Now that many venues have opened and public gatherings are becoming more frequent, the franchise’s sci-fi balm isn’t as necessary, but still just as vital, and Disney is leveraging its property in myriad ways. The full-length trailer for the new Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series debuted today ahead of its May 27 launch, with another series, Andor coming later this year, as well as season three of The Mandalorian. 

Why fans can expect more franchise-related “holidays” from Hollywood

Additionally, Spotify has launched its own elaborate streaming music tie-in with the day, and Apple used the occasion to post a mini-documentary called Behind the Mac: Skywalker Sound. The short film reveals the sound design process at Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Ranch, where many of the iconic Star Wars sounds (lightsabers, Wookie roars, etc.) were and continue to be developed. 

Not counting the toys, games, and now television shows, the Star Wars film franchise has amassed over $10 billion in revenue. But unlike Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or even the somewhat obscure Pi Day, what distinguishes Star Wars Day is that a company owns it. Fans are free to bake Baby Yoda cakes and dress up as characters from the films, but only Disney can issue greeting cards, license toys, posters, and t-shirts for sale, as well as any other content associated with the Star Wars brand.

In that way, Star Wars Day is potentially the most lucrative holiday of all, because the real revenue earned is all going to one place—Disney.

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