Inside The New Star Wars At Madame Tussauds Experience

The following report is by fan of TheForce.net Graham Hancock. Enjoy!

Madame Tussauds in London is the original home to the now global waxwork attraction. It has more history than most attractions, stretching back over one hundred years. Already one of London’s most popular tourist destinations, in May 2015 it becomes a must-visit location for Star Wars fans. On May 16th, exactly ten years after London played host to Star Wars Celebration Day and screened the saga back-to-back for the first time ever, Madame Tussauds will open a brand new Star Wars exhibit.

Before opening to the public, Madame Tussauds hosted a launch party to showcase the new Star Wars exhibit to those who created it, the press and familiar faces from the UK media. No guest was more esteemed, however, than Boba Fett actor Jeremy Bulloch who came face to face with many of his allies and enemies from the Star Wars films. Jeremy wasn’t the only cast member visiting, with Pip Anderson – appearing in an unknown role in The Force Awakens – joining him to be immersed in Star Wars.



The exhibit itself is more than just waxwork models of fan favourite characters. This is a fully immersive experience, with each waxwork part of a larger set. After heading down a Trade Federation corridor, guests interrupt the climactic lightsaber duel of The Phantom Menace, with Darth Maul battling Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. It is at this moment that it becomes apparent just how life like these characters look, the year-long process of creating them allowing for incredible attention to detail.

The next scene moves forward to Revenge of the Sith, and features the floating platform on Mustafar with Anakin Skywalker ready to strike. There’s a space for guests to stand and take the place of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the first of several great photo opportunities. What works well throughout the exhibit are the spaces for Star Wars fans to get stuck right into the action and become part of the scene.

A New Hope is well represented. Han Solo sits in the Cantina booth with the relaxed demeanour of a guy who doesn’t care what a parsec measures. The options for photos here are fun again, fans can either chill alongside Han or sit opposite to hope they fare better than Greedo. Researchers watched the Star Wars movies daily in order to ensure everything was movie accurate and would receive Lucasfilm approval, and the likeness of Han Solo is testimony to the hard work.

C-3PO and R2-D2 stand in front of a Tatooine backdrop, before fans take their seat alongside Chewbacca in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. Looking forward through the viewport, it’s hard to resist uttering the world famous quote from the new trailer. Punching the red button send the stars whizzing by as the ship enters Hyperspace, with sound effects adding to the drama. On the way through to the next area, Stormtroopers stand guard – are there two, or three? It depends if the 501st are helping out their new recruits…

Dagobah is incredibly immersive, with smoke and sounds adding to the theatre. This large area is of course home to one of the smallest figures, the first to have been completed in fact. The wise old Jedi Master sits atop a log, with space for visitors to pop behind and soak up his philosophy. The sculptors and researchers of Madame Tussauds visited Skywalker Ranch to see the props, models and costumes in person, which is particularly clear in Yoda’s case. If the waxwork and the original puppet were side by side, it would take a keen eye to spot the difference.

After the tranquillity of Dagobah, things change as fans continue through The Empire Strikes Back to find the scene in which Darth Vader tells Luke what really happened to his father. Luke is absent, allowing guests to take his place as they react to the Sith Lord’s revelation. Thanks to a wind machine, sound effects and of course the outreached hand of Darth Vader, it’s as close as it gets to being in the movie.

The environment moves on to an audience with the most vile of gangsters, Jabba himself. This mammoth waxwork weighs in at 35 stone, the largest in the exhibit by some stretch. He is joined by the smallest character in the exhibit, Salacious Crumb as Princess Leia is held captive in her gold bikini. Many of the faces throughout Madame Tussauds are re-created as they look today, allowing for plenty of reference opportunities. In the case of Princess Leia, she looks as if she stepped off the screen in 1983 and hasn’t moved since. Considering the lack of 3D model references, the achievement is even more astounding.

Appropriately, the final scene re-created is the battle between father and son. Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker’s lightsabers clash, with the Emperor smiling from his throne. By this point the accuracy of these models is expected, but still no less impressive. It took 180 sculptors and artists to bring these scenes to life, at a cost of £2.5 million just for waxworks themselves – Star Wars fans will appreciate more than anyone that the hard work and money was well spent.

The Launch Party Night closed with drinks and an opportunity to see non-Star Wars Madame Tussauds waxworks up close. The only appropriate theme to celebrate the new exhibit, of course, was the Mos Eisley Cantina – and the Modal Nodes were on hand to entertain. At regular intervals, they turned up and the most infectious music in the entire Star Wars saga blasted out to see if anyone could resist dancing along to it.
Lucasfilm have so far been very cautious with creating specific attractions, so far having the Star Tours ride at Disney Parks and LEGO Miniland at the various LEGOLAND attractions around the world. Star Tours has the visceral excitement of being on a starship, flying through space. Miniland is amazing in its re-creations, knowing that they are all built from LEGO. The Star Wars at Madame Tussauds exhibit adds something very different to the mix, allowing fans to literally step into their favourite movie scenes. Everyone will have a different moment that hits their nostalgia sweet spot and makes their draw drop, a challenge will be to see if anyone is not moved by coming face to face with Yoda.

Thanks to the team at Freerange and Madame Tussauds for sharing the new exhibit. Entry to Star Wars at Madame Tussauds is included in the main admission price, which starts from £24.75 for adults, £21.60 for children. Find out more and see how the experience was created at www.madametussauds.com/london.

Graham Hancock is a Star Wars geek and Features Writer for Blocks (www.blocksmag.com
), a monthly magazine about Building, Collecting and Customising your LEGO.

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