Fans heading to Anaheim this month will get the chance to be frozen in carbonite. Announced during the Star Wars: The Experience panel at San Diego Comic-Con in late July, a new Carbon Freeze Capture offering will be previewed at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, giving attendees an early look at one of the marquee moments from a touring exhibition that opens next year.
Stepping Into The Chamber
The Carbon Freeze Capture gallery is built around a full-scale Han Solo in carbonite prop, flanked by two interactive stations. Guests step in and run their own carbon freeze sequence, producing a personalized image of themselves encased in carbonite in the style of the moment from The Empire Strikes Back. Concept art shared at the panel shows the chamber staged as a photo-ready set piece rather than a simple backdrop, with the interactive stations positioned to let two guests participate at once.
It is one of several galleries built around participation rather than passive viewing. Another section, called The Force Connects Us, uses RFID technology to track each guest’s choices as they move through the exhibition, unlocking hidden moments and evolving interactions along the way before culminating in a personalized finale. The design means no two visits produce quite the same journey.
A Fiftieth Anniversary Showcase
Carbon Freeze Capture is part of Star Wars: The Experience, an exhibition that will make its world premiere at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on February 13, 2027. The opening is timed to the global celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Star Wars, and the Comic-Con panel marked the first public unveiling of exhibit renderings, official key art and detailed gallery breakdowns.
Other galleries revealed alongside the carbonite chamber lean into the craft behind the saga. One walks guests through suspended fabric and projection while the voices and imagery of Star Wars costume designers surround them, leading to a display of key costumes and costume art that culminates with Padme Amidala’s red Throne Room Gown from The Phantom Menace. Another is anchored by a wireframe TIE fighter and drops visitors into the blueprint stage of Star Wars vehicle design, using edge-lit acrylic panels, early sketches and designer notes to trace how the saga’s ships came together. A separate section marks fifty years of Kenner action figures.
What To Expect At D23
Disney has not yet detailed how the D23 preview will be staged, how long the queue is expected to run, or whether attendees will receive a digital or printed keepsake from their carbon freeze. What has been confirmed is that the preview lands at the Anaheim Convention Center during the biennial fan event, which runs August 14 through 16. It joins an already dense lineup that includes the Disney Rewind concert, an Alan Menken show and a TVA experience.
Full details on the exhibition, including ticketing for the Philadelphia premiere, are available through the official announcement.
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