Star Wars: The Experience Creators Reveal How Exhibit Transports Fans to a Galaxy Far, Far Away (Exclusive)
Coming to Philadelphia's Franklin Institute in early 2027, Star Wars: The Experience celebrates half a century of Lucasfilm projects—from film to publishing.
Back in 1977, no one—not even George Lucas himself—could have predicted just how massive the Star Wars brand would become over the next half century.
With the iconic franchise nearing its 50th anniversary milestone, Lucasfilm is celebrating the little space opera that could with an expansive, highly immersive exhibition coming to Philadelphia's Franklin Institute in early 2027 (tickets go on sale this November).
Created in tandem with MDSX, a company known for award-winning attractions and museum-based entertainment, Star Wars: The Experience will be the ultimate homage to all facets of the galaxy far, far away—from films and publishing, to toys and fandom.
Inside The New Museum Exhibition Celebrating 50 Years of Star Wars
"Every exhibition we do is a completely different thing with a completely different story to tell," Senior Lucasilm Creative Executive Matt Martin told SYFY Wire during an exclusive roundtable interview at San Diego Comic-Con. "Because it's the 50th, [we have] an opportunity to try to tell a bigger story about all of Star Wars...this was the opportunity to really go all out."
The task of distilling five decades worth of content into one cohesive show, added The Franklin Institute's Chief Experience and Strategy Officer Abigail Bysshe, posed the biggest challenge.
"When you think about the opportunity with the Star Wars brand and 50 years worth of content," she explained, "it's really daunting to get down to a framework that's really gonna narrow down that story. And then you've just got to stick with it and make sure you're really delivering on that promise."
Naturally, the various galleries will display a plethora of props, costumes, scale models and other visual delights created for the films and TV shows. Every physical asset was chosen with input from leading Lucasfilm archivist Portia Fontes, who oversees a special warehouse Martin likened to the labyrinth of boxes in the final shot of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In addition to being kept at a cold, Hoth-like temperature to preserve the priceless items, the space is also "hidden in a galaxy far, far away," Fontes joked. "But bringing any guest through our archive is a really great experience. Being able to showcase any of our artifacts—from your basic Star Wars fan to your diehard ones—they are always so excited to see what we have."
But if you're imagining a bunch of static, run-of-the-mill museum tableaus, think again.
The minds behind the forthcoming exhibition seek to immerse guests in the world of Star Wars from the get-go by allowing them to choose a side of the Force, Light or Dark, that will create a unique sense of interactivity by way of RFID technology.
"When we think about interactives," noted Bysshe, "we want to make sure it's supporting the story, but also that the technology is in a place that's going to make that experience really dynamic. Sometimes you come up with ideas and you're like, ‘Man, I can't execute it because the technology really isn't there yet,’ at least from a museum budget perspective. But this one was like, ‘Oh no, we know how to do this. We know how to execute it well and we're able to deliver on the fan expectation of it.'"
Fans can even see themselves frozen in Carbonite right next to the actual prop of a frozen Han Solo.
"I do like the contextualization," MDSX Owner and Chief Creative Officer Dan Picard said. "I think that seeing a moment in the film and then getting to be part of it right there is exactly what an immersive experience should be."
Indeed, it was one of the very first ideas pitched and managed to stick around through the entire development process.
"I still remember when Matt saw it, he just went, ‘If we cut anything, that never goes! We want that in there!’" Picard shared. "Some of your first ideas are your best ideas, and that was one of them."
A radically inventive idea like that is what the Star Wars ethos is all about, with Fontes summing it up one word: "Rebels."
"We just do things very innovatively, differently," she continued. "And with Star Wars: The Experience, we're looking at just that. It's a mix of something immersive, but also has artifacts and galleries. It's going to be great."
Check Out Gallery Concept Art For Star Wars: The Experience
Star Wars: The Experience opens at The Franklin Institute Feb. 13, 2027. It will run through September 2027 before kicking off a five-year tour across North America (the next city has yet to be announced).
Launching the experience in the City of Brotherly Love, however, makes a ton of sense. After all, its most famous resident, Benjamin Franklin, was like a one-man Industrial Light & Magic, pushing the boundaries of technology like no one had done before.
"Star Wars started with getting these different discipline makers to come together," Picard said. "And what better way than to have the original maker and tinkerer like Ben Franklin and his museum connect to this?"
And it goes without saying that the newest member of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team, LeBron James, has an open invitation, should he wish to check out the exhibition.
"Oh my God, of course!" exclaimed Bysshe. "He’ll be invited any day he would like to come."
