This article is a preview of WIRED magazine 01.16, our Star Wars special issue featuring J.J. Abrams, on sale from December 10 2015. Follow ourStar Wars: The Force Awakenshub page for all of our web, print and behind-the-scenes coverage.
Star Wars toys have always been big business. In 1977, the phenomenal toy sales around the first film caught everyone off guard -- not least Fox, which signed away full merchandising rights to George Lucas as part of his compensation package. (Lucas's faith in his vision paid off: Kenner, the original manufacturer of the film's toy line, was unable to meet Christmas demand and was forced to sell an "Early Bird Certificate Package", essentially an IOU.)
In 2012, Lucas Licensing placed total merchandising sales at more than $20 billion. "There's real cross-generational appeal," says Steve Evans, Star Wars design director at Hasbro, which bought Kenner in 1991. "You see 40-year-old collectors alongside four-year-olds waving lightsabers."
For The Force Awakens, Evans's team has designed scores of new toys -- more than 90 have been unveiled so far. The design process began over 18 months ago.
"We start off working very closely with Lucasfilm, bouncing ideas back and forth, always going to them for approval," says Evans, 42. "We get assets to work with so we can make sure the toys are aligned. But in terms of special previews? Nope. We're in line with the rest of you."
Initial development takes place digitally: "We have characters and props scanned in a 3D-scanning booth," explains Evans.
Once the look of the toy is agreed, each undergoes play-testing. "We 3D-print the full-size model straight from the digital file," says Evans. "This means we can give it to kids to see how it fits their hands."
Evans tips the Bladebuilders customisable lightsaber range as a likely best seller, but his favourite remains the traditional 9cm action figures. "I'm the father of two daughters,' he says. "And it's been exiting see them engage with Rey's figure."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
