A galaxy far, far away expands into wraparound shared reality
November 12, 2026, 11:15 a.m. Eastern time.
Fifty years after George Lucas introduced moviegoers to Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and the Millennium Falcon, Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope is preparing to shatter traditional cinema boundaries once again. The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm announced a multi-year, multi-film partnership Thursday with immersive entertainment venue operator Cosm to bring the 1977 cinematic masterpiece to life inside 12K+ LED domed arenas.
Scheduled to premiere in March 2027 as a cornerstone of the franchise’s global golden anniversary celebration, the new presentation format bridges the gap between theatrical cinema and cutting-edge theme park spectacle. Unlike virtual reality headsets that isolate viewers, Cosm’s “Shared Reality” design seats hundreds of theatergoers together inside a massive, curved LED amphitheater spanning 87 feet in diameter.
Rather than stretching the original film across the ceiling, the 2019 remastered Disney+ edition of A New Hope will be projected in its native 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio in the primary forward sightline. Meanwhile, custom-engineered visual environments built by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and creative studio MakeMake will dynamically wrap around the rest of the 360-degree dome, submerging audiences directly into the twin-sun horizon of Tatooine, the cavernous hangar decks of the Death Star, and the perilous trenches of the final space battle, according to The Walt Disney Company.
Expanding theatrical footprints in major entertainment hubs
The landmark rollout will inaugurate Cosm’s expanding domestic network of experiential entertainment facilities. The initial theatrical run will take place at Cosm’s flagship campus at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California, alongside operating venues in Dallas at The Colony’s Grandscape and newly constructed domes in Atlanta’s Centennial Yards and downtown Detroit.
“Our mission at Cosm is to redefine what communal entertainment feels like, giving fans a sensory connection to the stories they love that simply cannot be replicated on a living room television or a standard multiplex screen,” said Jeb Terry, Cosm’s president and chief executive officer. “Collaborating directly with Disney and Lucasfilm to transport audiences straight into the Star Wars universe for its fiftieth milestone marks a pivotal moment for experiential cinema,” he noted in an announcement detailed by Deadline.
Cosm has rapidly established itself as a formidable bridge between live sports broadcasting and premium cinematic IP. The company previously tested narrative dome adaptations through studio deals with Warner Bros. Discovery for The Matrix and Harry Potter, as well as Universal Pictures for Shrek. However, the multi-film Disney pact represents the company’s most ambitious Hollywood collaboration to date.
Preserving cinematic heritage through next-generation visual fidelity
A major priority for both Lucasfilm preservationists and Cosm engineers was avoiding visual gimmicks that compromise the integrity of the original storytelling. By anchoring the narrative on an unwarped central canvas, viewers maintain clear focus on the pacing, emotional beats, and dialogue crafted by George Lucas and editor Paul Hirsch.
The surrounding wrap-around canvas operates on real-time spatial rendering engines, reacting subtly to the camera movements and audio spatialization within the film. During the climactic trench run on the Death Star, peripheral LED panels recreate the dizzying rush of the station’s surface defense towers and laser fire, synchronized to John Williams’ iconic score across a multi-channel spatial acoustic array, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Disney and Lucasfilm confirmed that additional titles from their extensive film catalog will follow under the multi-year pact, setting up Cosm venues as permanent alternative distribution outlets for premium catalog titles.
Timeline of the Star Wars franchise milestone screenings
May 25, 1977: Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope opens in 32 theaters across the United States, launching a multi-generational pop culture phenomenon.
1997: The Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition theatrical rerelease marks the 20th anniversary with enhanced digital audio and revised CGI visual sequences.
June 2024: Cosm opens its first permanent 12K+ Shared Reality dome venue at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles, debuting live sports and studio cinematic pilots.
November 12, 2026: Disney, Lucasfilm, and Cosm officially announce a multi-year partnership to bring A New Hope to LED domes in March 2027 for its 50th anniversary.
