WDW Radio has a great interview with former VP Dan Cockerell on how the concept for Star Wars Galaxy's Edge took a major change in both story and location.
Most interestingly, Cockerell confirms that original plans called for the Star Wars themed land to be based on the original movies - specifically Tatooine, and to be located on Echo Lake taking over the Indiana Jones Stunt Show and beyond.
You might remember way back in August 2015, shortly after the announcement was made that Star Wars would be coming to the parks, we had reliable information that the land would be built on Echo Lake - leading to this overview of the plans.
There was then some surprise in early 2016 when it became clear that the land would actually be built on the Streets of America and the backlot.
The WDW Radio interview also confirms that Kathleen Kennedy, the president of LucasFilm and protege of George Lucas, convinced Disney boss Bob Iger to switch the concept to the future stories, and not to use the original movies as the basis for the land.
Both the change of location and concept remain a controversial subject among fans. Many believe that Galaxy's Edge would have been far more effective if it used familiar stories and characters, and that the aging Echo Lake area would have been a better location, leaving the backlot available for a huge Pixar land to feature Radiator Springs and the much-talked about Door-coaster concept from Monsters Inc. The WDW Radio interview also reveals that Dan Cockerell, who at that time was the VP of the park, convinced Disney to abandon the Monsters Inc. coaster in favor of more family friendly attractions with lower height requirements.
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