Star Wars theme parks: Harrison Ford 'reluctantly' unveils expansion plans

Harrison Ford hosted a televised event to showcase Disney's latest theme park project yesterday, revealing two huge 14-acre developments that will house the entertainment company's ambitious new Star Wars attractions.

The actor, who played Han Solo in the sci-fi series, introduced an array of details and concept art for the park with an "I can't tell if he wants to be here" delivery, The Verge said.

"I'm so blessed that I had the opportunity to be a part of it, to walk in these iconic locations," said Ford. "And soon, you will be able to do that as well, not in a galaxy far, far away, but a place close to home."

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Even if Ford's deadpan drawl failed to convince the media commentators, some of whom – such as PopSci – found the whole event "godawful", Disney can rightly feel "confident" about the project, The Verge said, after the critical success and more than $2bn (£1.4bn) in ticket sales for the last film in the long-running saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The parks will give visitors the chance to immerse themselves in a "fully realised world, where they can interact with characters, such as humanoids and droids, fly the Millennium Falcon, have a drink at the cantina, and experience a major battle", claims the website Quartz.

Disney CEO Bob Iger originally announced the plans at the D23 Expo, the largest Disney fan event. "We're creating a jaw-dropping new world that represents our largest single theme land expansion ever," he said. "Nothing in the land will be out of character or stray from the [Star Wars] mythology."

George Lucas, the creator of the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as its later prequels, sold his production company Lucasfilm to Disney three years ago for $4bn.

Harrison Ford reprised his role as Han Solo in Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens.

Construction in Florida will begin in 2017, while the date for the California exhibit has not yet been set. In the meantime, according to The Independent, existing attractions at the US parks will receive a "spruce-up to highlight the Star Wars theme". These include the Space Mountain ride at both theme parks becoming "HyperSpace Mountain" featuring special effects and imagery from the films.

Disney is yet to reveal the exact cost of the new parks, but the Independent has pointed out that the Californian city of Anaheim, where Disneyland is based, gave the company a tax exemption on ticket sales providing that it invests another $1bn to expand the park.

Disney has also recently announced that it is to spend $5.5bn creating a new theme park in Shanghai, China later this year.