Disney Dreamlight Valley May Add Grogu as Its First Star Wars Character, But It Shouldn’t

In a somewhat surprising twist, Disney Dreamlight Valley recently revealed its first batch of Star Wars content. The next major update will be Alice in Wonderland-themed, but shortly afterward, the Disney game is celebrating one of its biggest franchises. This will come in the form of a Premium Shop update featuring some Jedi-inspired cosmetics, as well as R2-D2 as a companion. An exact date for the update hasn’t been revealed, though it’s targeted to arrive before May 4th, aka “Star Wars Day”.

The addition of Star Wars cosmetics begs the question… what other content from a galaxy far, far away could be coming to Disney Dreamlight Valley? Will a future update add characters that players can befriend and recruit to the valley?

If so, it seems likely that Gameloft will start with the popular “Baby Yoda” character, Grogu. This was the one Star Wars character that Gameloft specifically asked fans about in a player survey, so it’s likely that Grogu is top of mind for the first true Star Wars character addition to the valley. No offense to R2-D2, but a companion isn’t quite the same as a character equipped with full questlines and friendship duties.

Starting with Grogu might seem like an obvious choice, given the popularity of the adorable “Baby Yoda” figure. It’s hard to shop anywhere without seeing Grogu merch these days, and I’m not here to say he isn’t adorable. Of course he is. But the audience of Disney Dreamlight Valley deserves better than a character chosen from recency bias and merchandising opportunities.

According to many a Reddit poll in the r/DreamlightValley subreddit, Disney Dreamlight Valley has a pretty wide base of players in their 20s-40s. Granted, people using Reddit might not be the most representative sample of actual players, but it does give a sense of who is actively engaging with DDV content online.

Speaking as a person roughly in that age range myself, Grogu isn’t who I think of first when I think of Star Wars. If we’re going to start somewhere, I’d like to see us start with characters more central to where the Star Wars universe began. This is no shade on The Mandalorian, but hitting up more recent spins on the universe without first setting the foundation is kind of a weird move for the game.

Think about it this way. When you first move into the Valley, you meet classic Disney characters like Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, along with their magical guide, Merlin. As new realms are unlocked, we might meet side characters like Ursula or Kristoff first, but we don’t usually skip right to the sequels. Granted, that’s partly because animated Disney films don’t have the best track record for sequels and spinoffs, but my point still stands.

Adding R2-D2 as a companion makes sense, as do the Jedi clothing cosmetics. These are familiar, iconic parts of the Star Wars franchise that have already stood the test of time. Leaning on newer content might seem like a way to stay relevant, but it’s also a way to date content if those characters don’t wind up as beloved. Disney Dreamlight Valley can stand to learn from the much-maligned The Sims 4: Journey to Batuu expansion pack.

RELATED: Nintendo Shadow Drops New Disney Game & More for Nintendo Switch

This similar attempt to bring Star Wars to a cozy game backfired in part because it relied on characters starring in the franchise’s current run, such as Kylo Ren and Rey. Given how many fans wound up furious at how that arc ended with The Rise of Skywalker, those turned out to be less reliable choices than if they’d stuck to the classics like Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and C-3PO. The pack had other issues, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t help but wonder how it might’ve fared if it featured a different cast of characters.

Given that a new movie starring the Mandalorian and Grogu is on the way, the full legacy of these characters is similarly still up in the air. Rather than add Grogu to the game right away for the meme, Disney Dreamlight Valley should lean into what it does best – bringing beloved characters from established classics to a new home in the valley.

If not Grogu, where should Disney Dreamlight Valley begin? Well, it’s been a while since they’ve added a compelling new villain outside of an expansion, so my vote is for Darth Vader.