It's a strange new era of licensing Star Wars, with some of the strangest and newest things coming straight from the halls of Disney.   My pal Zac was at Anaheim's theme park this week and spied this new AT-AT Popcorn Bucket for $25.  He said it's about half of the size of a Kenner one and it's awkward and bulky - as you can see, it's a big toy with a hollow slot for a popcorn sack.   After years of novelty drinkware, it's certainly something new.

One good droid deserves another - the BB-8 (Droid Factory Line Look) is a newish mold!   He's bigger than Hasbro's, but the deco is different - not better, not worse.  Neither seems truly superior, but this one is bigger and a little bit more adorable thanks to the eye seeming to have more life in it.  Read on!

Not from Hasbro!  Disney's 2BB-2 (Droid Factory Line Look) is pretty slick and, for some reason, have the lettering backward.  Go figure.  It's a neat robot that looks kind of like a globe of Earth.  Read on!

Thanks to the great Shannon, we now know Anaheim Disneyland has the Protocol Droids!  2 for $21.95. cheap.   I've got a bunch of these (thank you Shannon!) and reviews will be going into Figure of the Day semi-irregularly, as often as I can.   If you're in Southern California, perhaps a trip to the house of mouse is due soon.

There are multiple styles and colors, but not every droid is available in every color.  As far as we know there are no new styles available from Orlando, but if you discover otherwise please let us know!

The glossy Vendor Droid (Black, Droid Factory) is available in Flordia now, and it's pretty sharp.  It's shiny, it's not something we've seen in a movie or TV show yet, and it looks like it could belong on the Death Star playset you'll probably never get.  But I digress.   Read on!

Check out the R2-C2 (Droid Factory)! Disney's take on Ziro's droid has different glasses, a different drink spigot, and uses that build-a-droid mold.   Hasbro has one too as an Entertainment Earth Exclusive, and I'd say just get both - Ziro probably needs a lot of drinks.  Read on!

The droid wars continue with R5-013!  This green robot has white stripes and is sold in a boxed set at Disney theme parks.  Read on!

Take a look at R5-S9 (Droid Factory), it's blue! The colors don't match the show perfectly, but it's also not an animated figure.  You can find this The Clone Wars-inspired robot at Disney theme parks in a 4-pack, and of course we're going to look at them all.  Read on!

Hey, it's R2-D2! This is sold on a vintage-esque cardback with C-3PO at Disney theme parks.  You've seen the mold before, but the dirt staining is new.  Read on!

A few months ago, Disney surprised us by releasing C1-10P "Chopper" - with tons of extra parts and articulation.  It's a The Vintage Collection figure in all but name and packaging!  The arm pops out. You can pop more arms in to his dome.  You can change out third legs... he has third legs.   It's great, get one.  Read on!

Variety has a big story on a bunch of new movie release dates from Disney.   Of particular note, the as-of-yet untitled Episode IX has been given a date of May 24, 2019.  For those of you keeping track, the as-of-yet-Untitled Han Solo movie is set for May 2018 (still), and that's only 6 months after The Last Jedi hits theaters in December of this year.  

We don't know exactly why they're changing seasons for Star Wars, although it might have something to do with getting the heck out of the way of Avatar sequels or positioning Star Wars to take over for Marvel, which may be undergoing a retool of its own.   Indiana Jones 5 was also delayed to July of 2020.

From a toy business perspective, this could actually be really good news for Star Wars fans.  

A few years ago we got a glimpse into a pretty cool Starspeeder 1000 from Disney, showing that they can make vehicles for the theme parks when Hasbro wasn't so inclined.  Now according to Jedi News on Twitter, it looks like they're going to do a Sandcrawler.  Start saving, it's going to be an expensive year for droid fanatics.

Secret #droidfactory playset coming soon to the #disneyparks With figure. Can you guess what it is??? #starwars https://t.co/Qkh1sPjjU4 pic.twitter.com/tEc6rUehw2

— Jedi News (@JediNewsUK) April 13, 2017

More!  It looks like D-23, Halloween, Christmas, and whatever season BB-8 represents will be getting more exclusive figures at Disney parks and events.  According to Vinylmation World, D23 will get R5-D23.   Halloween gets a killer clear green R3-B0017.   BB-8 will show up at Disneyland during D-23.   R3-H17 is this year's Christmas Day of the Robot.  Vinylmation World has more in a tweet.

Upcoming Astromech droids coming to Disney Parks #swco #disneyparks #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/ydlsOjxhjL

— Vinylmation World (@vinylmationworl) April 13, 2017

Adam gets another ulcer!   New Protocol Droid Factory announced at Hollywood Studios!   Vinylmation World posted some interesting stuff in the last day, including this tweet showing a new series of Protocol Droids launching, apparently, today!  Exactly how many and which parts are there remain to be seen, so if anyone can catalog everything available so we can beg friends to help us out, that would be greatly appreciated.

Build a Protocol Droid launches tomorrow at Hollywood Studios #waltdisneyworld #swco #StarWarsCelebration #disneyparks pic.twitter.com/tNapHwzRyy

— Vinylmation World (@vinylmationworl) April 13, 2017

Thanks to my pal Shannon once more, the droid R2-H16 is here in the office!  He's at Disneyland and other Disney parks now for pennies under $13.  He also has an all-new hat.  You won't want to miss this festive fellow, as he'll likely disappear from the parks before the new year.  Get yours, read on!