My Visit to Skywalker Ranch and Lucasfilm Headquarters

A little over 14 years ago, I had my first date with my husband. I think he was pulling a Ted Mosby on me as he wanted to introduce the Star Wars movies to me. I had never seen them and as they were my husband’s favorite, he just HAD to make sure I liked them before we continued dating I’m sure. Lucky for him – and me! – I LOVED them. I was hooked and now 14 years later, I sometimes think I’m a little geekier than him over the movies. So when I got the invite to head to San Francisco for the #RogueOneEvent, I could only pinch myself to make sure it was true. I was visiting Skywalker Ranch AND Lucasfilm HQ!

Our adventure started Saturday night when we arrived at Skywalker Ranch. We were going to be able to see 28 minutes of Rogue One footage in the Stag Theater. After we turned in our phones, we grabbed our seats and the movie was introduced by director Gareth Edwards (interview coming soon!) who told us that he wished he could show us the whole movie and to spread the news if we liked what we saw (and to stay quiet if we didn’t, ha!). Luckily, he doesn’t have to worry because what we saw was amazing. It instantly had me hooked and wanting more. When the screen cut to black, I’m pretty sure the entire theater let out a sigh of disappointment. I can’t wait to see the entire movie – in theaters on December 16th, tickets available now! – as I feel it’s going to be an incredible addition to the Star Wars universe.

After the screening, we had time to shop in the Skywalker Ranch shop and mingle. They had Stormtroopers to take pictures with and the real costumes that were used in Rogue One to take a closer look at.

We even got a chance to look at George Lucas’ house – it’s all decorated for the holidays!

We had some time to sit outside while we waited for the rest of our group and it was just so overwhelming to think about all of the greatness that goes on at Skywalker Ranch. It was such an amazing experience being there.

Sunday was our big day. We headed to Lucasfilm HQ where we would be interviewing some of the cast and the director of Rogue One in addition to taking a tour. I didn’t know what to expect that day but it fully exceeded any expectations. I’m still wrapping my head over everything we saw and experience there but wanted to share some fun photos with you. Interviews with the cast will be coming soon!

When you arrive at Lucasfilm, a picture with the Yoda Fountain is a must. Did you know you can actually drive there (or get an Uber!) and see it? You won’t be able to enter any buildings but you CAN go out and see the fountain for yourself!

As we walked in the building, there was so much to look at! From life-size statues of Boba Fett and Darth Vader to all of the latest Rogue One merchandise, take a look below!

Walking around Lucasfilm was so fun! There were just fun props from a ton of your favorite movies all around. I could have spent hours there just looking at everything. It was so hard to share just a few photos with you!

This might be one of my favorite photos ever…it’s me with Vigo! This is the original painting from Ghostbusters II, hanging on the wall on the Industrial Light and Magic floor of Lucasfilm.

We also had the chance to chat with Russell Paul, who was the model supervisor of Rogue One. It was so interesting listening to him tell us how they put the models together. They take parts from a ton of different model sets to create the ones for the movies.

We also had a chance to go into the studio where they do motion capture. This was SO incredibly interested and fun to see. Alan Tudyk, who plays a droid named K-2SO actually wore a motion capture suit during the filming of Rogue One. While we didn’t see Alan in the motion capture suit, we did get to see how it worked and an ILM employee who was having way too much fun playing around!

Spending 2 days at Skywalker Ranch and Lucasfilm HQ was incredibly amazing. It was such a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so glad I’m able to share these photos and thoughts with you. I’ll be sharing much more about Rogue One in the coming weeks so make sure to check back. For now, watch the trailer for Rogue One below – it’s in theaters on December 16th!

Disclosure: Thanks so much to Disney for bringing me out to San Francisco for the event. All thoughts and opinions are my own.