'Star Wars' finishes with a toy/game flourish
By Mike Snider, USA TODAY
There's a new disturbance in the Force: an onslaught of Star Wars merchandise hitting stores this weekend.
Starch wars: Hasbro's Darth Tater Hasbro, Inc.
A squadron of action figures, life-size lightsabers and Star Wars-based Lego kits and games will be up for grabs. Some stores — including Toys R Us and Wal-Mart — are having special events tonight at midnight to unveil the tie-ins with Revenge of the Sith, opening May 19, the last movie in the saga that began in 1977.
Since then, Star Wars toys, books and games have sold more than $9 billion worldwide.
Maria Weiskott, editor in chief of Playthings magazine, thinks Sith excitement is the biggest yet. "There is all this pent-up demand, and from what I've seen, the movie is good. And it's the end. This is it."
This weekend also brings Sith-related books, clothing, paper goods and sweets. Darth Vader's visage will be everywhere from T-shirts and party favors to Corn Flakes boxes and Pepsi bottles. Even M&M's are going to the dark side, with Revenge of the Sith dark chocolate candies coated in black, maroon, purple, dark blue and silver. For moral balance, there's a Jedi mix: milk chocolate in beige, cream, pastel green, gold and blue.
The toys run the gamut from classic to quirky. A sampling:
• Anakin Skywalker electronic lightsaber ($20). It changes color from blue to red, depending on whether you want the light or dark side of the Force flowing through you. Also available (same price): an Obi-Wan Kenobi lightsaber with "Feel the Force" vibration, and Yoda's lightsaber with audio training tips.
• The Chewbacca action figure ($6). When you squeeze his leg, his arms raise up in a Wookiee rage. Other figures come separately or with vehicles, such as General Grievous' Wheel Bike ($20).
•Trivial Pursuit DVD Star Wars Saga Edition Game ($50). The 2,400 questions cover all six movies.
• Darth Tater ($8). Mr. Potato Head has been seduced by the dark side, too.
• Call Upon Yoda ($30). The foot-tall interactive animatronic doll moves and offers wisdom such as, "Aah ... the Force I sense in you. Teach you more, I can."
Says Eric Nyman of Hasbro, which makes many of the tie-in toys: "It's turned from a traditional movie and product launch into a pop-culture phenomenon."
With six weeks before the sixth and final ''Star Wars'' film saga, ''Revenge of the Sith'', hits theaters worldwide on May 19, the movie studios behind the brand have launched a massive marketing and merchandising campaign. It includes toys aimed at children, collectibles for adults active in fandom and other related merchandise such as science fiction novels based in the Star Wars universe.

The 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm studios make millions of dollars in licensing fees from toy manufacturers and promotional deals with fast-food restaurants, candy and cereal boxes. Even telephone companies are getting into the act. Cingular Wireless will be rolling out a ''Star Wars''-themed promotion and handset downloads within the next few days, according to a company spokesman.

Sales from ''Star Wars'' tie-in merchandise have brought in a lot of money over the years. ''Star Wars'' toy sales themed with ''The Phantom Menace'' brought in $500 million. In 2002, ''Attack of the Clones'' toy sales were $225 million, according to reports.

In January 2003, toymaker Hasbro struck the biggest licensing deal for the brand when it agreed to pay Lucasfilm $200 million in cash and stock for the exclusive rights to make ''Star Wars''-themed toys until 2018. That figure does not include Lucasfilm's percentage of the profit from each toy's sale.

Wal-mart and Target, the two largest toy retailers in the U.S. have entire aisles devoted to tie-in ''Star Wars'' action figures, full-sized mock ups of light sabers and other more whimsical items. Hasbro is even marketing a "Darth Tater" special edition of its classic Mr. Potato Head.

The merchandise also has a literary side. Author Matthew Stover has a monetization of ''Revenge of the Sith'' as part of a multi-book deal between Lucasfilm and publisher Random House's science fiction specialty label, Del Rey. Stover's book has consistently been in the Top 50-most ordered books, according to Amazon.com. Other ''Sith''-themed books released within the past few weeks include coffee table picture books and behind-the-scenes documentation detailing the making of the film.