Back in 2010, Mattel launched a new line of dolls known as Monster High. To boost the popularity of their product, Mattel expanded the world of their “freaky fun” creations online with two minute vignettes about each character. It was an astonishing success, with Monster High quickly becoming a $1 billion brand. Seven years later, that format has been replicated with everything from fairy tale characters to superheroes. Now Star Wars is getting in on the action with Forces of Destiny, only without the high school setting.
From the official press release:
The highly-anticipated shorts, 2-3 minutes each, tell the untold stories that helped shape the destinies of Rey, Jyn Erso, Princess Leia, Sabine Wren, Padmé Amidala, Ahsoka Tano, and other Star Wars icons. Fans will also hear some familiar voices — Daisy Ridley (Rey), Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), and Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata, narrating the series) will all reprise their roles for the show.
First announced back in April of this year, the micro-series now has a set release date: July 3, 2017. Each short will appear on Disney’s YouTube channel at day at 10AM PDT until all eight episodes are available. Then, July 9 the entire series will be shown on the Disney Channel. A month later, on August 1, the Forces of Destiny swag — including dolls and books — will be available in stores. Now while this could be cynically seen as a cash grab, Lucasfilm Animation has committed to making sure the stories within Forces of Destiny are part of the Star Wars canon as much as the movies, comics, or novels. Everything in this micro-episodes is now officially part of Star Wars, which means, of course you have to watch it. It’s Star Wars law.