'Force Friday': 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Season Begins New Toys And Surprises

Very early projections for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" have been massive. A Morgan Stanley analyst was expecting a $1.95 billion global box office haul for the film franchise's seventh installment, but based on the surprise success of "Jurassic World," that number could be even higher. While the movie is slated to open December 18, fans are already getting their first crack at "Star Wars" with the release of new toys. "Force Friday" kicked off the global launch of new merchandise connected to the first "Star Wars" movie in a decade.

"Star Wars" merchandise is a multibillion-dollar empire, which is why Kylo Renn, Finn, Poe Dameron, Rey, BB-8 and Captain Phasma will be nigh inescapable this fall. Macquarie Securities analyst Tim Nollen estimated $5 billion in consumer sales in the first year alone for merchandise tied to "Star Wars: A Force Awakens." In some ways, there may be too much emphasis placed on the marketing of "Star Wars," complete with an 18-hour unboxing live stream of toys, but Disney purchased Lucasfilm to be in the "Star Wars" business, after all.

Fans will not have to worry too much about spoilers as Disney and Lucasfilm are timing merchandise based on when new information or trailers get released. “We’re working closely with Lucasfilm and Disney to ensure that the Hasbro toy line hitting stores on "Force Friday" brings all the excitement of the film to fans of all ages, while still saving some surprises and characters for the near future to preserve the wonder and surprise of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' as it’s meant to be experienced," Jerry Perez, senior vice president of global marketing for Hasbro, said in a statement.

Before there could be a "Force Friday," Hasbro had to develop the toys. Disney, Lucasfilm and Hasbro spent years on the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" merchandise. "It must have been at least a year or two out before now where we've been working on the project and identifying really exciting areas to build out," Jeff Labovitz, global marketing director for Star Wars at Hasbro, said to International Business Times. "What I love most about the opportunity is that it gave us a great chance to put a new twist on our toy and game lines to really modernize it and have something for everybody." Collecting "Star Wars" is close to a 40 year hobby for some people and the new toys continue that tradition.

Labovitz said the technology and digital era allowed the team to begin earlier on "Star Wars" while pushing innovative features. Nowhere has that been more apparent than BB-8, the droid that's captivated audience since it rolled out in the first "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" teaser. "BB-8 has already emerged as a front-runner with the amount of buzz around it," Labovitz said. "It's so magical, it's so 'Star Wars' where you have this rolling ball while the head stays stationary, just like in the trailer."

For Hasbro, part of the challenge was figuring out which characters to focus on, but Labovitz said the latest "Star Wars" movie addressed gender and diversity issues with its strong cast and characters such as Rey, Finn and Captain Phasma. Kylo Ren is the villain in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," but he'll be a hero for Disney and Hasbro as his mask and toys are sure to be among the most popular items.

"At Hasbro, we feel 'Star Wars' is for everybody. From Princess Leia in the original trilogy to Padme in the Prequels to Sabine and Hera from 'Rebels,' it's had a great history of very strong female characters. We're thrilled that's infused in all the new entertainment," Labovitz said. "We saw very early BB-8 could be special, because characters like R2-D2 cut across all different types of consumers. There's a phenomenal cast with Daisy Ridley (Rey) and John Boyega (Finn) and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron). Of course, we're hopeful and expect Kylo Ren to be the lead villain in the fantasy franchise. He's certainly got a dark history."

New toys were expected be released throughout the fall and after "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" hits theaters. While Labovitz can enjoy "Force Friday," the respite will be a short one. The plan to have a new "Star Wars" film in theaters each year will mean a constant stream of toys and merchandise. "We're shoulder-deep or even deeper in development, we're always thinking about the future. It's an exciting time to be in 'Star Wars.'