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If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to debut your Princess Leia/Elsa mashup costume, your day is about to arrive. For everyone else, October 4th will simply be one of The Walt Disney Company’s largest scale merchandise events in history, with products from both the Star Wars and Frozen franchises hitting shelves worldwide at the same time.
Force Friday has been a tradition since 2015, with each film in the newest Star Wars trilogy having a special merchandise release date prior to the film’s debut. The trend began with The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi merch was the subject of Force Friday 2, and now we’ll once again have one for Episode 9 — with a few big differences.
While previous Force Friday events centered on individual films, Triple Force Friday will offer merchandise from a number of upcoming Star Wars projects. Not only that, but it’ll be run in conjunction with another massive merchandise drop: the Frozen Fan Fest.
Along with products inspired by the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX, we’ll also see merchandise and collectibles released for a few other franchise projects — The Mandalorian and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The former will be the first ever live-action Star Wars series; Jon Favreau is leading the project, which will be exclusive to Disney’s soon-to-debut streaming service, Disney+. Fallen Order will hit shelves in time for the 2019 holiday season; it’s an action-adventure video game created by EA and Respawn.
As the Star Wars franchise can boast of some of the most devoted collectors in the galaxy, it’s safe to expect every item imaginable will be available at participating stores around the world. Exact details of what guests will encounter and which stores will be involved during the event will be revealed as Triple Force Friday gets a bit closer, but new products will be coming out up to Episode IX’s release and beyond.
Joining the Star Wars party will be the Frozen Fan Fest. Merchandise for the sequel to Disney’s hugely popular animated hit Frozen will also be debuting on October 4th. According to Disney’s press release, the Frozen Fan Fest will feature ” product reveals, musical moments, in-store events and much more.” Prospective purchasers can expect to find books, clothing, toys, housewares, and presumably everything else Disney can fit the Frozen trademark on. Although the event will officially take place on October 4th, fans can expect new products to be continually released up until and past the debut of Frozen 2.
In a press release, Ken Potrock — Disney’s President of Consumer Products Commercialization — said, “This is truly an epic moment for fans, families and retailers as products for two of the biggest-ever entertainment franchises hit shelves simultaneously. We’ll be working with our partners to create suitably spectacular celebrations for each, in line with the excitement and anticipation of the legions of Star Wars and Frozen fans around the globe.”
The same release also quoted Juli Lennett — Vice President, Industry Advisor for The NPD Group’s U.S. toys division — who remarked, “With Disney’s Frozen 2 and Star Wars: Episode IX both launching in the same year, it will be a notable time for the toy industry. If history is any indication of future success, both Frozen and Star Wars will be among the top-selling properties of 2019, just as they were in 2014 and 2015/2016, respectively.”
We will keep you informed as new product and event information becomes available for Triple Force Friday and the Frozen Fan Event.
Source/Images: Disney
