September 1, 2017 | Force Friday II is here and toymakers are celebrating with the launch Star Wars-themed toys tied to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, hitting theaters on December 15.
“The creativity seen in the new toys coming out ahead of Star Wars: The Last Jedi is extremely impressive while the thoughtful range of products has appeal to male and female fans of all ages,” notes Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of The Toy Association. “The debut of these innovative playthings combined with the December release day of the new movie should make these ‘must-have’ toys of the holiday season.”
The Star Wars Effect is Real
In the U.S., Star Wars was the No. 1 toy property based on the 12-month period through July, with sales totaling $618 million, per The NPD Group. Prior to that period (ending July 2016), the industry saw an “unprecedented” $947 million of Star Wars-related toy sales, aided by the first Force Friday event and the box office and DVD release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
“While none of us know if Star Wars Episode 8 toy sales will match Episode 7, I think it is a possibility,” says Juli Lennett, senior vice president and U.S. toys industry analyst at The NPD Group. “The diehard adult fans and collectors will be back. And there are more younger fans today than there were two years ago, as new kids have been brought into the magic of the Force – this could mean higher sales to that segment of the market than two years ago,” with action figures, building sets, and vehicles as the top-benefitting toy super-categories.
Sean McGowan, toy industry consultant and managing director of investment relations firm Liolios Group, says that Star Wars is probably “the movie-related license that has the biggest impact on toy sales.”
The Star Wars property is “very rich and open to a lot of expressions of play patterns,” McGowan says. “Action figures and accessories are obvious, but the robots lend themselves to tech and science products. BB-8, for example, and R2-D2 can be good RC toys, which wouldn’t really be the case if they weren’t robots. There are flying vehicles, which opens up the drone category. And the sheer number of movies and characters makes it possible to introduce multiple versions of any toy that would work. Some of the characters work as plush, too.”
The following are just a few examples of the many Star Wars-related toys being unveiled for Force Friday:
Star Wars Hero Droid BB-8 (Spin Master) is a 16-inch robot with built-in voice recognition that can be directed either by voice commands or a 2-stick remote control. BB-8 also has the ability to come when called and reacts to key phrases and names from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Set the droid to “follow me” mode and it will roll beside fans just as loyally as it would follow Rey or Poe from the movie.
Young Padawans can choose to follow the Dark Side or the Light Side with Hasbro’s Star Wars Bladebuilders Path of the Force Lightsaber. Attach a Jedi connector piece and automatically activate blue light effects, or simply switch the connector piece to battle with a red Sith blade. The Star Wars: The Last Jedi First Order Stormtrooper Voice Changer Mask allows kids to pretend to battle as a First Order Stormtrooper through an electronic mask that amplifies their voices with the push of a button. Or kids can put on the Black Series Poe Dameron Electronic Helmet and “take flight” as skilled X-Wing fighter pilot Poe Dameron. The helmet features surround sound speakers that amplifies X-Wing and Tie Fighter vehicle sounds and transmits communications from sidekick BB-8.
Fans can build their own R2-D2 droid with the littleBits Droid Inventor Kit. Using littleBits’ electronic blocks and a free Droid Inventor app, kids can teach the R2 Unit new tricks, such as Drive Mode, Self-Nav, or Force Mode, or listen to one of 20 authentic R2 Unit sounds from the films. Kids can customize their droid with the included six bits, 20 droid parts, and three sticker sheets. The electronic blocks and droid parts can be reconfigured in different ways to create brand-new droids. The app also includes challenges to promote kids’ creativity by using household items to customize the droid.
LEGO’s Star Wars Resistance Bomber (9-14) lets kids join Poe, Vice Admiral Holdo and other Resistance fighters as they set out on daring raids aboard the Resistance Bomber. The 780-piece set, complete with five miniature characters, will enthrall fans with hours of building and fun.
Funko is also putting its spin on the Star Wars characters with Star Wars: The Last Jedi line of toys that includes collectibles, plush, wobblers, mystery minis, Pop! Pens, water bottles, lanyard, and, of course, its popular Pop! figures. Kids can collect Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker, and BB-8 as well as new characters like Snoke and Porgs from the upcoming movie.