As if yesterday’s Star Wars commercials weren’t enough, how about a giant, inflatable Darth Vader towering over your local Burger King? The same company that made the inflatable SpongeBob SquarePants balloons (many of which were stolen) is making the 9…

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith opens May 19, the marketing machine is churning (I saw my first Yoda hocking Diet Pepsi commercial today) and the media are swarming. Time features Darth Vader on the cover this week…

This is (supposedly) the last Star Wars movie, and Lucas is going to milk it for all that it’s worth. Whether he’s doing this to raise money for future products that are going to be more artistic and less marketable, or simply to line his pockets, I don’t know. Probably both.

I understand the film industry, like everything else, is driven by money, but the degree to which this film is being marketed is so over the top that I just find it a little sickening.