Featured Image Credit: Joseph Prezioso/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images/TikTok/disneyparks
Topics: Disney, Disney World, Disneyland, US News, Travel, Star Wars, Film and TV, Technology
Katherine Sidnell
Topics: Disney, Disney World, Disneyland, US News, Travel, Star Wars, Film and TV, Technology
It seems Star Wars fans won’t have to go to a galaxy, far, far away to find a droid.
Rather than landing on Tatooine, the adorable robots have debuted at Disneyland and are ready to interact with Jedis and Sith alike.
The so-called ‘droids-in-training’ are even allowed to roam free around the Galaxy’s Edge land in Anaheim, California.
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With little legs and rather bulbous heads, these bots have more in common with Wall-E than R2-D2, but we aren’t complaining.
Announcing the arrival on TikTok, the short clip showed the tiny robots responding to voice commands from a Disney cast mate as they learn about the Empire.
And if that weren’t impressive enough, the Star Wars characters use clever tech to help them dance and even express their emotions as the interact with guests.
I mean look at these little guys!
Appearing in another TikTok, Moritz Bächer, associate lab director at Disney Research, explained: "The robots actually learn to imitate artistic motion — that's the secret sauce to make them work so quickly. They can actually emote and learn to dance.
"They can get really angry and the eyes turn red. They walk over uneven terrain. They can still balance. They're really robust."
Understandably, many padawans were a little excited to see the latest additions to the park, with a little girl’s eye lighting up as she saw the droids.
Imagineers who created the droids were also elated by the ‘play test’, or trial to anyone over the age of five.
In fact, the project had been teased since 2015, appearing in the initial announcement for the Galaxy’s Edge land over seven years ago.
Joel Peavy, an executive R&D imagineer, told fans on TikTok: “We’re really excited to see the guests’ reaction to these and were it might go in the future.”
So whilst you might not be able to have your very own droid like Luke Skywalker, you can catch them at California’s Disneyland as the tech is being trialled.
And it’s not the only reason Star Wars fans have been getting excited, with Ashoka recently debuting on Disney+ and actor Hayden Christensen making a special appearance in the spin-off series.
Having played Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the prequel films, the actor shared his excitement over the show and became visibly emotional as fans cheered.
Taking to Twitter after the Star Wars Celebration, one fan even wrote: “It bothers me that people hate on him. His performance in the prequels is spotless. Perfectly done. The man is a legend.”
If you are still looking for an excuse to bring out your lightsaber, Ashoka is now available to stream on Disney+.