Star Wars was the first Lego license — 25 years later, it’s stronger than ever

If you’re a Star Wars fan, Jens Kronvold Frederiksen may have haunted your childhood.

A design director at the Denmark-based Lego Company, he has spent the last 25 years creating Lego Star Wars sets.

“I went to my boss and said, ‘Hey, you need me on this product line,'” Frederickson told CNBC. “For me, it was a dream come true. Star Wars and Lego together, two things I love.”

Frederiksen is not alone. Since 1999, fans have rallied around the license, which includes everything from a Darth Vader mini figure key chain to an $850 Millennium Falcon set, which contains more than 7,500 pieces. The brand has also grown to include half a dozen video games and several animated content on Disney+. Now it also has its own home on Epic Games. Popular online game platform Fortnite.

The Star Wars license was the first license of its kind for Lego, which had never previously created an official product line involving licensed intellectual property. In fact, the Jar Jar Binks mini figure was the first to feature a custom head sculpt instead of one of Lego’s iconic round faces, Frederickson said.

Now, Lego Star Wars has become a blueprint for the company’s other brand deals — think Harry Potter, Batman, and Marvel’s Avengers.

“We were creating themes, but we weren’t always connecting them to a deeper story,” said Jill Wilfert, head of global entertainment partners and content at Lego. “And I think for us to really see that unlocked, and how it really allowed people to open up their imaginations in a different way and express their creativity in a different way, is I think the star. What the Wars Have Done for Us.”

Wilfert, who has been with Lego for 36 years, said there was a lot of trepidation at Lego about doing any kind of third-party licensing before the Star Wars deal.

“Once we saw how well it translated and how people responded to it, it really gave us more confidence,” he said.

The Lego Star Wars collaboration came at a time of financial turmoil for Lego. By the early 2000s, the company was dealing with high debt, stiff competition from digital gaming platforms, and a portfolio that had become too diversified. Lego was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Strong sales of Lego Star Wars as well as the Lego-owned Bionicle franchise helped keep the company running While it reduced its product lines and closed non-core businesses. In 2005, the company launched a Lego Star Wars video game.

“It has been extremely successful and continues to be successful today as a gaming franchise,” said Paul Southern, senior vice president of third-party commercialization and franchise development at Disney. “It created the world.”

Two decades later, LEGO Star Wars remains one of the Best selling brands for lego And the company sees strong sales even when there are no new theatrical releases associated with its product.

The privately held company provides biennial glances at its balance sheet. In March, Lego revealed that it Sales increase by 2% in 2023As seen by the global toy industry sales slip 7%According to Circana data.

The toy maker once again cited Lego Star Wars as a driving force behind those sales. LEGO Icons, LEGO Technic, LEGO City and LEGO Harry Potter also performed well.

Although this was a smaller gain than in previous years – the company sees total sales increasing by 27% in 2021 and 17% in 2022 – Lego has continued to grow market share in the toy industry. Much of this has to do with the fact that brands like LEGO Star Wars appeal to multiple demographics and generations.

Lego sells sets at different price points and difficulties, allowing children to put together smaller, less complex models and display scenes from the franchise, while hardcore collectors can purchase more detailed replicas of their favorite ships, helmets and moments from the film. Can make.

The evergreen nature of the franchise is important. LEGO can use nearly 50 years of content to delight consumers of all ages.

“Of course, the main thing for us is that it’s for the kids,” Frederickson said. “The model should be really fun and creative and inspiring to play with, but it should also be a great building experience.”

This is why LEGO takes some creative liberties with the sets it offers. For example, an Imperial shuttle is almost entirely white. However, giving customers a pile of white bricks “will make it impossible to find the pieces and will not make for a fun building experience,” he said. So, Lego offers some variation in brick colors and details.

Although Frederickson is no longer designing products, he still creates everything. It’s important for him to get a feel for how each set comes together.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the LEGO and Star Wars partnership, as well as the 25th anniversary of “The Phantom Menace”, LEGO is releasing several special sets. The TIE Interceptor model sells for $230, a Mos Espa Podres diorama for $80, a Droideka model for $65, and the new BrickHeadz characters sell for less than $10 each.

“We see a lot with the properties and Star Wars, maybe more than others, it’s something that families do together,” Wilfert said. “Often, your first introduction to Star Wars was through a parent, your parent grew up loving Star Wars, and we look to have things in our portfolio that allow those connections. “And allow families to connect together, we’re really seeing the relevance of that.”

With video games and new digital products like Fortnite, LEGO can connect with younger consumers.

“We’re trying to make sure we’re in relevant places where we know kids are spending their time,” Wilfert said.

Southern was at Lucasfilm when the partnership with Lego and Star Wars began. he moved on walt disney company When Lucasfilm was acquired a decade ago, they witnessed the development of LEGO Star Wars firsthand.

Part of that growth is the humor that has become associated with the LEGO Star Wars brand. This includes slapstick moments in video games and animated content.

“We’ve established an ecosystem and a tone of voice that allows us to do things that are ultimately a little cheekier and a little more fun,” Southern said.

And that humor has spread to other franchises.

“You know, Star Wars has really allowed us to open people’s eyes to how Lego can create humor and fascination for anyone [intellectual property] It may not exist,” Wilfert said. “We found that most IP owners are quite willing to let us play around a bit.”

Between video games and animated projects, Lego has worked with franchises such as Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Marvel, Jurassic World and Pixar’s “The Incredibles.”

But it all started with Star Wars, which continues to grow.

“We’ve taken the passion that fans and kids have for that brand and we’ve taken it to other areas,” Southern That said, along with the video games, LEGO Star Wars can be found in the publications section and even in apparel.

The diversity of the product and its strong sales prompted Disney and Lego to extend their contract for Star Wars until 2032.

“Relationships are easier because there are people who are doing both sides of the relationship,” Southern said. “They’re like family now. It’s very open, it’s very open, very collaborative.”

The longer license lead time allows Disney and Lego to work together on long-term projects like video games and animation, as well as celebratory sets for major anniversary milestones.

“We are celebrating 25 years of working together,” Southern said. “One thing that is very important is that we hope to be here for the next 25 years, celebrating the way we have developed our relationship and making it relevant for generations to come.”