[By Sudarshana Banerjee]
The LEGO Group and Lucasfilm have renewed their 12-year old Star Wars licensing deal that. We can look forward to LEGO Star Wars product and content development for the next 10 years, thanks to the new deal.
Jill Wilfert (Vice president, Licensing and Entertainment, LEGO Group): Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon that shares many characteristics with the LEGO brand–cross generational appeal, versatile story and character content, creativity and imagination—and we believe that we can continue to grow LEGO Star Wars for many years to come.
For 2011, Star Wars is the #1 property and #1 license for Boys ages 6 and older according to the NPD Group, and has been a top‑3 boy’s license for the last 11 years.
The LEGO Group first acquired the rights to manufacture LEGO toys based on the Star Wars universe in 1999. What was once considered a licensed novelty is now considered a core LEGO franchise, similar to LEGO CITY, and ranks among the company’s global top themes.
LEGO Star Wars continues to rank among the best-selling global toy lines, with in excess of 200 million boxes sold worldwide since its 1999 launch. More than 340 LEGO Star Wars models have been developed, as well as more than 425 minifigures.