Hasbro is seeing a “significant broadening” of audience will for its Star Wars-related products, leading the company to deepen its line of premium Black Series collectibles and ready one-time promotions in the run up to the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi film in December, executives said last week during its pre-Toy Fair conference with financial analysts.

Among other moves, the company will field new titanium Black Series figures and an “early bird” package featuring a six-inch Black Series Darth Vader figure that’s designed to mark the 40th anniversary of Kenner Corp.’s famed IOU certificate program – in which Kenner during the pre-Christmas 1977 period shipped to retail empty action figure boxes that contained a certificate that could be redeemed after the New Year, because it couldn’t keep up with overwhelming demand.

The new introductions follow Hasbro’s sales of Star Wars-related items being “down slightly” in Q4 ended Dec. 31, leaving the company with increased inventory at the end of the year (Inside Licensing Feb 6). Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner didn’t disclose sales projections for Star Wars products, but maintained that the company’s “template” for the franchise will be “incredibly similar” those of the prior two years.

Overall, Hasbro expects sales of its licensed brands – Star Wars, Disney Princess and Frozen, Sesame Street, Yo Kai Watch, among others – to account for 25-28% of total revenue in 2017, flat with a year ago, company officials said.

Meanwhile, Hasbro’s internally-developed Hanazuki YouTube series, which launched in January, will take a “lifestyle first” approach to licensing in initially focusing on publishing and apparel, Simon Waters, General Mgr. and SVP for Entertainment and Consumer Products, said. There also will be digital stickers and a Bluetooth-enabled mood band that will be tied to a software app. The series of 11-minute episodes have received 55 million views on YouTube since January, company officials said.

Hasbro also is gearing up for a licensing push behind the Transformers: The Last Knight (June 23) and My Little Pony (Oct. 6) films. Chinese film company DMG Entertainment also will launch the first Transformers live-action attraction in Shanghai later this year featuring real-life robots and a 5,000-seat theater, company officials said.

For My Little Pony, Hasbro has “locked up” an apparel collection with a “global retailer and expects the first toys tied to the film to hit the market in August, said Tyla Bucher, VP and Franchise Lead for My Little Pony.