The Star Wars franchise isn't just hugely successful at selling movie tickets. It also sells a whole heck of a lot of toys.
Last year, the official Star Wars YouTube account ran a global, 18-hour livestream on which they unveiled all the new toys based on The Force Awakens. That all led to "Force Friday," when all of those toys were released simultaneously all over retail stores.
This year will be a little different — and a little more clever. Disney is still showcasing toys on YouTube, but they're doing it through a series of short stop-motion films called Go Rogue. The first episode is online now.
The video was made primarily with new, as-of-yet unreleased toys based on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Like the six inch Star Wars: The Black Series Jyn Erso figure ($19.99, from Hasbro), the Orson Krennic Pop figure ($9.99, from Funko) and the Lego Star Wars Rebel U-Wing Fighter set ($79.99, from Lego).
All of the new Rogue One toys are scheduled to drop on Friday, Sept. 30. It doesn't sound like it will be quite the gold rush that Force Friday was (Rogue One is not one of the main, numbered Star Wars films, so it makes sense), but Disney is still making an event out of the whole thing.
The coolest part of the "Go Rogue" series: The videos are made by Star Wars fans who worked tirelessly to put it together. The series features more than 40 new toys, more than 300 shots, 20,000 Lego bricks and stop-motion animation that requires 10 hours of shooting to create just 6 seconds of video.
Most importantly, they hope it inspires other fans to do the same thing. For an extra nudge, they're hosting the "Go Rogue" fan-generated content contest, which you can enter between September 30 and October 21. The goal? Create a two-minute Rogue One-inspired video of your own. Conveniently, entries open the same day that all these new toys will hit store shelves.
The grand prize winner will win a trip for two to San Francisco, which includes a campus tour of Lucasfilm, a visit to Rancho Obi-Wan, a screening of Rogue One and the opportunity to see your fan-film premiered on a big screen.
Disney and Lucasfilm are well aware of just how obsessive the Star Wars fan community can be, and they're willing to shove it in your face with numbers. Last year alone, they say there were 106 billion views of Star Wars fan-generated content on YouTube alone.
But if you don't want to join that crowd and create new stuff? You still have lots of new toys to look forward to later this month.
Check out some more behind-the-scenes photos from the stop-motion film creation below
