'Star Wars' toys scaled back for 'Episode II'

By Anthony Breznican
Associated Press

"Star Wars" fans have fewer products to choose from for "Attack of the Clones," which comes out May 16. Associated Press

"We've scaled it back a lot," said Lucasfilm licensing executive Howard Roffman. "We're going to stick to the basics — toys, video games ... the things our fans prefer, rather than some of the fringe items."

You won't see Queen Amidala's face on your Pepsi can this time or be able to relax in an Anakin Skywalker inflatable chair. Executives cut the number of products connected to "Attack of the Clones," which opens May 16, to fewer than 50 after releasing about 85 for "Phantom Menace."

About 20 "Attack of the Clones" action figures, priced at about $6, have been released so far. Highlights include bounty hunter Jango Fett and his horn-shaped spacecraft Slave I. There's also Jedi warriors Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, molded with magnets in their hands so they can use "the Force" to draw weapons into their grasps. For about $100, there's an 18-inch R2-D2 that moves by voice command.

Food-related promotions also are to be low-key, unlike 1999, when 8 billion "Phantom Menace" Pepsi cans were produced, and ads saturated TV.