Disney and Lucasfilm on Thursday announced fans can get their hands on the toys, collectibles and other merchandise for Star Wars: The Last Jedi beginning on September 1. For fans of the franchise, it’ll be this year’s second most important Star Wars day aside from The Last Jedi’s release date.
Stores around the globe are expected to open at 12:01 a.m. that Friday to celebrate what will be a week-long event, which Disney and Lucasfilm have officially dubbed Star Wars Force Friday II. A similar event was held in 2015 to celebrate the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
As excited as toys and merchandise are, today’s news pales in comparison to the photo that accompanies the announcement. It might not look like much to most people, but for Star Wars fans, the empty box provides a first look at Rey, Finn and Poe as they’ll appear in The Last Jedi. And, yeah, that’s Rey wielding Luke Skywalker’s old lightsaber.
Some other small tidbits
In addition to wielding a lightsaber, Rey is also sporting a new hairdo, which may or may not have significance in the movie. Meanwhile, Finn is wearing the jacket given to him by Poe, along with a very Han Solo-esque shirt underneath.
We participated in the first Force Friday celebration by picking up a few toys from the movie. When new merchandise goes on sale later this year, you can bet we’ll be in line to check out what Disney and Lucasfilm have to offer.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi will hit theaters on December 15.