1. So, I do try and steer clear of the why not this toy or that toy questions. But, hey, it’s the new year. Why not a 6” T-16 Skyhopper? I do remember the old 3-3/4” version from long ago. But, this is one of the few in-movie things that would almost translate into a prop and toy in 6” scale.
--Dan

The Skyhopper wasn't the best seller back in the 1990s, and also, it's quite tall. Given the Landspeeder - a more recognizable vehicle - went on clearance, Luke's toy model might be better served as an in-scale prop accessory for Luke to play with. It would probably be sized and priced similarly to a TIE Fighter too - and the 2015 one we got was around $160. With 9 years of inflation, I assume a decent Skyhopper - without a figure - would probably be at least $200. I wouldn't say it's a non-starter, but without big Disney+ support I don't think Hasbro would make something that big (even for HasLab.) It would be neat, though.

Since you got me talking, I'd love to put my thumb on the scale for a Bantha in 6-inch (or retro, either way.) I don't know if it would be a massive success but a 6-inch Bantha would get be pretty excited.

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2. I agree with you that Mandalorian is Disney's crown gem in their current roster of shows. While Hasbro has released a line of Vintage Collection figures from each of their Star Wars series to varying degrees of success, it makes no sense to me why they have either not gone all-out or at least placed greater emphasis on producing more Mando-related figures.

While I didn't think Season 3 was quite up to par with the first two seasons, the VC figure possibilities are rich (Mando-Gideon, Imperial jet-troopers, mecha-spider creature as deluxe figure, etc.) I'm surprised that we haven't heard of any new Mando figures.

Moving forward, do you think Hasbro is going to focus on releasing VC figures from other upcoming Star Wars-related shows and hold off until the recently announced Mando movie or do you think there is there any hope for some Season 3 goodness?
--Joel

I think Hasbro really wants to deliver the biggest and best opportunities for sales, not understanding that it's not the big guys that drive collecting, but rather, the promise of weird stuff. Do we need every last alien and character? Probably not. But I guarantee you I would never have collected all the Lukes and Hans and Leias in the old days if there weren't also Niktos and Klaatus and Ewoks and other oddballs.

I'm surprised Hasbro doesn't have a Mando-specific assortment of toy figures focusing on Mando, Grogu, and all their friends and enemies after four years, but it's possible its moment has passed. Everything is spread so thin for each and every movie that it feels that anyone looking for a satisfying collecting experience is unlikely to find it, with one or two figures per wave in each scale (excepting Retro, with their glorious themed waves.)

Normally I would expect Hasbro to backfill previous seasons' characters 12-18 months after the episode aired, or at the beginning of the next season. We're not seeing much of that. I don't know if it's a lack of confidence or transparency from Lucasfilm, but clearly, the shelves are not packed with Mando-verse characters. Except maybe that 6-inch Client figure at Walmarts in some areas.  People do want to buy this stuff.

I'm really curious if we're going to see anything specific to new season 3 characters. They had some great guest actors and none of them have toys yet - and if we get them, I would assume they'd appear in The Black Series first unless Hasbro is monitoring the secondary market prices of so many Disney+ era figures hit $10 or below on the secondary market. I know it's not everything, but it's a good yardstick of seeing if people care or not.  Once your product is 50% off, the fans don't care. The Vintage Collection seems to be faring much better overall, but the deluxe program seems to be hitting clearance at many stores because fans just don't see the value in a closed-box $30 figure that probably should be $15.

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FIN

Right now, more than anything in the world of Star Wars collectibles, I want a tell-all book on all the unmade projects. We were told of 3 new movies coming last year - 4 if you count Lando - and now we've got The Mandalorian & Grogu from Jon Favreau. Which is not the Dave Filoni-directed movie we were told about last year, apparently. There's just so much unmade stuff like 1313 and Detours and I think there are now as many unmade movies as there are actually finished movies. The hype and merchandise were massive, as opposed to now where you can get dozens of episodes (live action and animated) and I'm talking to more and more people who don't even finish them. (Counting the kiddie shows and non-canonical ones, I guess I include myself in this mix too.) With soft release dates on all streaming shows, seemingly random announcements for movies, and stuff getting swept regularly under the rug, it's a weirdly unpleasant time to be a fan despite so many new things.

With The Mandalorian, a movie is one of the few instances where I might say a prequel could be an exciting opportunity. It might get people who haven't seen the show interested and hopefully on board. I've talked to many fans who haven't finished (or started) season 3 yet, which is sort of baffling to me because I'm not sure what else people are watching instead. Suits?

I assume a Mando movie is and was always the safest bet, because the last Indiana Jones movie from James Mangold wasn't a slam-dunk, and a Rey movie... the sequels did not exactly leave mysteries to obsess over. I walked out of that last movie with the feeling of "We killed all your heroes, and made sure the new ones were locked out of continuing adventures between films, now grow up." Mando is low-hanging fruit, with a cost (and an opportunity.) Toy licensors have not exactly gone out of their way to make all the cool aliens, troopers, droids, and ships from the shows from which he appears - without a severe costume change, people may not give a rip about a new figure. Given Disney's massive, astonishing spoiler-phobic product launches perhaps Hasbro, LEGO, and everybody else will get an opportunity to put out a Force Friday with lots of cool toys on-shelf for kids and fans to buy from the series, if not the movie, but I'm probably being a bit too hopeful. Seeing that the Ahsoka kids line was basically the title character in multiple sizes (with - credit where it's due - a better showing in the collector lines than we've seen in years), I don't expect the man in the silver bucket or his little green friend will get much in the way of new costumes to make new toys either. From where I sit, the best we can hope for is a massive celebration of the streaming show ay move time because I don't think Disney ever wants to put out product people want on a launch date. (Yes I'm still confused as to why Han Solo wasn't on-shelf for Force Friday in 2015. He was in the trailer. Cash in already.)

Given this The Mandalorian and Grogu movie is a unique announcement in that it actually has a title, maybe it will actually see production. I want to be excited for Star Wars again, and I admit I had a great time rewatching The Book of Boba Fett a few weeks ago. (Even though running drugs through a small city on a far-off planet makes zero sense.) Hopefully they have a good script and hopefully Disney doesn't do something self-sabotaging like stick to any sort of plan to end the Mando-verse era, which seems like a largely under-explored corner of the galaxy. Heck, they went to another galaxy entirely, thus continuing to leave the one we were already enjoying under-explored.

--Adam Pawlus

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