1. Dark Forces just got a remaster. I love that series. Any chance Hasbro will do a Kyle Katarn or an old Dark Trooper? Or anything else from the Jedi Knight series?
--Connor

Dark Forces also got easier to play on the MiSTer - so really, retro shooters are having a nice week. Due to the lack-of-canon of many games from that era I assume we'll probably not see a push for it, as the new guard seems to want to tell new, different stories and sweep the 1990s under the rug - or remix them. I'm a little surprised we haven't seen Kyle Katarn or Jan Ors or Mara Jade or some of the others show up in some capacity in the Disney era, but maybe they're keeping them on deck for later. We did get Thrawn and Ruhk eventually.

It's not something I see a lot of requests for these days, but we just got an announcement for Joruus C'boath and Luuke Skywalker, so someone over there may be looking at their molds and trying to see what might be worth bringing back. Maybe Cassian Andor's pants could make a nice Kyle. I wouldn't hold your breath, and you might be better off getting the 1990s The Power of the Force off-model Kyle Katarn and Dark Trooper figures if you don't have them already.

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2. I took note of the Acolyte pre-orders coming up and thought, "This is what Adam is often going on about, that we should have figures in hand just prior to, or upon, movie or TV show release." So I was pleased in that sense, BUT, not knowing any of the characters yet, am reluctant to pre-order before I get to see the show. Your thoughts on this offering and its timing?
--Ed

I think the timing was right for The Acolyte, if maybe a smidgen early relative to the hype for the show. This is what toy companies should be aspiring to - maybe we'll see these on-shelf when the show airs, which is when these lines tend to do their best. Playmates' Star Trek: The Next Generation took off when it was in syndication five nights a week around 1992 and 1993. Action figure cartoons like G.I. Joe, The Transformers, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles benefitted from ongoing adventures to promote those toys. The same was true of Power Rangers - and for some reason Star Wars doesn't get to enjoy the boost of being on TV with toys on-shelf all that much. If you've got a show streaming for two months, there's a good chance you're going to have happy fans ready to buy something and if the show doesn't stick the landing, waiting will cost you some orders. As to the offering? I think it is what it is - we'll have to see if they're holding back something cooler. Honestly the only way I'd buy the characters we'd see so far is 3 3/4-inch, preferably Retro, mostly because I do not want more Prequel-ish Jedi figures. I got plenty.

Hasbro frequently does the correct thing, although character selection means more than any sort of grand plan. These are high-quality nicely-designed figures that could be buy one get two free, and their success (thanks to the designs and recent track record of streaming shows) will be tied into how much everybody enjoys the new show and if people stick with the hobby. That's all out of Hasbro's control, because human characters are tough sells based on appearance alone. To prove my point: Boba Fett, Admiral Ackbar, Darth Maul, Captain Phasma, and a number of others sold well as some sort of sneak preview figure because they looked awesome and weird and cool, while The Acolyte has gorgeous figures that look like they could have been background characters in any of the prequels.

My hope is that whoever over there interprets decisions looks at this and sticks to this kind of roll-out. It is the completely correct move, but it probably would have done better with Obi-Wan Kenobi (beloved character, new bad guys) or any season of The Mandalorian or Ahsoka or The Book of Boba Fett where every alien, droid, and costume looks cool.

I've seen a lot of situations in life where a compromise comes together and you get what you asked for, but not what you want, and this is one of those times. I've mentioned regularly that I overheard plenty of fans in 2015 and 2016 say how they would buy "anything on a Vintage cardback" to Hasbro, and Hasbro absolutely lit up at that, and then the next wave we got was mostly repacks of at-the-time worth-under-retail Walmart exclusives from The Black Series 3 3/4-inch line. Fans got what they asked for.

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FIN

I've returned from the eat with tales of silks and spices and journeys on planes, trains, and automobiles - well, planes, train, and automobile - and I've got a ton of work to do now that I'm back at home. If you're not currently clearing some space on a shelf or doing some preemptive fundraising for HasLab, maybe you'll want to do that. It's not like April is a super fun month for outdoor activities, so get in on that spring cleaning and cash out on anything you've been meaning to sell, just to be safe.

If you're a fan of Figure of the Day, I picked up The Phantom Menace set at Target - which was showing up in decent quantities locally for $60 - and will be devoting May to it for the 25th anniversary of Episode I. I don't think any sentence has ever made me feel older. I wouldn't say they're perfect, but they're more Kenner-y in spots than a lot of the other new sculpt Retro figures and Queen Amidala shows a lot of thought went into her in terms of design that said "we really studied the old stuff" to make something a little bit better than some of the other new figures, many of which just aped Bespin Luke's pose.

I need to catch up on The Bad Batch - and a lot of other things - so if you'll excuse me, I'll be back next week. Just send in a question or two, as we're a little short.

Until then!

--Adam Pawlus

Got questions? Email me with Q&A in the subject line now! I'll answer your questions as soon as time (or facts) permit.

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