the just-announced bustling city-planet, Coruscant. Another new gameplay addition allows the engineer positions to communicate with Grogu during the mission. 

Mando and Grogu Join the Adventure 

We’re so excited that these updates debut on the same day as Lucasfilm’s upcoming title, The Mandalorian and Grogu, however, the attraction’s storyline will follow a different path.  

In this new thrilling storyline, Hondo Ohnaka has gotten wind of a deal going down on Tatooine between ex-Imperial officers and a band of pirates. There’s a generous bounty for their capture, so you’ll borrow the iconic ship and team up with Mando and Grogu to track them down and explore the galaxy. 

None of this would be possible without our partnership with Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). With their help, you are in control of your own destiny on the attraction. This technology is all built on Unreal Engine 5 by Epic Games which are the same tools ILM uses on the Disney+ show, The Mandalorian.  

Commentary

I’m so happy to see a new mission coming to Millennium Falcon! The ride itself has been the weakest part of the Falcon for quite a while. As an experience, Smugglers Run is very impressive. The queue actually fulfills dreams. Yes, most of those fulfilled dreams are of middle aged men but we all just want to be kids again, right? Once on board, the ride can leave guests wanting. That’s especially true on repeat rides.

When the Falcon made its debut, I thought it’d be a matter of months until they brought in other missions. The next age of Star Tours, where the ride could be customizable! Now, that may just show how little understanding I have of the mechanics of the attraction. I’ll freely admit that. But from a simple riders’ perspective, it seemed like that was the next step.

Well, it wasn’t a few months but I’ll settle for 6 or 7 years later. I don’t care as much about the Mandalorian as some but it was an obvious choice to be next in line for a ‘mission’ or ride layover. Grogu and Mando are the most popular current Star Wars characters and it’s not even close.

My ignorance when it comes to updating the ride will show in this next, and final, thought. Why does this update have to wait until 2026? I know this isn’t as simple as making a few new scenes for the attraction but this feels like the type of update that could happen in between all of the major projects announced at D23 Expo? I’m guessing the answer lies somewhere in between the update being more complicated than I think it is and them wanting to do a huge media blitz with this plus the new film at the same time.

Even with this a couple of years down the road, it’s great news! The Falcon has such a great infastructue that it deserves to keep the actual ride current and popular. This announcement will go a long ways to ensure that!

What do you think of a new mission coming to the Millennium Falcon at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios? Let us know, along with any questions you might have in the comments below. Check out our planning guides if you’re discussing a trip to either coast! And if you’re looking for discount tickets to Disney World or Disneyland, click on the corresponding link. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!