Star Tours 2.0 In 3D Arriving in 2011

Update: New Video of the Star Tours II 3D footage that was shown at the expo below.

The eventually arrival of Star Tours 2.0 was worst kept secret over the last few years. From artists at Lucasfilm talking about their work to Anthony Daniels reporting he was recording new lines, no one really denied anything. That Star Tours would be updated was pretty much a given. What wasn’t known was would it be 3D? And which parks in the US would it open at? (Budget crunchers at Disney World were rumored to be against paying for the project.)

Today at D23 Jay Rasulo announced that a new 3-D version of the tremendously-popular “Star Tours” attraction will debut at the Disneyland Resort and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2011. The attraction will include immersive new elements that will take guests to many familiar places in the Star Wars galaxy. I guess that answers both questions.

The above concept art is from an exciting scene from the new Star Tours. Guests aboard Starspeeders will join in a high-speed pod race through the desert canyons of Tatooine. A portion of the 3D footage was shown at the D23 expo today.