It has been announced that Lucasfilm Ltd has renewed its Star Wars licensing agreement with The Lego Group. The new contract will run for a further 10 years, meaning several more Lego Star Wars releases in the coming decade.
The original agreement was struck in 1999 and has proved lucrative for both parties. There have been many successful games produced, and dozens of Star Wars-themed collectors sets launched to market. The success of the partnership has encouraged similar arrangements for other popular IPs (such as Batman, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter).
Lego's VP of entertainment, Jill Wilfert, said: "It is very rare to find an evergreen property that delivers growth year on year in toys, even in years without events driving box office buzz, yet Star Wars defies all odds, continually reinventing itself, and our Lego business continues to grow exponentially."
Wilfert later added: "Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon that shares many characteristics with the Lego brand - cross generational appeal, versatile story and character content, creativity and imagination - and we believe that we can continue to grow LEGO Star Wars for many years to come."