A lot is riding on the marriage of “Star Wars” and Fortnite for Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro.
Last week, the studio whisked journalists in a Sprinter van to Lucasfilm’s top-secret soundstages for an early glimpse of how Fortnite developers will be able to use “Star Wars” assets when creating their own in-game islands using Unreal Editor for Fortnite and Fortnite Creative.
The over-the-top event resulted from Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games back in 2024 — and Tarine Tea, Jabba Juice and Tatooine’s iconic blue milk was served.
Star Wars has been prominently featured in Fortnite since 2019, but for the impending release of “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Epic and Disney wanted to do something, well, more epic for the press.
D’Amaro was instrumental in sealing the Mouse House’s partnership with Epic Games, which recently cut around 20% of staff, citing issues with the Fortnite franchise. But the extravagant rollout for these “Star Wars” assets indicates that Disney doesn’t seem too worried.
