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New Details Revealed for The Mandalorian & Grogu Mission on Smugglers Run
The galaxy’s most chaotic Uber job is about to get even wilder. Disney has officially revealed a massive batch of new details for the upcoming Mandalorian & Grogu update coming to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at both Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland on May 22, and this new mission sounds like absolute hyperspace-level mayhem.
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The updated experience transforms Smugglers Run into an interactive bounty hunting chase starring Din Djarin and everyone’s favorite snack-stealing Force user, Grogu. After being recruited by Hondo Ohnaka in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, crews will track dangerous fugitives across the galaxy while attempting to recover valuable cargo for Hondo. Because apparently intergalactic crime now comes with performance metrics.
Disney also confirmed that every cockpit role now has expanded responsibilities and more direct impact on the outcome of the mission. Pilots, gunners, and engineers all influence how your adventure unfolds, making this feel much more dynamic than the current version of the attraction.
Pilots will still split responsibilities, with the left pilot steering side-to-side and the right pilot controlling elevation and hyperspace jumps. Disney emphasized that smoother flying directly impacts your score, since collisions damage the Falcon and drain your credits faster than a Jedi at Dok-Ondar’s.
Gunners now get a choice between automatic and manual targeting modes. Automatic mode is geared toward younger guests and casual players, while manual mode allows more skilled riders to aim across high, middle, and low attack zones for potentially higher scores. Missile launches also return during certain moments of the chase, adding another layer of arcade-style chaos to the cockpit.
The engineers may have received the biggest glow-up of all.
In addition to repairing the Falcon, engineers will choose the crew’s next destination after the opening Tatooine chase sequence. Depending on the engineer’s decision, crews can end up pursuing bounties through three different locations: Bespin, Coruscant, or the wreckage of the second Death Star above Endor.
Each location comes with its own storyline, hazards, and visuals.
Bespin sends crews weaving through Cloud City traffic while swarms of TIE fighters attack around massive Tibanna gas freighters. Coruscant throws guests into a neon-filled nighttime pursuit through dense city traffic and tunnel systems. Meanwhile, Endor looks like pure Star Wars nightmare fuel, with the Falcon dodging shattered Death Star debris and massive wreckage fields while attempting to rescue Mando and Grogu from a rogue tractor beam.
Disney also confirmed that engineers can collect cargo crates throughout the mission using the Falcon’s tractor beam system. The contents of those crates change from ride to ride and can include galactic credits, Kyber Crystals, and even baby Rancors. Yes, baby Rancors. Hondo’s shipping department is apparently completely unregulated.
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One especially interesting detail is that no two missions will play out exactly the same. Between randomized crate rewards, different destinations, varying bounty targets, and crew performance, Disney seems to be leaning heavily into replayability this time around.
The new mission arrives May 22, the same day The Mandalorian & Grogu hits theaters, making this one of the biggest Star Wars updates Disney Parks has rolled out for Galaxy’s Edge since the land originally opened.
For longtime Smugglers Run fans, this sounds less like a simple overlay and more like a full systems upgrade for the attraction. For everyone else, it may finally be the update that turns engineer from “button masher in the back row” into the MVP of the entire cockpit.
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