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WATCH: Video reveals incredible Hondo Ohnaka interactive character from Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge

March 1st, 2019 by Marc Comments

The Galaxy’s Edge attraction at Disney World has revealed one of its newest additions… Hondo Ohnaka!

Hondo was first introduced in The Clone Wars and then came into Rebels and is one of the fan favourite characters.

The video below was revealed by popular mechanics and, honestly, we’re both impressed and terrified.

A1000 advanced robotics are the next evolution of the A100 Audio-Animatronic figures that were first introduced by Walt Disney Imagineering in the mid-1980s. This standardized system for building humanoid robotic figures incorporates new electric functionality, replacing former hydraulic functions, producing extremely realistic, lifelike movement. Future figures in humanoid form can all use this system to ensure the same degree of realism and advanced levels of movement.

The advanced figures that were developed for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – like this animated figure of Hondo Ohnaka, as seen in the Star Wars animated television series – are a hybrid of A1000 technology enhanced with custom-built elements.

It also seems a whole new range of cool collectibles will be exclusively available at Galaxy’s Edge; check them out below, meanwhile here’s what D23 revealed about the shop.

The Droid Depot is located in the market, inviting patrons to pick parts and pieces off a conveyor belt, then build and customize their astromech droids (R-series or BB-series); the droids are capable of interacting with elements in the land, responding to guests’ behaviors. Additional programming chips and accessories can be added to the droids to further customize their abilities. The Droid Depot will also offer guests pre-built droids, including a C-3PO who has quite a bit to say (especially if you “accidentally” take off his head and put it on backwards!) and a Rex who will happily play whatever music you have on your smartphone through an intergalactic Bluetooth connection. The shop also offers droid-inspired products and much more—and intergalactic tourists needn’t fret, as all merchandise will be labeled in dollars.

Meanwhile, at Savi’s Workshop, guests are given the opportunity to draw upon the Force as they build their own elegant lightsaber. At the heart of every saber is a kyber crystal, and during a guided tour, each guest will have four options to choose from: Peace Justice (modeled after Jedi from the Republic era); Power Control (a nod to the Sith); Elemental Nature (harnessing air, earth, fire, and water); and Defense (shrouded in mystery). Will you embrace the light side of the Force, like Luke Skywalker, or the dark side of the Force?

Inside Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities, visitors will find a selection of mysterious and rare items for sale representing different eras of the Star Wars galaxy, including ancient Jedi and Sith artifacts, holocrons, lightsabers, and more. As they explore the shop’s nooks and crannies, they will find Dok at his desk, checking his inventory, taking calls, and barking orders at his assistants.

Guests who venture to the Creature Stall will find some fascinating and unusual beasts from all across the galaxy, ranging from the friendly (porgs, tauntauns) to the not-so-friendly (rathtars, wampas). Nearby, you’ll find the Toydarian Toymaker stall, offering items crafted by its namesake alien, first seen buzzing around Anakin Skywalker­ in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. It peddles artisan-style plush characters, wood and tin toys, and instruments.

Resistance Supply is a “makeshift” resource location at the Resistance’s hidden command post, selling badges, hats, pins, and other accessories to help guests feel like part of the cause. On the flip side, First Order Cargo is a temporary storage dock located near the market. Easily identified by a never-before-seen First Order TIE echelon, it gives interstellar tourists a chance to pledge their loyalty to the First Order by purchasing caps, gear, model ships, pins, and more.

“This is the first place they touched down,” Brad Schoeneberg, director, Merchandise Strategy & New Park Experience Development, Walt Disney World Resort, says of First Order Cargo’s vendors. “They are trying to win the hearts and minds of locals with propaganda and merch.”

One thing you won’t find: “evergreen” Star Wars products. Everything was created specifically for Galaxy’s Edge. Or, as Brad puts it, “We’re giving today’s consumers an experience only we can deliver.” Items reflect the stories of yore, as they’ve been told throughout Black Spire Outpost. With a vast array of innovative goods, he adds, “[There are] many levels of discovery.”

Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….