‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ toy line debuts via YouTube series New “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” toys revealed in the first installment of a fan-created “Go Rogue” series debuting today on the Star Wars YouTube channel include the LEGO Star Wars Rebel U-Wing Fighter and Hasbro's The Black Series Jyn Erso figure. Just in time for your holiday wish list, Disney and Lucasfilm today announced a very special way you can preview the new line of toys based on the first “Star Wars” standalone film, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” due out December 16. The new toys will be revealed via a series of fan-made, stop-motion, animated shorts starring the toys as the cast. The first short (there will be four in all) can also be viewed on the “Star Wars” YouTube channel starting today. More toys will be revealed in the subsequent shorts, which will be released throughout September. The #GoRogue merchandise (from Hasbro, LEGO, JAKKS Pacific, Mattel, Funko and the Disney Store) will be available Sept. 30 via retail outlets.
According to the official announcement, winners will be invited to Lucasfilm in San Francisco for a screening of “Rogue One,” and see their short story on the big screen. In today’s debut video (based on the storyline of “Rogue One feature film”), the toys try to track down the building instructions of the LEGO Star Wars Death Star set, which were misplaced by the Empire. # Star Wars Rogue OneOver the past month, the official Star Wars Youtube channel has been sharing a series of shorts to build excitement for the upcoming release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. All of the shorts were created with stop-motion animation, using the actual Star Wars toys that you can find online and on store shelves. SEE ALSO: Please don’t drill a headphone jack into your iPhone 7 Although the story doesn’t exactly mirror that of the spinoff hitting theaters in December, it does follow a group of toys as they search for the building instructions to the LEGO Star Wars Death Star set before the Empire can find it.
It’s incredibly cute, exceptionally well-animated, and, as of this Monday, officially concluded. You can watch all four chapters of Star Wars Go Rogue below: The Empire has misplaced the building instructions to the Death Star. Jyn Erso has followed an Imperial search team to the markets of Jedha hoping to recover the instructions first. With increasing pressure from Director Krennic, Jyn must join forces with the Rebels on Jedha to take on enemies of all shapes and sizes. Will they escape Jedha with the Empire’s building instructions? Or will Krennic’s Death Star be back on plan? In Chapter 3, the Rebels seek the second instruction book on rain-soaked Eadu, but the Empire has beaten them to the prize. Will they be able to outsmart the scheming Director Krennic to escape with the instructions and their lives? In the exciting conclusion, the Rebels must rely on their wits, courage and building skills to rescue one of their own from Director Krennic and escape with the LEGO building instructions.
The fate of the Galaxy hangs in the balance.LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles, also known as The New Yoda Chronicles., is a seven-part animated series that debuted on Cartoon Network on May 29, 2013 and May 29, 2014 on Disney Channel. It also includes an eleven-part "Mini Movie" web TV series that was released alongside the seven episodes. It was written by Michael Price, who had previously written LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace and LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out. LEGO Star Wars returns in epic style with THE YODA CHRONICLES, a thrilling, funny and action-packed new LEGO Star Wars story told in three animated TV specials! Set in the “Prequel” Star Wars timeline, THE YODA CHRONICLES stars the one and only Yoda—the Jedi Master who has seen it all, done it all, and taught generations of Jedi Knights—in an all-new adventure. With the help of a fresh class of Padawans, Yoda leads the Jedi in a desperate fight to stop Darth Sidious and his minions from creating a new super-weapon that could crush the Republic and win the war for the forces of Evil.
Lucasfilm Ltd. allowed the LEGO group free reign with developing the storyline. The team worked to make sure everything looked consistent if it would have been made with LEGO bricks, as well as adding humor to the story. The first three episodes were released on Cartoon Network between May 29 and November 27, 2013. The remaining four episodes were released on Disney XD under the title The New Yoda Chronicles between May 4 and November 23, 2014 since Cartoon Network owned the broadcasting rights to the name LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles. The first two episodes were released on DVD on September 11, 2013,[6] and the final four were released on DVD on September 15, 2015.[7] Several mini-movies have been released which tie into the series proper: episodes 4-6 tie into "Escape from the Jedi Temple".[8] The third episode "Attack of the Jedi" still misses a DVD release as of January 2016. The first three Mini-Movie episodes were released with the first three episodes. The later eight Mini-Movie videos tie into the later four episodes.
↑ 1.0 1.1 Cartoon Network Gets In Front of the Upfront (2013-01-28). Retrieved on January 29, 2013. ↑ LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary: Updated and ExpandedLong ago in a galaxy not so far away, selling toys was a lot simpler. Put a commercial on TV. Lure shoppers to Toys R Us. Today, it’s not so easy to attract the attention of digital-savvy kids and their parents, who are watching less television and more online programming. In a major departure from the usual movie/toy tie-in, Walt Disney Co. is heading to YouTube with an audacious marketing ploy to promote products tied to the upcoming film “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Disney, already known as a merchandising machine, will kick into hyperdrive for an 18-hour online marathon designed to whip fans into a frenzy. The event — mixing the power of YouTube stars with the oddly popular phenomenon of watching people open toy boxes online — underscores how mainstream entertainment giants are trying to adapt to the Internet and attract tech-loving young customers.
RELATED: The Lego version of the ‘Force Awakens’ trailer is astonishingly lifelike YouTube personalities around the world will be shown unboxing toys tied to the movie, and that will be combined with other content such as movie trailers and commentary. The online event will end 18 hours later. Disney is calling Sept. 4 “Force Friday” and will start selling the new Star Wars merchandise then. By heading online in this way, Disney is taking a page from the modern playbook of celebrities and politicians who have discovered the power of speaking directly to a target audience. The company is betting that its online extravaganza will create the same buzz as elaborate product debuts from the likes of Apple Inc. and Tesla Motors Inc. If Disney succeeds, it could inspire more companies to go digital first when launching products, experts said. But the Burbank, Calif., company also runs into the potential danger that its customers could tune out what is essentially a nearly daylong ad.
