Despite Lucasfilm not releasing a Star Wars movie last year, toy sales for the franchise were up by an impressive 70%. In 2015, Disney revived the beloved sci-fi property on the big screen with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, an installment that introduced new characters and brought back old favorites. It was just the beginning of Disney's grand plans for the world of Star Wars. The studio released a movie every year from that point on through 2019, but following mixed responses to several of them, Disney took a step back from the film side.
This instead meant Disney would put more focus on television. 2019 also saw the premiere of The Mandalorian, the first live-action Star Wars series made for Disney+. It became a near-instant hit, with fans falling in love with the story of a lone bounty hunter protecting a powerful child. Baby Yoda, or Grogu, became the MVP of The Mandalorian, which aired its second season just last year. The Mandalorian's success has seemingly fueled a boom in streaming shows over at Lucasfilm, with a grand total of ten shows planned for the service in the coming years.
That seems to be a smart strategy for the time being, as The Mandalorian has helped keep the property alive elsewhere. According to CNBC, toy company Hasbro reported Monday that while their overall licensed content sales fell 12% in 2020 (to $1.08 billion), Star Wars itself was up by 70%. That this happened without a movie aiding those sales might seem surprising, but it's said that Grogu-related toys and lightsabers contributed to this boom.
If anything, this seems to cement The Mandalorian's place as both Star Wars' future and its savior. There were complaints from fans over how Disney was handling the Skywalker saga on the film side, and there appeared to be a noted downturn in interest for each new movie. At the same time, The Mandalorian earned back a great deal of fan goodwill thanks to Grogu, the compelling titular character played by Pedro Pascal, and season 2's ability to weave in elements from the greater universe. This includes the finale's surprise Luke Skywalker reveal.
When Grogu first made his debut on The Mandalorian, there were no toys to be found because Lucasfilm and Disney wished to keep him a secret. However, the demand was there. It makes sense that the second the merchandise was available, fans would flock to it. Clearly, Star Wars doesn't need movies to hold the public's interest, though those will return in 2023 with Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron. Before that, though, there will be plenty of streaming shows to keep audiences occupied - and toy sales thriving.
Source: CNBC
