Inside the massive 'Star Wars' pop-up celebrating the entire franchise that fans can visit for free
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An enormous "Star Wars" pop-up is free for fans of the franchise to visit from now through January 5 in New York City.
After a "Lion King" takeover earlier this year, Disney and Dolby Laboratories partnered again to takes fans through the three main trilogies to celebrate to the release of "The Rise of Skywalker" later this month and bid farewell to the Skywalker saga.
The 11-room exhibit features a mirror room and photo opp with lightsabers as well as two massive art murals. Fans will also be able to listen to John Williams' score in a cozy lounge.
This is the pop-up "Star Wars" fans are looking for. From now through January 5, fans can stop by Dolby's SoHo building in New York City to experience an immersive, two-floor pop-up before the release of this month's "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."
"We go way back to the very beginning with the saga. We helped bring 'Star Wars' to audiences in surround sound. That really put Dolby on the map," Stuart Bowling, director of content and creative relations at Dolby Laboratories, told Insider of why they collaborated with Disney and Lucasfilm.
Before opening to the public, I toured the 20,000 square foot space which features 11 rooms and experiences taking fans through the nine films in the Skywalker saga. You can pose with lightsabers, take a look at some behind-the-scenes photos, listen to John Williams' iconic score in a cozy lounge, and have the chance to win "Star Wars" posters and exclusive items.
The space will be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday through Sunday each week. Keep reading to see what to expect at the "Star Wars" pop-up.
The "Star Wars" experience is located in New York City's Dolby SoHo building.
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I stopped by Thursday afternoon to the 20,000-square-foot space at 477 Broadway.
It's tough to miss the space. Two floors are completely covered in "Star Wars" signs and Rey and Kylo Ren can be seen up high ready to brawl.
I dressed up in my finest Sith boots and trench coat, ready to wield a lightsaber.
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If you're going to head to a "Star Wars" pop-up where you can pose with friends and family, you have to look the part. Time to head inside!
The moment you enter the exhibit, you're able to step into a room full of mirror walls and a dozen televisions.
Courtesy of Dolby
The infinity mirror room cycles through a few "Star Wars" moments.
If you're here for a nice Instagram, it's the first of a few photo opportunities.
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You may want to try and capture a few photos here before the lines get long.
But that was just the entrance. I had to head through a dark corridor to see the rest of the exhibit.
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Dolby is sending you through hyperspace to launch into the rest of the exhibit.
Posters from the original "Star Wars" saga lined the corridor.
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The poster for "The Rise of Skywalker" can be found right before you step into the hallway.
When you come out the other end, you're surrounded by four walls of monitors.
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The experience room runs through different "Star Wars" moments from the franchise, including the scene with Carrie Fisher's General Leia Organa above.
If you stay in this room long enough, you'll see one of the trailers for "The Rise of Skywalker" play.
"When you stand in that room, being immersed in the last trailer for 'The Rise of Skywalker,' plus the surround sound of the Dolby Atmos enveloping you, if you're a 'Star Wars' fan, it's kind of the end of the saga. It's an emotional thing. This kind of ends it all, brings back all these memories," said Bowling of why the 360-degree space is one of his favorite rooms.
Other rooms you'll walk through are decorated with "Star Wars" art, key movie moments, and themes.
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This room you walk through has LED lightsaber lights hanging down from the ceiling, representing the light and dark sides of the Force. A gorgeous giant poster for "The Rise of Skywalker" hangs behind them in a stairwell.
A living room space showcases toys, books, pillows, and more where you can sit down for a quick photo.
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The "Star Wars" saga on Disney Plus plays in the background. Dolby recently helped remaster all of the films for the streaming service.
Since 1977, Dolby has helped bring the sounds of the saga to life. For 1999's "The Phantom Menace" Dolby created digital surround EX to enhance the sound experience. When Disney and Lucasfilm worked on "The Force Awakens," the film was released in Dolby Atmos and Dolby vision to create a more immersive experience so you felt like you were right there during the lightsaber battles.
Make sure to spot the Thomas Kinkade painting of Kylo and Rey in the room before you leave.
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Below them are their respective "Star Wars" ships they use in the films. There's Kylo Ren's command shuttle and the Millennium Falcon, which Rey kind of inherits after Han Solo's death.
A virtual forest showcases 18 free standing screens.
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The monitors change from showing character posters from the newest film to iconic franchise moments from the franchise.
You'll want to stand here a while to see the screens go through a collection of the best lightsaber battles from each of the trilogies.
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The coolest one I noticed was the Darth Maul "Duel of the Fates" battle from "The Phantom Menace." The monitors played different parts of the same fight at the same time. Where else can you watch the battle like that?
Fans can pose with art throughout the exhibit like this giant mural of iconic "Star Wars" characters.
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I was told there will be some refreshments for purchase behind this mural so fans can sit down and take in the view.
It's no Baby Yoda, but he's a close second.
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Though you won't find Baby Yoda from "The Mandalorian" here, Bowling shared he was having his own miniature "Baby Yoda" 3D printed for the "Star Wars" premiere he's attending.
A second mural imagines each of the nine Skywalker saga films together.
Courtesy of Dolby
The gallery space mural is by Canadian comic-book artist and illustrator James Raiz. You can see more of his work here. Raiz previously made an "Avengers: Infinity War" mural for Disney which took him hundreds of hours to complete.
The main area fans will want to stop by is the Hypno Pod space for a photo opp.
Courtesy of Dolby
Two of Hasbro's black series lightsabers are waiting for you.
You're asked to choose the light side or dark side for a photo opp.
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You can then show off your best Jedi or Sith pose or moves and send a short video clip to yourself.
If you ask nicely, they may also let you pose with both.
Dolby, Crystal Cox/Business Insider
The image on the left is a still from the video clip Dolby will send to your email.
The two-level experience has more for fans to see downstairs.
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The red and blue lit area has a few items die-hard fans may love.
The art gallery showcases the red Sith troopers from the new film.
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Those Sith troopers were sent by Lucasfilm for the event.
Concept art and photographs from behind-the-scenes of the films also hang in the gallery space.
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One of my favorites is the photo of Natalie Portman out of character, laughing on set.
John Williams fans will want to stop by the DJ Lab.
Courtesy of Dolby
"For the first time, you can experience his score without picture, but with Dolby Atmos," said Bowling.
You can plop right down and listen to sounds from Williams' scores from each of the trilogies.
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There's no picture on the screen as Bowling mentioned, but the "Rise of Skywalker" logo is on display. It's a pretty "Star Wars" zen area.
Finally, if you've never been inside a Dolby Cinema theater, you can also pop into their intimate 26-seat screening room to watch the "Rise of Skywalker" trailer.
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If you've only seen the trailer on a computer screen or in a regular theater setting, I recommend popping in here to watch it. The scene with Palpatine at the end of the first trailer with Rey is much more clear than I've seen it anywhere else.
Before you head out, there's a booth upstairs selling Dolby shirts.
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They're not selling any "Star Wars" shirts, but depending on when you visit, I was told there will be "Star Wars" giveaways that include posters and other exclusive items.
"We have some exclusive artwork that was made for the Dolby Cinema release of 'The Rise of Skywalker.' We created these beautiful mini posters, so those are going to be available for people to have," said Bowling.
The "Star Wars" experience at Dolby SoHo is open from 1 p.m. until 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday until January 5. It's closed on Christmas and New Years Day.
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"I hope that they come here and it brings back a lot of memories for them," Bowling said of visitors coming through whether its with friends or families together remembering the franchise they grew up with for more than 40 years.
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