by Rin Yeo
We previously covered on how Star Wars has been a huge hit in Japan – from rice field art to theme airplanes, it seems that the fans of Star Wars simply can’t get enough of it! And as the Star Wars fever continue to rise, we take a look at some of the impact this franchise has on the world, and how it is going as international in the recent time leading to the new movie release.
In the countdown to the new movie and spinoff releases, the casts have also been revealed to include a wide range of actors and actresses – from Mexican-Kenyan Lupita Nyong’o to Chinese Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen, these can be considered to be a first in the history of Star Wars to have casts that are that diverse. Although their in-depth details about their roles have yet to been release, it has shown that there is the franchise is expanding it’s reach to a wider international crowd than it has been in the past.
At the recent Disney’s D23 Expo, it was also revealed that two Star Wars themed land will be built for two different parts – Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and another in Disney World, Orlando, Florida. Made up of 14 acres each, this will also mark the largest single themed expansion ever in the history of Disney. Each park will have two main attractions – The Millennium Falcon, where visitors can board and fly a ‘secret mission’, as well as a ride which puts visitors in a battle between the New Order and the Resistance from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In addition to that, characters from the new movies as well as the classic Star Wars trilogy will also be in-character in the parks.
Elsewhere, even food stuffs have been influenced as well, such as Campbells which features Star Wars characters on their canned soups and spaghettis. Here in Southeast Asia, Singapore and Malaysia have been getting in on the Star Wars fever as well. Over the recent SG50, icons representing Singapore characters had been remodelled from characters from Star Wars. Malaysia’s Royal Selangor, which is famed for their pewters, have also been hopped on the bandwagon and produced a pewter DeathStar, along with pewter figurines of Yoda and R2D2 (which were unveiled at the recent STGCC). Oh, did we mention they’ve also got a life-sized pewter cast of Solo in carbonite?
At the rate this Star Wars fever is going, we only wonder, how strong would this Force grow to be really?
