How does a character on a screen become a toy people queue to buy? And how can something that starts as a souvenir become a business in its own right? Join us for a discussion about the business of merchandising through Star Wars, the space adventure that helped show Hollywood how big that business could get. From action figures and playsets to collectibles for adults, we’ll trace how Star Wars gave fans a way to bring its fictional world home, and kept finding new ways to do it for nearly fifty years. Along the way, we’ll unpack how licensing lets other companies turn familiar characters into products, and why those rights can be so valuable.

Then we’ll bring the story closer to home. What does Disney understand about turning characters into products people want to live with? How does Pop Mart build on that idea through brand collaborations, blind boxes and the thrill of finding a figure you don’t have? We’ll compare what makes people buy: affection for a character, clever design, the fun of collecting or the fear of missing out. We’ll also ask where the business can go wrong: how much merchandise is too much, and what would you make if you had the rights to a character people loved? You don’t need to know a single Star Wars character to join in. Just think of something you’ve bought because it reminded you of a story, a character or a world you wanted to be part of.

一个屏幕里的角色，怎么变成人们排队去买的玩具？一件一开始只是纪念品的东西，又怎么变成一门独立的生意？跟着我们来聊一场关于周边生意的讨论吧，从《星球大战》说起。这部太空冒险片，帮好莱坞看到了这门生意到底能做多大。从可动人偶和场景玩具，到给成年人玩的收藏品，我们会顺着看《星球大战》是怎么给粉丝一个把虚构世界带回家的方式，又怎么在将近五十年里不断找到新玩法。一路上，我们会拆一拆授权是怎么让别的公司把熟悉的角色变成产品的，以及为什么这些权利可以这么值钱。

然后我们把故事拉近一点。迪士尼懂什么，能把角色变成人们想一起生活的产品？泡泡玛特又是怎么在这个基础上，通过品牌联名、盲盒，还有抽到没有的那一款时的那种刺激感，往前走的？我们会比较是什么让人掏钱：对角色的感情、巧妙的设计、收集的乐趣，还是怕错过。我们也会问，这门生意哪里可能出问题：周边多到什么程度就算太多了，如果你手里有一个大家都爱的角色的版权，你会做什么？你不需要认识任何一个《星球大战》的角色也能加入。只要想想你买过的某样东西，因为它让你想起一个故事、一个角色，或者一个你想身处其中的世界。