'Star Wars' Is Celebrating Force Friday Once Again

On Thursday, Disney and Lucasfilm released their plans for Stars Wars Force Friday II. The event celebrates a launch of new Star Wars themed products inspired by the latest upcoming installment in the franchise — Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Now that we've got that out of the way, it's time to ask the important question: When is Force Friday 2017? Star Wars's Force Friday is coming to a galaxy near you (aka your galaxy) on Sept. 1, 2017.

According to a Disney press release, brand new "toys, collectibles, books" and "apparel" will be available beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 1. Afterwards, there will be a weekend-long celebration of the Star Wars memorabilia. (And lots and lots of speculation about the impending film.)

Along with releasing a sneak peek of some Last Jedi packaging, Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media, had this to say:

"The first Star Wars Force Friday event was truly unique, uniting fans across five continents in an unprecedented global live unboxing event ahead of thousands of midnight openings at retail. We’re excited to confirm that Star Wars Force Friday is back for The Last Jedi. Plans for this year’s world-wide event are top secret but expect something befitting the excitement around the next episode of the Star Wars saga."

The first Force Friday commenced in 2015. Fans waited in long lines to get a hold of the new Force Awakens merchandise. The hashtag #ForceFriday was born as the line of merchandise was revealed in a live-stream, attracting millions of viewers. Now, it's time for round two.

So, what will the merchandise entail for this year? Details for the products won't be revealed until Force Friday II. The line will introduce new characters from the movie, as well as bring back favorite characters like BB-8 and, of course, the three heroes featured on the revealed packaging — Rey, Finn, and Poe. Just by looking at the artwork, details of The Last Jedi begin to emerge.

Take for instance, their hair and attire. Daisy Ridley's Rey now wears her hair half-up, half-down, instead of the buns she sported in The Force Awakens. Her articles of clothing appear to be different, too. Part of her outfit includes black, which could point to her identity as a Jedi. Then, there's Finn. His shirt seems reminiscent of Han Solo's garbs, and though he's still wearing Poe's jacket, it looks like he has now fully embraced his rejection of the First Order. Poe looks the same, but that's to be expected considering he's stuck with that uniform. Take a closer look:

Compared to this:

Like Samantha Lomow, Senior Vice President at Hasbro, said in the press release, “Toys play a unique role in the Star Wars universe." They bring the characters to life and add to the overall hype this franchise has become known and celebrated for, and they've been around since the first film premiered in 1977.

But expect this installment to outdo all its predecessors. Lomow added, "The new line for The Last Jedi is our most innovative yet, and we’re excited to unveil it on Force Friday II."

May the Force (Friday) be with us all.