The new Star Wars film, the first since the franchise was bought by Disney, is going to be huge. We know it, you know it and Disney knows it. And so does everyone else, judging by how much Star Wars-related stuff is popping up. We’ve seen little robots, custom game consoles, hats… we didn’t expect to find luggage added to the list of official merchandise though.
That’s right, Samsonite are bringing a series of bags (of all sizes) to market and South Africa’s on the list to get Darth Vader’s head on backpacks, travel bags, school bags and even pencil cases. The product list suggests that kiddies might be the target here but we’d be extremely surprised if a youngster ever lays a hand on these Star Wars-branded bags.
Though kiddies might be the intended targets here, fanatical parents and the prices should ensure that only adults will take Darth along on every occasion. The tiny little pencil case from Samsonite starts at R400, while the price climbs to R1,300 for the backpack and school bag. The bags with wheels and handles? Those’ll set you back R2,500 each. When will they arrive…? We have a vague date for the Star Wars collection’s arrival, of the end of this month, but no firm in store date.
We expect at least one of each of these to appear in Stuff publisher Toby Shapshak’s closet, where it will be used until Darth’s head comes off. Or sealed under glass for all time, it could go either way. Similar situations should play out in households all over SA.