Disney Dreamlight Valley effectively combines two unbeatable selling points: cozy life-simulation gaming and Disney's sprawling assortment of legacy IP. In many ways, the gameplay of Disney Dreamlight Valley is nothing to write home about, and has even been criticized for being too derivative of its obvious influences, including Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, but its access to classic Disney animated films and Pixar characters make it an easy sell for countless fans, regardless of its flaws.

But like a lot of Disney projects, Disney Dreamlight Valley has a fine line to walk with its virtual memorabilia. As most informed media aficionados have long been aware, Disney is not only the proprietor of family-favorite animated films, but also Star Wars and Marvel properties—two franchises that are quite different from the likes of WALL-E and Monster's Inc. The media conglomerate has historically kept these franchises separate from its Pixar and classic animated properties, likely to preserve this tonal and stylistic distinction. This is the reason why Star Wars and Marvel characters appearing in the next Kingdom Hearts game is still a big question mark, despite the fact that countless other narratively distinct Disney brands have appeared in the crossover franchise. But in the case of Disney Dreamlight Valley, a unique opportunity to introduce these IP may have presented itself.

pixar-dreamlight-valley-game-rant
Related
Every Pixar Franchise Without a Character in Disney Dreamlight Valley So Far

With so many characters already on its roster, it's surprising how many Pixar films Disney Dreamlight Valley has yet to pull from.

2

Disney Dreamlight Valley's Floating Islands May Be the Perfect Venue for Marvel and Star Wars

Why It Might Be Hard to Incorporate Marvel and Star Wars in Disney Dreamlight Valley

It's not just that Marvel and Star Wars are tonally distinct from Disney's other properties, but the ways in which they are distinct. After all, Moana might be different from Toy Story, but they are both "kid's movies" at the end of the day: they both center on easy-to-understand themes and lack graphic content, both implicit and explicit.

Now, Marvel and Star Wars aren't Jodorowsky levels of complex by any means, nor are they as violent as flicks by the likes of Tarantino, but they are decidedly more severe and dark with their stories. These universes are defined by existential threats, with the heroes and villains both leveraging violence, up to and including murder, to achieve their goals. This makes them fundamentally different from the more pacifistic worlds of Disney and Pixar.

There's also the issue of crossover fatigue and shattering the illusions so central to narrative immersion. Lore may not matter so much for The Nightmare Before Christmas, but it does for something like The Avengers. Long-form storytelling is central to the superhero genre, as it is to space operas, so watching Spider-Man and Luke Skywalker interact with the likes of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck could be a bridge too far for many audiences.

Relegating Star Wars and Marvel Properties to the Floating Islands Could Be a Good Middle Ground

Putting Marvel and Star Wars characters, settings, and other iconography on the Floating Islands, or something similar to them, could negate, or at least assuage, the aforementioned concerns. Through this method of separation, the worlds of Marvel and Star Wars can remain intact and not "jump the shark," so to speak. After all, once Captain America starts crossing paths with Buzz Lightyear, it could be tough to walk back.

Such a method may not completely eliminate potential narrative, world-building, or continuity issues related to these IP. The difference between putting these characters in Disney Dreamlight Valley versus something like Fortnite is the inherently intimate nature of cozy and life-simulation titles: players will have to interact with key characters for low-stakes tasks, which risks trivializing their stories. But giving them their own space, away from the more thematically and tonally similar spate of Disney properties, could definitely be a good start.