With Disneyland Resort’s new Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge preview experience opening this weekend at the Downtown Disney District, Lucasfilm’s in-house immersive entertainment developer ILMxLAB held a panel discussion about the virtual-reality game with producer Alyssa Finley and voice actor Bobby Moynihan (DuckTales, Star Wars Resistance, Saturday Night Live).
In Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, Moynihan plays Azumel cantina owner Seezelslak (a competitor of Oga’s around the corner), who factors in as a central role in the adventures of the player’s droid technician character by often pointing them in the right direction for their next quest or telling a story that dissolves to a playable flashback mission. During the panel, Bobby talked about what it was like coming aboard this project as a lifelong Star Wars fan, his immediate love affair with Galaxy’s Edge, and his desire to own a Seezelslak action figure.
How did Bobby Moynihan feel about voicing a featured character in Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge? “I mean, as a fan it's absolutely insane. It's a blast– it was actually really fun. I've gotten to do a couple Star Wars things, but this was pretty singular to itself, being a fan of Galaxy’s Edge getting to. I got to go there before it was open, when they were still building it, [and] I was there the day it opened. I've been there a bunch and I feel very connected to that place, so to be asked to be involved with this game was a no-brainer. It also has enhanced my experience at the park. I just went there recently to shoot something for Disney+ about this game and just standing there at sunrise in an empty Galaxy’s Edge going like, ‘That's where my cantina is,’ it was a really special wonderful moment, especially for a fan. But I think that's what the game is like, too. I got to play Vader Immortal at Star Wars Celebration, and I'm here now because of it. It was so fun… I was completely immersed in that game. I remember Darth Vader walking up to me and being like, ‘Oh no.’”
What about recording Seezelslak’s dialogue and his little bits of banter with the player’s character? “They let me have fun with that. A lot of those little fun things were improvised,” says Moynihan, who is also a gamer himself and has explored the world of Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge on his own time. “When I started playing it, I spent way too much time in the cantina because [the bartender character] was me. I wanted to stay there, and I couldn't believe it. It feels like Tales has its own characters, there's that section, [and] then there's the legacy characters [like Hondo Ohnaka, C-3PO, and R2-D2]… and when they show up your mind is blown.” On the subject of the gameplay itself, Bobby was impressed by the range of things the player can do. “The variety was amazing. I loved Vader Immortal, but I couldn't believe how many different types of things you can do in this game. It seems much more vast. It branches out so much more. That made me really happy.”
But what was his favorite part of the experience overall? “Standing at that window in the cantina and just looking out over the real Galaxy’s Edge [for] the first time. That really got me, and then doing the opposite– standing in the park and looking up there and wishing that [Seezelslak’s] ship would be there one day. Hint hint, Disney, come on! [laughs] Seezelslak could have a Disney+ series… [or] a pop-up food truck right next to the Falcon once a year for Life Day. I'd be very down [for that]… a Seezelslak Black Series figure, anything at this point. I beg for it all.”
It seems Moynhian enjoyed the free-roaming sections of Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge over the run-and-gun blaster battles. “That part of the game just felt much more free for me. I want to take my time, I want to be immersed in that world and it really allows you to do that. I can't wait for people to see how immersed in the world they can actually get, to run around in it. That’s the greatest.” Summing up the overall experience, Bobby commented, “This has been quite a journey– my Star Wars journey of just being a fan and then being lucky enough to get to be involved in it. It was a really fun experience.”
The Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge preview experience runs from November 21 through January 5 at Downtown Disney District in Anaheim, California. For additional information and to make advance reservations, be sure to visit the Disney Parks Blog. Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge and its expansion Last Call are available now on the Meta Quest 2 VR console.