“YouTube is something which allows a brand like Disney to have a very elaborate and detailed and extended infomercial,” says James Dix, senior media analyst at Wedbush Securities. “TV networks really can’t do that. They can’t just turn over a channel for 18 hours to a brand.” That’s especially important as children increasingly gravitate toward tablets and smartphones instead of dolls and action figures, analysts say. Traditional toymakers have to scramble to entice kids and their parents, and Disney is simply going where they are. RELATED: Matthew McConaughey understands your ‘Force Awakens’ feelings too well “We have a mobile, on-demand society,” says Jason Moser, toy analyst at the Motley Fool. “Companies are utilizing technology in such a way that they can meet consumers on their own terms and their own timeline.” With YouTube, Disney can harness the growing appeal of unboxing videos, in which YouTube personalities remove gadgets, clothes or toys from their packaging and sometimes give a quick initial review.
YouTube said 1 in 5 users admits to having watched an unboxing video. Eighteen of the top 100 most-watched channels on YouTube globally are focused on toys and toy unboxings, attracting 8.1 billion views in the first quarter of 2015, according to Tubefilter. “Children love watching them,” says Jim Silver, editor in chief of toy review website TTPM. The most popular toy unboxers on YouTube, with handles such as DisneyCarToys and DC Toys Collector, rake in substantial revenue as viewers watch ads, Silver says. YouTubers have varied styles: Some show only the hands with voice narration, while others rely heavily on the charisma of the unboxers themselves. "It's almost like watching a show," Silver says. Josh Silverman, executive vice president of global licensing at Disney Consumer Products, said the company went the YouTube route partly because the unboxing phenomenon is "huge." "It's grown exponentially over the past few years," he says. "It's the perfect opportunity and marriage for us to take these Star Wars products and connect directly to fans."
Disney's digital marathon, which can be viewed on the Star Wars YouTube channel, kicks off in Sydney, Australia, on the morning of Sept. 3 (which, in Burbank time, is the afternoon of Sept. 2). A family of YouTube stars, known as Bratayley, will unwrap the first toy on live stream. That will be followed by other unboxings, staggered over the 18-hour stretch, from 13 other digital personalities, speaking their native languages, in cities including Tokyo, Paris, New York and Rio de Janeiro. In between, Disney will air other content, including observations from two hosts based at YouTube's sprawling Los Angeles production studio. They will show off the same toys as the YouTubers and also will chat with guest stars such as writers of the Star Wars books. Movie trailers and footage from recent Star Wars events will also air. The entire 18-hour event will also be streamed on Disney-owned ABC's website and mobile app. In addition, "Good Morning America" will broadcast the unboxing in New York live on its show.
The online showcase concludes in San Francisco at Lucasfilm with an expanded lineup of Star Wars merchandise such as apparel and accessories. Then, as Sept. 4 begins, retailers such as Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Target will open with shelves stocked full of Star Wars merchandise. The power of the Star Wars franchise should translate into good sales on the new product line, regardless of how the YouTube endeavor goes, analysts said. Disney is smart for trying to carve out another way to reach potential customers, analysts said, but there is a trade off. Although the company will be able to reach a global audience, they will likely attract a narrower demographic: kids who like unboxing videos and hard-core Star Wars fans. "This is definitely an effort to go for that generation that didn't grow up with Star Wars and is less familiar with it," Moser says. "They are reaching out to a much smaller window, plus the die-hard enthusiasts." RELATED: The Force is strong with Target's new 'Star Wars' ad
The YouTube personalities come from the network of Maker Studios, the digital media company that Disney bought last year for at least $500 million. The company, which is behind online hits such as "Epic Rap Battles of History," is one way Disney is trying to its reach younger viewers. Chris M. Williams, Maker's chief audience officer, says toy-related Maker content generates 1.5 billion views a month, mostly on YouTube. "Many of these artists got started by being fans themselves," he says. "That is extraordinarily compelling to audiences. They see it's made for them." The latest installment of the Star Wars saga won't premiere until Dec. 18., nearly four decades after the Star Wars brand began in 1977 with the first Harrison Ford-starring film. In addition to the six movies, waves of merchandise have kept the George Lucas space opera alive and also served to introduce the franchise to new generations of film buffs. Disney -- which acquired "Star Wars" producer Lucasfilm in 2012 -- is expected to expand the brand with the same merchandising zeal that has spun hit films such as "Frozen" into billion-dollar franchises.
Disney's products generate $40 billion plus from licensed merchandise sold each year at retailers. RELATED: D23 offers up-close look at BB8, Captain Phasma costume Roughly three years after the Lucasfilm deal was announced, Disney's strategy for the company is coming into focus. Besides a slew of films -- this year's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will be followed by several planned sequels and spinoffs -- the company has worked to integrate the franchise across its businesses. At the company's forthcoming theme park and resort in Shanghai, for example, visitors will be able to tour a Star Wars-themed attraction. Star Wars Launch Bay will allow guests at Shanghai Disney Resort to meet the heroes of the space opera, tour set pieces and view props from the latest film. Also, this month at the company's D23 Expo in Anaheim, the company announced it would build 14-acre "Star Wars"-themed areas for Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Fla. Even if Disney has a huge hit with YouTube, many experts are skeptical that the same formula can be repeated to introduce entirely new franchises or other, less-beloved brands.