1. Do you think the most recent Haslab for the Cantina and it ONLY reaching 14,000+ backers (Unlocking Tier 2) in the final moments of the campaign speaks more to the selection of this project for Haslab and why it did not reach the numbers the Razor Crest & Ghost did OR more to the economic state of the hobby and people having less disposable income to tie up for 15-18 months for this item?
--Jeremiah

There were way, way too many variables for this one.

For the most exciting of answers, I don't know - but I could guess. Most HasLabs are about 45 days. This one was 30. Most HasLabs launch around a major convention so reporters can shoot the prototype and fans can see it in person. This one didn't. Most HasLabs don't have two options. This one did. It is possible Generation X attrition is kicking in and old-guard fans are less likely to show up for things, but I think a lot of people found that only one stretch goal figure was 100% new was off-putting as well. "Here's a $500 playset with 100 glasses and 6 figures, 3 of which you have if you're a long-haul fan" strikes me as a hard bargain. I bought it, but the fact of the matter is I have almost no excitement for most of the included accessories and over half of the included figures. I've got two Wuhers, two Nabrun Leidses, and a gaggle of Greedo.

There was a lot of confusion about what to get - the big one? The small one? Both? What kind of box does it come in? Fans don't know, and this kind of choice is confusing. If they do another large environment I would hope they keep it simple.

Also, for figure-based stretch goals, I think Hasbro should go back to keeping them secret. Why? Because now we want Arleil Schous. I always wanted one, but I thought it being Special Edition'd out meant we'd probably never get one - and if it wasn't a visible stretch goal I doubt fan would a) be wringing their hands over him, and b) there wouldn't be some true or untrue assumption that failed HasLab figures will never, ever be made. Fans would be happy to buy this figure. Heck, I would. If it was never revealed, maybe there's a chance it could be released without Hasbro having to field one or two questions from three or four grousing fans about it not being part of the big package.

There are going to be fans who can buy bootleg Tonnika sister figures, and it is unlikely that the hobby is dead. It's hard to know what reality is and how it will be interpreted - it didn't do as well as The Ghost despite arguably more fame among more funs, but also, we're still waiting for The Ghost to ship and I was hearing from a few fans who said they didn't even know the HasLab Cantina was happening. Not every fan lives in the bubble of Hasbro's streaming announcements, so I would say it's just bad for any HasLab to exist without a convention - but it might also mean the classic era may be dwindling. And if the classic era ends, how many of us need to stick around for Nothin' but Disney stuff?

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2. With the successful backing of the Cantina many TVC collectors are now expecting Hasbro to make aliens associated with the Cantina to populate it. 14,737 were sold and it seems like many people bought multiples to either open one and keep one in package or put up for investment purposes so I wonder how many of the 14,737 will actually be displayed and need figures to populate it? So is there really going to be enough demand to warrant creating these aliens to support the Haslab? Would retailers want to stock some obscure aliens when main characters of new media would probably sell better in their stores? Thank you.
--mark

We'll never know how many open their purchases, but one thing I do know is that collectors are old and slow. It took me about a year to open my Sail Barge, and then mine was missing the clear feet to stand up - Hasbro kindly had replacements for me, but that was the last time I waited more than a few days to open a HasLab. Other collectors have shared they still haven't opened one or more of their other HasLab purchases still, be it time or too much of an influx of new toys hitting. With that in mind, I assume there are tons of unopened Razor Crest ships out there from fans who just don't have the space to set it up, and the same will undoubtedly be true of the Cantina. That's not even considering "for investment purposes." Many fans buy toys for a day when they'll open them, and that day quite often doesn't come before "I need to get some money what can I put on eBay today."

If nothing else, the Cantina will make FOMO when it ships next year - so fan-made Cantina playsets may sell, as will the old cardboard pop-up diorama, and people will undoubtedly want some figures. Some fans will want the ones from the playset they missed, some will pull out their old ones, some will fill in the gaps, and anything new on-shelf will no doubt appeal to fans who will start thinking about Cantina stuff right now as the HasLab end. Hasbro knows there's a demand for more aliens, and at least one new (old) alien has been teased. Beyond that, I assume we'll be getting a Whitman's Sampler of reissues with a couple of fresh ones on top so fans don't know we're getting day-olds. (My wild guess: Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba will come back in some sort of multi-pack with 1-2 new guys.) They're going to make something to go with it - be it old or new, nobody knows for sure.

There aren't a lot of aliens fans are still demanding, especially not in groups. My guess is we'll see a few reruns, it would be great to see the other Duro though. Or Tzizvvt the fly, or Arleil Schous, or Melas, but I also don't know how full the Cantina will be for those who already bought all the figures. (Or how many actually bought all the figures over the years!) I wouldn't mind remakes of the Blue Snaggletooth figure, or "modern" takes on the Kenner Cantina quartet either, complete with Kenner figure-accurate outfits.

I assume fewer Cantinas are being flipped by dealers than Razors Crest, mostly because some people didn't make a killing on that one (and haven't made a return on the Ghost investment yet.) My hunch is that this one may be in shorter supply. But we'll see how it shakes out - especially if fans want one to open, a sealed regular one, and a sealed deluxe one, assuming the boxes will be different.

