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This week in Q&A - License Renewals! They're hard to predict, but we can look at history. Spin-off movies - is there a new hope to be had here? Also is the 40th anniversary line done yet? Maybe. Maybe not.
And send in your questions for next week. Read on!
I wasn't sure what to make of Jyn Erso (Forces of Destiny) when it showed up, but it's pretty good. The "adventure figure" as Hasbro calls them stands well, can hold her accessories, and has pretty great articulation given what we usually see from dolls for girls. It may not be for you, but it's a nifty and largely well-made product. Read on!
Addendum - I neglected to note earlier, the movie was delayed to December 2019. Previously, it was late May 2019. Unless the Han Solo movie gets delayed as well - and I can't assume it won't - it would be the only Disney-era movie to be released in May so far.
In what can only be called a safe choice, StarWars.com posted the article J.J. Abrams to Write and Direct Star Wars: Episode IX. Colin Trevorrow was recently ousted from the film, one of at least four projects encountering significant upheaval in the Star Wars universe over the last decade. Surely there's a non-disclosure agreement keeping us from knowing the full details of what happened here - or Josh Trank's movie, or Star Wars Detours, or the Han Solo film which is supposedly coming out in 8 months and has no name or no trailer - but I look forward to eventually hearing the full story on this tumultuous era of Star Wars.
Coming with the first-ever figure scale blue A-Wing Fighter, Resistance Pilot Tallie is awesome. We think. We don't know what she does in the movie yet, but she's nifty with a non-removable helmet. I like her! I like her ship, too. Read on!
This week in Q&A - Big Walker Vehicles! They're a staple of Star Wars, but are we to see any this year? The Vintage Collection - soon to be a topic we won't discuss here, because it's kind of the same thing. Also Kylo Ren redux - are we getting too much of a decent thing?
And send in your questions for next week. Read on!
I had some time, so I threw up some more prototype pictures of the Landspeeder. Maybe you didn't see them, maybe you did, but here they are again with more angles. A panel for The Black Series was rescheduled from the web times, and I caught a livestream of it. As far as I can tell, there were no product reveals in the stream - so let's gawk over this Landspeeder some more!
I just snapped a few more (or better) shots of items the other day. Maybe you've seen these, but if not here's another look. (No, not another Luke.)
The Titan Hero Series Yoda is a great mishmash of his design from The Empire Strikes Back and the prequels, including his snake and cane from the Kenner era plus a lightsaber from the not-as-old era. I've felt that these 12-inch scale figures have been generally great - their only real shortcoming is my preferene for Original Trilogy-era characters, of which there have been precious few at this size. The production sample of Yoda looked so incredible that for $10, I'd strongly recommend everybody give him a good look when he hits stores in a little while.
Since a lot just came out, there wasn't a ton of newness in the 6-inch range at HasCon. Star Wars fans may drool over a Landspeeder prototype, unpainted and marked up with where the paint would go later. It's gorgeous. You can also see Snoke plus the Force Friday offerings, after the break.
You may have seen this from San Diego Comic-Con, but it was mobbed by people in a tight booth. At HasCon, there was more space between things, so you don't have to worry about being crushed alive from all sides while trying to look at an action figure. Also notable, many figures in the diorama were customized and a Luke Stormtrooper has an alternate, wet head. I was unable to find out if it's coming out or was just a thing for the booth, but the important thing tonight is that you can see it after the jump.
So there aren't any more new vehicles on display, but it's worth noting that the Wampa with Luke Skywalker is sized similarly to the recent Probe Droid with Darth Vader and Bala-Tik with Rathtar - and should be in that same assortment later, you lucky so-and-sos. I'm happy to see so much new stuff from The Empire Strikes Back, and the Wampa looks nice in particular. New figure 2-packs, including BB-8's dark friend, are there too.
Hasbro revealed a few goodies at SDCC already, but there are more items yet to show. Actually, this might be it for the year - I don't know, given how quickly the Han Solo movie will (allegedly) be released. The gamut of Force Friday II products were shown, but you've seen and hopefully already bought those. Here, you'll find new 2-packs, single figures, and newish creatures. No new vehicles were displayed at this event.
While there's not much here you haven't heard of or seen teased, it's worth a look! The Vintage Collection is back, and an exploded prototype of the Imperial Hover Tank shows an incredibly high piece count for the vehicle, which is sure to have a price to match. Snoke is here with his gold bathrobe and slippers, and massive head wound, and missing jaw chunk. Who does he think he is, Karloff? Read on for more!
HasCon is on in Rhode Island right now - but it's pretty much over for the day at this point. The morning greeted guests with 90+ minute waits for exclusives, but otherwise fairly few crowds. Traffic is brisk, seating is plentiful, and it's a genuinely pleasant show to navigate. And our coverage begins here with shots of some full-size props seen on the show floor. Toys and more are incoming. You'll want to keep checking back, particularly if you are on the west coast and bored at work on a Friday afternoon.
You have to squint, but user @maro254 posted a bunch of advance looks at HasCon on Twitter. Of note was a post showing the Star Wars area with some newness - you can make out the 3 3/4-inch Vintage Hover Tank, a bunch of cardbacks, and what appears to be a 3 3/4-inch vintage Snoke! Take a look - and we'll have more later.
