Star Wars was the primary Lego license – 25 years later it’s stronger than ever

If you're a Star Wars fan, Jens Kronvold Frederiksen could have shaped your childhood.

As design director for the Denmark-based Lego company, he has designed Lego Star Wars sets for the past 25 years.

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

Frederiksen will not be the just one. Since 1999, fans have championed the license, snapping up the whole lot from Darth Vader minifigure keychains to $850 Millennium Falcon sets with greater than 7,500 pieces. The brand has also grown to incorporate half a dozen video games and a ton of animated content on Disney+. It also now has its own residence at Epic Games popular online gaming platform Fortnite.

The Star Wars license was the primary of its kind for Lego, which had never before created an official product line tied to licensed mental property. In fact, the Jar Jar Binks minifigure was the primary ever to feature a custom head sculpt rather than one in every of Lego's iconic round faces, Frederiksen said.

Meanwhile, Lego Star Wars has develop into a blueprint for the corporate's other brand deals – think Harry Potter, Batman and Marvel's Avengers.

“We developed themes, but we didn't always necessarily tie them into the deeper story,” said Jill Wilfert, head of world entertainment partners and content at Lego. “And I think for us, I think that's exactly what Star Wars did for us, as we saw how that opened up and how it really allowed people to stretch their imaginations in a different way and to express their creativity.”

Wilfert, who has worked at Lego for 36 years, said there were major concerns at Lego about third-party licensing before the Star Wars deal.

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

The Lego Star Wars collaboration came at a time of financial turmoil for Lego. In the early 2000s, the company struggled with high debt, strong competition from digital gaming platforms, and an overly diversified portfolio. Lego was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Strong sales of Lego Star Wars as well as Lego's own Bionicle franchise helped keep the company afloat while it reduced its product lines and closed non-core stores. In 2005, the company launched a Lego Star Wars video game.

“It was 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 Lego's best-selling brands and the company is seeing strong sales even in the absence of new theatrical releases for its product.

The privately held company provides insights into its balance sheet every two years. In March, Lego reported that sales rose 2% in 2023, while the global toy industry also rose Receipt 7%according to Circana.

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

Although this was a smaller increase than previous years – the company saw overall sales increase of 27% in 2021 and 17% in 2022 – Lego continued to gain market share in the toy industry. This is largely due to the fact that brands like Lego Star Wars appeal to multiple demographics and generations.

Lego sells sets at varying prices and difficulty levels, so kids can assemble smaller, less complicated models and re-enact scenes from the series, while hardcore collectors can build more detailed replicas of their favorite ships, helmets and movie moments.

The evergreen nature of the franchise is crucial. Lego draws on nearly 50 years of content to delight consumers of all ages.

“The most important thing for us is of course that these are children,” said Frederiksen. “The model should be really fun and creative and inspiring to play with, but it should also be a great building experience.”

That's why Lego allows some creative freedom with the sets it offers. For example, an Imperial Shuttle is almost entirely white. But giving customers a stack of white bricks would make it “inconceivable to seek out the pieces and wouldn't be fun to construct,” he said. Therefore, Lego offers some variations in the colors and details of the bricks.

Although Frederiksen no longer designs products, he still builds everything. It is important to him to see how the individual sets fit together.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the partnership between Lego and Star Wars and the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace, Lego is releasing numerous special sets. There's the TIE Interceptor model for $230, a Mos Espa Podrace diorama for $80, a Droideka model for $65, and new BrickHeadz characters for under $10 each.

“What we see a lot in real estate and in Star Wars, maybe more than others, is that families do it together,” Wilfert said. “Often you are first introduced to Star Wars through a parent. Their parents grew up loving Star Wars, and we just see that when we have things in our portfolio that allow for those connections and allow families to bond together, we really see the relevance of that.”

With new digital products like video games and Fortnite, Lego can appeal to younger consumers.

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

The Lego Star Wars brand has evolved to include more than just bricks and minifigures – it has become its own ecosystem, Southern said.

“The world of Lego Star Wars is a distinct identity within our entire company and that makes it very unique,” ​​he said.

Southern was at Lucasfilm when the partnership with Lego and Star Wars began. He switched to Walt Disney Company When Lucasfilm was acquired a decade ago, he witnessed the development of Lego Star Wars firsthand.

Part of this growth is the humor associated with the Lego Star Wars brand. This includes slapstick moments in video games and animated content.

“We've created an ecosystem and a tone of voice that allows us to do things that are ultimately a little bit cheeky and a little more fun,” Southern said.

And that humor has spread to other franchises.

“Star Wars, you know, allowed us to really open people's eyes to how Lego can bring humor and charm to a game [intellectual property] “That may not exist,” Wilfert said. “We’ve found that most IP owners are pretty willing to let us play a little bit.”

Between video games and animated projects, Lego has worked with franchises comparable to Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Marvel, Jurassic World and Pixar's The Incredibles.

But it began with Star Wars, which continues to grow.

“We took the passion that the fans and the kids have for this brand and took it into other areas,” says Southern said, noting that along with video games, Lego Star Wars can be present in publishing and even clothing.

The product variety and robust sales led Disney and Lego to increase their Star Wars contract until 2032.

“The relationship has become easier because there are people who have worked together on both sides throughout the relationship,” Southern said. “They are like family now. It’s very open, very collaborative.”

The long licensing lead time allows Disney and Lego to collaborate on long-term projects comparable to video games and animations, in addition to celebratory sets for vital anniversary milestones.

“We are celebrating 25 years of collaboration,” Southern said. “One of the things that is also very important is that we expect to be here in another 25 years celebrating the way we have evolved our relationship and made it relevant for generations to come.”