

Each figure came attached to a card-back that included the names and accompanying photos of all figures available for purchase. Kenner’s Star Wars action figures gave new direction to the consumer desire to collect multiple toys. The package also included a cardboard display for all twelve characters-encouraging buyers to order complete sets.Īn R2-D2 action figure issued for The Empire Strikes Back. The mail-in raincheck entitled the bearer to action figures that would not be available until the spring of 1978. In a true story that has become legend in toy marketing, Kenner actually dealt with a Christmastime shortage of action figures in 1977 by selling “Early Bird Certificate Packages” through toy stores. In fact, Kenner became overwhelmed by the demand. Their 3 ¾-inch action figures, created to be small and affordable, became a runaway success. After Star Wars creator George Lucas initially had trouble finding a manufacturer for toys associated with the movie, the Kenner Products toy company signed on. Second, in addition to reviving the genre, Star Wars fundamentally changed how licensed toys and memorabilia were created and marketed. The success of science fiction and fantasy movies in the 1980s and beyond owes much to Star Wars.
#STAR WARS IN SEQUENTIAL ORDER SERIES#
For instance, the planned television series Star Trek: Phase II was revamped and greenlit as Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).
#STAR WARS IN SEQUENTIAL ORDER MOVIE#
The unexpected success of the first Star Wars movie in 1977 inspired other production houses to rediscover space adventures as a bankable genre.

But by the 1950s, space science fiction appeared mostly in alien monster movies or as children’s television programming that was cheaply produced and melodramatic. The toys from Buck Rogers even have a holiday story of their own. Space adventures had found wide audiences in the 1930s through characters such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon that began in short stories or comic strips and developed through movie serials and radio programs. So in honor of all of those threes, here are three ways that Star Wars changed the entertainment business.įirst, in the late 1970s, Star Wars revived the marketplace for space science fiction as a genre. The newest trilogy, The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.The prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005).The original trilogy, Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and “ Return of the Jedi” (1983).Three sets of three sequential space science fiction films: So many things come in threes, even Star Wars trilogies.
