Tauntaun Sleeping Bags No Joke Anymore

Like a lot of Star Wars nerds, we went bonkers back in April when ThinkGeek announced it was releasing a sleeping bag modeled after the tauntaun from The Empire Strikes Back. Too bad the date was April 1, and the company was just pulling one of its annual pranks (hands up, who remembers The Shrinter?).

Well, turns out this one might be more than a prank after all. Given the crazy demand for its Star Wars merchandising fakery, ThinkGeek has started work on bringing the tauntaun sleeping bag to life — and if it happens, I know three kids and one toy-blogging dad who’ll be among the first in line to order some.

In an interview with LA Weekly, ThinkGeek PR guy Shane Peterman notes that “tens of thousands” of folks (me included) signed up to show interest in the fake tauntaun, adding that, if all goes well, “we’re aiming to have it available 
for the holidays, or at the latest, the 30th anniversary of The Empire 
Strikes Back next spring.”

Peterman also confirmed that ThinkGeek is working with Lucasfilm to get approval for a final design — no word yet on whether the viscera will make it through R&D, but here’s hoping the glowing-lightsaber zipper pull stays.

[LA Weekly via Consumerist]