Look at what Disney is doing with the Star Wars franchise

It should surprise no one to hear that Disney is planning an all new line of Star Wars based merchandise after the purchase of Lucasfilm. Unfortunately, there was never anything out there to suggest that the new merchandise would be any good.

There’s a few things that Disney does really well in the merchandising space. Anyone who has been to a Disney theme park has seen the vast oceans of products that all tie back to the guy with the big round ears somehow. There’s a few exceptions, and maybe it was only ever just a matter of time for those things. The Star Wars franchise had seen its fair share of Disney integration before the purchase. The Star Tours ride features a shop that sells everything from Jedi Mickey to a host of collectible pins that feature iconic Disney characters in Star Wars getup. Starting this year, however, that integration and merchandising effort is going to ramp up significantly.

Now, for better or worse, we’re about to get a whole lot of new Disney Star Wars gear.

The list of products Disney just unveiled for their Star Wars Weekends mashes all that is popular from Disney right now into a big melting pot and pours it into a Star Wars mold. You’ve got Chipmunks dressed as Ewoks, a ton of Star Wars Vinylmation figurines, and the entire cast of Cars done up in Star Wars outfits. If you’re looking for Darth Gonzo and Emperor Uncle Deadly figurines, you’ll even find Camilla the Chicken as a member of the elite Red Guard. Even R2-D2 can be found rocking a pair of mouse ears as he sits in a heavily Mickey themed Jedi Interceptor.

The only thing that didn’t seem to get a dose of the mouse is the stuffed version of Salacious B. Crumb that will be available during the Star Wars weekends.

This is just what Disney has managed to put together since the purchase of Lucasfilm. By the time the new movies are in theaters, there’s probably going to be some new additions to the Disney parks themselves. We may even see Star Wars show up in the new Disney Infinity game. While the Star Tours and surrounding areas of Disney have been regularly updated, most recently with 3D screens that require glasses during the ride, a whole refresh to support the new films wouldn’t be surprising.