Force Friday II: Everything you need to know for Star Wars: The Last Jedi's product launch
Disney and Lucasfilm are pulling out all the stops this year, introducing a unique AR treasure hunt for fans all around the world
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Your support makes all the difference.Force Friday is like a second Christmas to Star Wars fans.
Back in 2015, Disney and Lucasfilm found monumental success in the original Force Friday, a full global launch of all the products for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with 150,000 people all around the world turning up for midnight store openings.
For The Last Jedi, however, things are stepping up a gear. Force Friday II will be a monumental three-day event taking place from 1-3 September at over 20,000 retail locations across 30 countries, all embellished with a brand new augmented reality experience accessible to anyone with a smartphone.
Do you want to meet the adorable Porgs face-to-face? Well here's your chance, as the AR treasure hunt allows you to interact with both The Last Jedi's new and returning characters.
All you need to do is download the official Star Wars app, then visit any one of the 20,000 participating retail locations to find any of the 5 different standees. Each includes a Find the Force logo that you can then scan using the Star Wars app.
That will unlock one of the AR characters, who'll appear in the room with you, allowing you to take photos and record video with them. Each standee features three unlockable characters over the three days, with 15 in total.
Larger locations (such a supermarkets) may contain all 5 different standees, while other locations may only include one; several websites will also include the scannable logos, so a little detective work will make it easy to unlock all 15 of the characters. You can find a full list of participating retailers here.
Each character will be added to your collection on the app, alongside a bio that may help fill in a few little details about The Last Jedi. You'll even be able to meet two brand new characters that haven't been seen in any of the released footage so far: a new kind of stormtrooper, and Snoke's Praetorian Guard.
You can even share photos and videos with the AR characters on Twitter or Instagram using #FindtheForce and #Sweepstakes for the chance to win tickets to the US premiere of The Last Jedi in December.
Force Friday II runs from 1-3 September, with The Last Jedi product line launching globally at 12.01am on 1 September. However, if you download or update your version of the Star Wars app now, you can get an early look at the Porgs in an AR experience by scanning the Rey icon on the right. You can find out more info here.