The Star Wars franchise has been everywhere recently, what with The Force Awakens trailers, Pez dispensers, the Rebels cartoon, that old smoothie getting his own comic book, those cancer-causing drinking glasses, the toys, and your officially licensed “Dark Side” footed pajamas. Until now, however, that hasn’t been literally true. You can’t just look in any direction and trust that you’ll see Star Wars stuff.
Actually, thanks to Disney, now you can. All you have to do is keep your smartphone plastered to your face. Variety brings word of the Star Wars App, which promises customizable aggregation of Star Wars news and social feeds, so that you can be notified of any tweets from Kylo Renn, blogs about Bossk’s jumpsuit, or if somebody belches like the Sarlaac Pit.
The app’s 3D augmented-reality features will be unveiled at Comic-Con International, which kicks off tomorrow in San Diego. By pointing their phones at special posters, app users will be able to interact with either a sleek First Order stormtrooper or cuddly FIFA-bot BB-8. Special limited-edition posters will be distributed to attendees, so that they never again have to return to the shabby malaise of unaugmented-reality.
But the app isn’t just about getting tweets and trailers. A “Force Trainer” game will up your lightsaber skills without all of the intensity of that Jedi Cross-Fit class being offered down at the YMCA, the “selfie” app will insert you into Star Wars settings, and a GIF library will finally remedy the internet’s dearth of Star Wars-themed GIFs. Local weather forecasts can be amended with galactic-commentary; “This Day In Star Wars History” promises to align every calendar date with something that happened in Star Wars (we’re assuming this refers to the historical production of the movies, and not some conversion process that translates the Coruscant Standard Calendar into our Gregorian system); and a catalog of instantly-recognizable sound effects will allow you to “Pew! Pew!” your way into the hearts of fellow commuters, coworkers, and family members.
The app is free and currently available on Apple iTunes and Google Play. May the Force (Trainer) be with you.