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Disney will transform its Epcot landmark into the Death Star

For a few hours next week, the Spaceship Earth attraction at Disney World Orlando will herald the latest Star Wars film.

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gettyimages-epcottspaceshipearth.jpg

Soon, Spaceship Earth will become the Death Star.

Visions of America/UIG via Getty Images

If you squint hard enough, you can almost see the Death Star warship of Star Wars fame lurking within the familiar gleaming orb of Epcot Center's Spaceship Earth attraction. For a few hours on December 5, Disney's Orlando, Florida, staff will make the transformation complete for a limited number of media and fans.

Ok, ok. Disney -- which owns the Star Wars franchise -- isn't really going to redo the entire attraction, which is also one of Disney World's most enduring icons. Instead, it'll use digital projections to make the huge ball look like the evil Empire's weaponized space station in a bid to promote the latest movie, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."

Not to discount Disney's West Coast presence, the company said it'd also use the Orlando event to "share updates on current and upcoming Star Wars experiences" taking place at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The film premiers in Europe December 14 and in the US on December 16.