Darth Vader made his triumphant return to Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on Wednesday, replacing Kylo Ren in a major shake-up at the Anaheim theme park — and fans couldn’t get enough.
The infamous Sith Lord was greeted with cheers and applause as he stepped into the attraction’s Black Spire Outpost, where he has officially taken over residency and now appears multiple times daily in front of a looming TIE fighter while prowling for Luke Skywalker, The Los Angeles Times reported.
In his first appearances Wednesday, Vader declared his mission to hunt down the young Jedi while flanked by two Stormtroopers.
Kylo Ren, once a staple of the 14-acre themed land, has effectively been booted from the outpost.
Vader’s arrival is part of a broader overhaul inside Galaxy’s Edge, with Leia Organa, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker also now making regular appearances. Luke had previously appeared only for a limited run last year, according to the outlet.
The character additions signal a significant shift for Galaxy’s Edge, which originally opened in 2019 with a strict timeline setting tied to Disney’s newer sequel trilogy films.
The land was initially designed to immerse visitors in an original adventure set at a specific point in the Star Wars saga, encouraging role-play rather than traditional character meet-and-greets.
But Disneyland appears to be loosening that formula while still maintaining the land’s immersive structure.
Rather than posing for standard photo ops, the classic characters remain woven into the park’s live storylines.