When Star Wars was first released in 1977 the world of Luke Skywalker selfie sticks and R2D2 in-car phone chargers was a galaxy far, far away.
As was the idea that the brains behind the franchise George Lucas would earn far more from merchandising than the films themselves. Which may explain why 20th Century Fox allowed Lucas to forgo a $500,000 slice of his directing fee in return for keeping licensing and merchandising rights to himself.
Not that Rupert Murdoch, who bought Fox in 1985, is letting that stop him or his companies attempting to keep a piece of the action. Especially as his son James, who now runs Fox, has long kept a lifesize model of Darth Vader outside his office.
After buying the rights to show Star Wars from the 11 December until the new year, Sky Movies is offering subscribers 10 different Star Wars branded remote controls to find their favourite movie. This not-exactly must-have product is on sale for £24.99.
From Frozen to Star Wars, Monkey can’t help but be stunned by the force of film and TV merchandising.
