Walt Disney Imagineering shared a new behind-the-scenes video on the script creation process for the Mandalorian and Grogu update to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Senior Story Lead Riley R. walks us through the writing process. She reveals that the show’s full script runs about 80 pages, despite the ride itself lasting only about 4 minutes. Branching paths and unlockable moments built into the attraction account for the surprising length of the script.
Imagineer Shares Surprising Smugglers Run Script Length
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- An Imagineer explains her role writing the story and dialogue for Smugglers Run
- The show’s script totals about 80 pages despite a roughly 4-minute ride time
- The added length comes from branching paths, variables, and unlockable moments
What the Mando Update Changes at Smugglers Run
The Mandalorian and Grogu update overhauled Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run on May 22, 2026. Hondo Ohnaka learns of a deal between ex-Imperial officers and a band of pirates. He recruits guests to help track down the bounty alongside Mando and Grogu. For the first time, engineers choose the crew’s destination mid-flight. Guests can end up on Bespin, at the wreckage of the second Death Star above Endor, or on the city-planet Coruscant. Disney has said the ride’s storyline runs independent of the Mandalorian and Grogu film, even though both debuted the same day.
The update also brought a new pre-show. New technology powers the ride as well, built on Epic’s Unreal Engine, the same platform Lucasfilm uses for The Mandalorian’s virtual sets. Disney has called it the attraction’s most significant overhaul since it first opened.
How Imagineering Wrote the Script
In the video, Riley explains her role. She covers a project’s story from beginning to end, which includes writing the script and all of the dialogue. For Smugglers Run’s Mandalorian and Grogu update, the team first locked in the mission’s story goals and beats. They wrote the dialogue to match, then lined it up with the visuals and timing of the show. Finally, she made sure the interactive elements tracked with the story throughout.
The show itself runs about 4 minutes. By comparison, the complete script is much longer. It counts the pre-show, every variable, and every possible path and unlockable outcome, adding up to roughly 80 pages. She points to all of that branching as the reason why the script is so long.
For a look at how all of that scripting plays out in the ride itself, we’ve embedded our video below. It combines multiple flights to show all four new destinations guests can visit.
Keep Reading
- Disney first confirmed the Mandalorian and Grogu update’s May 22, 2026 debut date at SXSW.
- A mission briefing video gave the first look at the Mandalorian laying out the crew’s bounty targets.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!