Star Wars Land Could Potentially Have Virtual Reality Rides

Star Wars Land theme parks are currently under construction at the Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

We already have an idea of how amazing the theme parks will be. We saw some really awesome concept art in February and rumors are, Disney will include an alcohol-serving cantina as well as a laser system, among other amazing stuff in Star Wars Land. Well, it turns out there's other cooler plans Disney is hatching up for their Star Wars-themed lands.

According to Tech Insider, ILMxLab, the special effects research and development arm of Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, is currently sampling virtual reality and augmented reality technologies that will offer park-goers a "cinematic moment in a physical space" when they step into Star Wars Land. This means people can experience the Star Wars galaxy in a way they never have before and in a way that traditional rides could not offer.

The site caught up with the executive in charge of the ILMxLab, Vicki Dobbs Beck, at the Bloomberg Businessweek Design 2016 conference in San Francisco.

Beck revealed:

What you get, obviously, in a theme park is 100% control over your physical environment, as well as whatever digital elements you interject into that world.

The specific details of the attractions in the parks remain unknown, but we do know that there will be a Millennium Falcon ride as well as an attraction that shows a battle between the First Order group and the Resistance.

Beck didn't say exactly that virtual reality will be included in the rides in Star Wars Land, but it's highly likely because of ILMxLab's involvement in the theme parks' expansion.

A few weeks back, the company made headlines after the trailer for its Star Wars virtual reality game, Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine, was released.

Beck also added:

We are looking at ways to use the movies as portals to enrich and expand the universe of the film. I sometimes think about it as, the movie is linear and [virtual reality] is like punching through a scene and opening it up in another direction or dimension.

She also confirmed that some ILMxLab staff members visited a Utah-based company called The Void, which is currently developing a theme park that combines VR with our physical environment.

A Star Wars Land with virtual reality certainly sounds appealing, no matter what angle you look at the idea. A VR Star Wars game sounds cool enough, but a Star Wars theme park mixed with the technology can do wonders.

Star Wars Land is expected to debut in 2018.