If the Dec. 18 release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is akin to the Second Coming for Star Wars fans, think of Sept. 4 as the preceding apocalypse, when the true believers are tested and all hell breaks loose.
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That’s not to say that Force Friday, the date Disney launches its blitzkrieg of Star Wars merchandise that it’s been steadily building anticipation for for months, won’t be fun. When the numerous shops and online stores open for business at midnight, there will be something available for all types of Star Wars fans, from novels and compendiums to toys and clothing, almost all of it directed toward making you drool for more The Force Awakens tidbits.
Just as chaos and confusion ruled the galaxy after the fall of Palpatine (which, coincidentally, you can learn more about thanks to one of the books coming out this Friday), it’s going to be pandemonium at the end of this week, and naturally, it can be tough for a fan to plan how they’re going to tackle the event.
That’s where we come in. We’ve compiled a compact but thorough guide to what products will be available on Force Friday. So before you get trampled at your nearest retailer or attempt to force-choke your fellow shoppers, take a gander and see if you can avoid any messy confrontations by mapping out your plan of attack ahead of time.
Next: Disney's Crazy Idea for a Kickoff Event
The Insane Live Toy Unboxing
I’ve written before about how this event shows that even Disney has kind of lost its mind because of the Star Wars fervor, but hey, that’s part of the fun of being a fan.
So, to recap what this entails: The Star Wars YouTube channel will host a livestream of a “New Year’s Eve-style” event where various young Internet celebrities who barely anyone’s heard of will open the new Star Wars toys. They’ll be doing this every hour for 18 hours, starting at 5:45 p.m. EDT on Wednesday and ending at 11 a.m. EDT on Thursday.
Even though random people opening toys live on the Internet already threatens to send people into a catatonic shock of excitement, there’s an extra wrinkle in that each event will happen in a different part of the world. The first unboxing takes places in Sydney, Australia, and the last one at Lucasfilm’s San Francisco headquarters. In between, there will be events in 12 countries around the world, including Japan, Germany and Canada.
If you’re insane enough to actually follow this entire event, here’s the full schedule:
May the Force be with you. Be sure to take a bathroom break here and there.
Next: Toy Time
The Toys
This is the bread and butter of Force Friday. Disney clearly wants to rule the universe, so instead of building a Death Star, they opted for the more effective plan of commissioning a line of Star Wars toys that already have collectors foaming at the mouth.
Their scheme wasn’t perfect, though. There have already been numerous leaks of images of what the toys will look like, and even though the Mouse’s enforcers have worked to take them down, once something is on the Internet it never fully disappears.
You can find specific images of the leaks online, but for now, here are the products that we know are coming.
LEGO
First off, Lego is also putting out seven sets designed after vehicles from The Force Awakens. They include Rey’s Speeder, a First Order Snowspeeder, a First Order TIE Fighter, Poe Dameron’s X-Wing Starfighter, Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle, a First Order Transporter and the new Millenium Falcon.
Hot Wheels
Moving on to more vehicles, Hot Wheels will reportedly put out a line of figures including a duel pack of the Millennium Falcon and a First Order TIE Fighter. Other ships include one of the new X-Wing models, Anakin Skywalker’s Jedi Starfighter and the Ghost from Star Wars Rebels.
Funko Pop
Amazon accidentally leaked a series of photos of Star Wars Funko Pop figures that will be on sale. There are eight confirmed characters in all, including Kylo Ren, Rey, Finn, Chewbacca, C-3PO, BB-8, Poe Dameron, Captain Phasma and two First Order stormtroopers.
Hasbro
Think of all those other companies as Imperial generals and Hasbro as Darth Vader. We know who is really in charge of this Force Friday deal.
There was a massive disturbance in the Force when the company’s entire Star Wars catalogue leaked online recently, and you can head there to check out just how much you’re going to be in debt after this weekend. Everything from lightsabers to board games to nerf guns to action figures will be available.
But there are a few highlights. For one, Micro Machines, those models of vehicles and ships that fold out to reveal an entire scene, are making a comeback, including a Millennium Falcon figure that opens up into a scene on the planet of Jakku.
But many fans will be gunning for the company’s signature Black series of Star Wars figures, a line of 6-inch characters that have been wildly popular. For Force Friday, Hasbro is releasing a special Black Titanium series that focuses on the vehicles of the Star Wars franchise, from X-Wings and TIE Fighters to new crafts like Rey’s speeder.
As far as characters go, the Black series is confirmed to include Kylo Ren, Finn, Rey, BB-8, Chewbacca, and a First Order Stormtrooper. There will also be 3.75-inch figurines of those Force Awakens characters and others available as well.
Next: The Books
The Books
While the merchandise will dominate Force Friday, it’s important to remember that the event kicks off one of the most anticipated campaigns that Disney has in store. The Journey to The Force Awakens will feature the release of content designed to amp up hype for the movie as well as fill in the gaps as far as what happened in the galaxy after Return of the Jedi.
It begins with Chuck Wendig’s novel Star Wars: Aftermath, the first in a trilogy of books picking up right after the death of Emperor Palpatine. As we learned in the book’s excerpt, the Empire isn’t automatically dissolved after the death of the Emperor, leading to more fighting and war in the wake of the events of ROTJ.
RELATED: 5 Post-ROTJ Clues from the Aftermath Excerpt
If you’re looking for something a bit lighter, you have other options as well. Lost Stars, a novel by Claudia Gray, follows a Rebel pilot and an Imperial officer who are in love as they grapple with the turmoil of the galaxy following the events of ROTJ.
Meanwhile, the three leads of the original trilogy are each getting their own young adult novels. Smuggler’s Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure and The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure are set between Episode IV and V, while Leia’s installment, Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure, is set between Episode V and VI.
Finally, if you’re just looking for a coffee table Star Wars book, there are several compendiums coming out as well. Star Wars: Droid Factory will offer in-depth looks at the droids of the universe, including BB-8, while Star Wars: Ships of the Galaxy takes a look at the various spacecraft of the series, including some Force Awakens vehicles.
Lastly, if you need to catch up on various aspects of Star Wars, there’s Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, a collection of trivia and factoids.
Next: Star Wars Apparel
The Clothes
This is the haziest part of the entire Force Friday event, because while there have been a few leaks here and there about what to expect, much of it has been kept under wraps.
Obviously, from what has trickled out so far, there will be plenty of T-shirts focused on the new characters, specifically Kylo Ren and BB-8. There are several depictions of Kylo Ren with his lightsaber as well as flanked by First Order stormtroopers. And you can bet BB-8’s rotund frame will adorn a bunch of children’s shirts.
And yes, there will even be underwear styled after The Force Awakens according to these reports, so no item of clothing is exempt from Star Wars mania.
Next: Walmart Gets in on Force Friday
The Collectibles
You can find plenty of Force Friday items at numerous retailers like Target and Toys ‘R Us, but Walmart is offering a special incentive to fans to get them in the doors.
When nearly 3,000 Walmart stores open at midnight on Friday, they’ll give fans packs of hexagonal “trading discs” adorned with Star Wars characters. These are part of a game called “Galactic Connexxions,” and while it’s unclear how it’s played, the disc will be a Walmart exclusive.
The discs are designed by Topps, which runs the digital Star Wars trading card game. Every customer will receive two packs of playable discs. These packs may also include a “rare star field disc,” along with a “special redemption disc” that can be traded in for a gold disc and a “Star Wars room makeover.” There will also be family events the following day, on Sept. 5, where more packs will be distributed.
What does any of that mean? I have no idea, but the discs themselves look kinda cool. The question is, is it worth braving the scum and villainy of Walmart?