Following reports that a Star Wars-based theme park is in the works, Disney started to drop hints at the recent D23 Expo.

At the fan expo, crates with Star Wars references were placed in an area dedicated to new attractions. One crate was labelled “lightsaber assortment”, while another featured a cutout of R2D2, giving the appearance the robot character had escaped from his box.

The crates were both addressed to Disney’s Imagineering theme park design group and had “Project Orange Harvest” printed on the side in a font similar to the Star Wars logo.

Disney acquired production company Lucasfilm in a deal worth US$4.05bn (3.11bn euro, £2.5bn) in 2012 and already has attractions based on Lucasfilm movies at parks in Anaheim, Florida, Paris and Tokyo.

Chair and CEO of Disney, Robert A. Iger has previously stated following the Lucasfilm purchase that "We have ample opportunity to expand the franchise in our parks,” and recently on a conference call announced plans for new attractions in Disney Land.

Disney is currently working on the movie Star Wars: Episode VII, with a further two films planned after that.