Quick Links
While Disney’s history with theStar Warsbrand has seen its fair share of ups and downs,there is likely no bigger blemish on their record than the short-livedStar Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, aStar Wars-themed hotel that looked to offer guests an immersive two-night stay to live out theirStar Warsstory inside a ship called The Halcyon. Unfortunately, once fans saw theprice of admission, their perception of the hotel quickly turned sour, and despite some fans enjoying it, the overall experience was poorly received by the general public. It closed its doors permanently after only 18 months of operation.
Spotlight on the hotel has resurfaced followingYouTuber Jenny Nicholson’s detailed four-hour video titledThe Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel. The video went into great detail about the troubled history of the hotel as well as her own personal experience of the two-night stay. It has become an online sensation and is the most people have talked about the hotel in over a year. While Disney might be done with the hotel, there is one way they can at least salvage part of it and help semi-rehabilitate its image in terms of a world-building setup. The Halycon should appear in the Disney+ series, particularlyThe Acolyte.
The Acolyte
What Was The Halcyon in Star Wars Lore?
The Halcyon was the in-universe name of theStar Wars-themed hotel within the wider franchise, where the various characters in the story were supposedly taking place. The ship was described as 13 decks, with Decks 4, 5, 6, and 7 being the ones available to theguests who stayed at the hotel, with rooms on Decks 4, 5, and 7. It was a luxury starcruiser that featured a lounge, a house band, and many other elements one would expect on a cruise ship, but it was done with a Star Wars theme. The ship is reportedly close to 300 years old and still operating.
The Halcyon used High Republic architecture, a way for Disney Imagineers to create a luxuryStar Warshotel experience, even though most of theStar Warsfilms' popular aesthetics, as laid out in the original trilogy, are often grimy, dirty, and the opposite of luxurious.The High Republicitself was a publishing initiative forStar Warsthat explored the time frame beforeThe Phantom Menace, which began publication in 2021, one year before Galactic Starcruiser opened. Still, due to the long development time of the hotel, it was likely done in tandem with it.
The story on theHalcyon was that the crew was celebrating their 275th-anniversary trip. Given that the story takes place during the year betweenThe Last JediandThe Rise of Skywalker, that means that the ship was operating during the era of the High Republic, the same era thatThe Acolytewill be taking place. In fact, within the story told on the ship, part of the reason it has a Jedi training room (a way for guests to do a lightsaber activity) is that during the High Republic, Jedi master Nib Assek and her Wookie padawan Burry saved the ship from space pirates known as the Nil andthe ship has kept a room honoring the Jedi ever since, even after the Jedi were believed to be wiped out by Order 66.
How Could The Halcyon Appear in The Acolyte
WithThe AcolytebeingStar Wars' first live-action introduction into the High Republic era, featuring Halcyon in some form would make sense.The Acolytetakes placeabout 100 years before the events ofThe Phantom Menace, after the ship’s maiden voyage to the planet of Batuu (the in-universe name for the Star Wars-themed land at Disney parks namedStar Wars: Galaxy’s Edge) but could be a relatively new ship. While described as a murder mystery,The Acolytecould feature a scene set on the ship or even an entire episode. After all, a locked, enclosed space served murder mystery writer Agatha Christie very well, be it a train (Murder on the Orient Express) or a cruise ship (Death on the Nile).
Explained: What is a Jedi?
The Jedi are one of the most famous elements of the Star Wars universe, and here are all the details about the heroes of the galaxy.
Right now,The Acolytelooks to be telling a self-contained story, not pulling from anypre-existing charactersfrom the franchise apart from Vernestra Rwoh, a character who originally appeared in the High Republic book. This is certainly a good thing as it allows them to forge their own path and shows they are not relying on fan service or easy cameos to win over audiences, which is what many modern Star Wars have been accused of. Yet, including the Haylcon would be an excellent way to rework a more controversial and potentially soon-to-be-forgotten part ofStar Warslore and give it a better reputation than an expensive failed hotel. With the Halycon being a High Republic ship, it showing up in the High Republic set series, likeThe Acolyte, makes sense.
The Halycon Could Appear in Other Star Wars Projects
There is the likely chance that, due toThe Acolytehaving finished filming before the hotel closed,it is unlikely the Halycon ship will appear in the series despite the obvious High Republic connections. Yet that does not mean that the ship couldn’t appear in otherStar Warsprojects. Before the hotel opened, Disney and Lucasfilm certainly did try to advertise the hotel by featuring it in a number ofStar Wars-themed comics and books, including being the location of Han Solo and Princess Leia’s honeymoon in the 2022 bookStar Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel.
Now that the hotel is closed, incorporating the Halycon into aStar Warsstory feels less like corporate synergy and more like using a cool, underused location in a story.The Mandalorian & Groguis setto be released in theaters in 2026, and having a scene set on the Halycon ship could provide a fun setting for the film. Production could even take advantage of the fact that the hotel set design already exists and is unoccupied.
7 Things The Mandalorian & Grogu Movie Needs to Get Right
The newly announced Mandalorian & Grogu film is leading Star Wars into the future. Here’s what it needs to successfully jump from Disney+ to theaters.
There is also the upcomingmovie focused on Daisy Ridley’s Rey. In the story’s canon, Rey did a mission on the Galactic Starcruiser before the events ofThe Rise of Skywalker. With her film set years in the future,Rey could reference the events of the hotel storyline, and fans could see what happens to the Halycon afterward. Not being bound by the canon anymore also raises the tension as the Halycon might be on its final voyage, giving the filmmaking side of Lucasfilm to give the ship and the hotel a better conclusion than Disney just closing it.
With the High Republic origins of the Halycon, Disney can revisit their former Galactic-themed hotel at any point in theStar Warscanon in stories set during the Clone Wars, the Age of the Empire, the New Republic, or the Rise of the First Order.Star Warsloves taking old elements from its past and incorporating them into the canon, as seen with all theparts of theStar Wars: Holiday Specialthat have been adapted inThe Mandalorian.
Right now,the legacy of Star Wars: The Galactic Starcruiser, the Halycon, or if you want to call it theStar Warshotel, is that of failure. It was a mighty bit of hubris on the Walt Disney Company’s part to try and charge about $4,800 for a guest to have a two-night stay while failing to communicate exactly what the hotel was and being unable to deliver on the promise. Yet, in those failed attempts, they created an exciting piece ofStar Warslore that might be better explored in otherStar Warsmedia, such as films, television series, and comic books, as a piece of connective tissue. There is hope that itwill show up inThe Acolyte; if not, then in some other futureStar Warsadventure.Check out the trailer forThe Acolytebelow.The Acolyteis streaming onDisney+on June 27, 2025.
