Nobody wanted to make the Star Wars toys when Lucas/20th Century Fox was selling the idea in the 70's. Mattel and the other large toy companies turned them down (TV show toys made all the money). The only company that would make a deal was a small company named Kenner Products.

The deal struck between Lucas and Kenner was HORRIBLE for Lucas. For every $1 Kenner sold on Star Wars toys Lucas/Fox would have to split a Nickle.

It turned out to be a historic disaster for Lucas...

Flash forward to 1995 when Star Wars toy sales hardly sold, Kenner was bought by Hasbro and was running under new management. Kenner forgot to pay their $10k yearly licensing fee... effectively losing the contract.

Months Later Lucas announced the Star Wars Prequels creating a bidding war for merchandising rights that ended up being called "George's Revenge". Hasbro ended up winning back the rights... but this time with Lucas getting ~20%.

I'm not really doing the story justice... Watch "The Toys that made us" for the full details 🙂