3. I don’t think this will get answered, and you may be tempted to block me for wasting your time with this question, but I sincerely want to know:

Who do you think wins in a beach volleyball match pitting Obi Wan and Anakin against Cody and Rex under the proviso that the Jedi don’t use their Force abilities?
--Derek

I'm pretty sure we'd all be winners. If nothing else I would love to see any depiction of sport in Star Wars beyond the sportsbar screens in Attack of the Clones and a single Pod Race. Quick, someone hack NES Super Spike B'Ball with Jedi and Clones in it.

...and yes I'm going to use this to segue to say Nintendo put out Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition last week, I picked up a copy Friday after work. It's pretty good - but if you are an NES kid, it's basically a rental. I assume if you gave it a weekend you'd unlock everything as I unlocked most of the challenges on the first day, and had little problem getting S-tier performance in every Zelda II challenge. What's particularly neat about it is that the American physical only comes as a deluxe edition. The $30 upcharge gets you a Switch cartridge, a non-working gold NES cartridge with sleeve, 5 enamel pins, and 13 box art cards. Given most enamel pins are $5-$10 on Etsy or a carded set at Target is probably close to $10, it isn't the worst deal. I'm glad it isn't $120 or $200 with some ridiculous statue or NFT I don't necessarily need, and at $30 this would probably be something you would play and go "yeah that's about right." If you bought NES Remix for Wii U or 3DS, it's a lot like that but with fewer challenges.

Unless it's a hidden unlockable, it does not contain Rad Racer or Tetris - and that was a core part of the original World Championships tour.

If you got that NES Classic Mini console a few years ago, you've got most of these games in their full glory, and you've probably got them in some form or another on your computer or Switch. It's not a toy, it's not Star Wars, but if you're the VHS generation of fans you probably had an NES connected to your TV too and are wondering "is this worth it?" I'm having fun with it as I write this, but I assume next weekend I'll have gotten an A++ or S on every challenge and be done with it. But, at least for now, I'm having a great time and I assume adults who have no time to replay their old games in full will find this a satisfying distraction for their next plane trip. And I admit, I'm struggling to do well in the Excitebike levels as that wasn't one I played much as a kid.

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The Acolyte and it was fine. I think it might have benefitted more from a Netflix-style dump, or at least two dumps, because the episodes as weekly affairs are pretty unsatisfying. On the other hand, I've been eating up Star Trek Prodigy season two and it's surprisingly great - the first season was slow to start, but also, the first 20 episodes were spread over 14 months. I don't think this kind of storytelling benefits from giving people a pause - love it or hate it, you should have been able to watch the whole thing in a few days if you really wanted. A show with real beginnings, middles, and endings works fine on a weekly schedule - especially if elements are repeated a few times. I don't think it spoils much to say that The Acolyte treads the same ground over (and over) both narratively and literally, and much like The Book of Boba Fett and Andor it feels like it's finally going somewhere - and then yanks you back. I don't think flashbacks are a bad thing, but if you're excited to see the story move ahead and you have to sit through more backstory? That had better be some amazing backstory. The Mandalorian was stingy about showing us flashbacks or even things like character names, and it kept it interesting - he was doing things, we were going places.

The future of the show is probably not going to be good given nobody is saying "...and we greenlit season two!" They cast some great actors who did their best to break through the serene bore that is being a good Jedi, gave us another awesome helmet, and also showed us the best lightsaber fights on the small screen - and possibly, third best ever - so far. If future fans give it a shot as a binge, I think it will gain converts. But also, I knew a lot of people who loved Andor and never finished it... but hey, you can buy the DVD for it in Walmart now, which I don't even remember hearing in the news.

Of course good or bad, fans will be cranky because anything new isn't what they imagined it would be, and keeping information from us just makes us crankier. I think we were better served as fans and hoarders of plastic when Hasbro had a focus on one movie for one (or two, or three) years, ensuring expectations were managed and it didn't seem like we were constantly in some sort of "chase" mode where the exciting new reveal is "guy you have, with slight armor change" about 20% of the time. The Acolyte does have a lot of great character designs that are not yet on the figure docket, and I think fans would be more apt to give it a chance if they had made a literal investment in the toys prior to the series airing. If I knew the vehicle names, character names, and such I wouldn't cry spoilers - but rather, I'd be happy to know "Oh that's who that guy is. Got it, thanks." I don't think any character appearing in any of the first 7 1/2 episodes would, in any way, spoil the fun - as long as the figures kept their helmets on. I hope Lucasfilm and Disney can get away from holding back figures for a year because of some ridiculous fear of spoilers. I remember the prequels - even the big Jango Fett figure spoilers didn't ruin the movie, but I will say it would be nice to make sure we don't get any removable helmets or severable heads in the first year of any action figure line. Other than that, make anything, you're only going to increase my curiosity by saying "so-and-so is in this and they look cool."

So what's next? San Diego Comic-Con is this week. Skeleton Crew is expected later this year, and I suspect we'll hear more about its date on Friday. Presumably we'll get a whisper about The Mandalorian & Grogu 2026 movie, and maybe some updates on Andor season 2 for 2025 and some news on more Young Jedi Chronicles, the toys from which are on clearance (cheap) at a store near you right now. Presumably Lucasfilm is hard at work on more animated projects, although I'm assuming the Droids movie and whatever form the Lando project would have taken are less and less likely every day. Prove me wrong, Star Wars Friday at SDCC, prove me wrong.

--Adam Pawlus

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