NYCC 2015: Hasbro’s Star Wars Panel

It’s the season of Star Wars, and Hasbro’s new toy slate expands way beyond Force Friday.  Their NYCC panel broke down all the exciting new action figures waiting in the wings.

With a proven hit TV show in Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels, and a slate of annual movies set to hit theaters, Hasbro’s Star Wars team is facing a unique– but promising– challenge: there’s just so much source material to pull from in the Star Wars universe.  But the veteran toymakers are up to the task, developing a multitude of lines which incorporate The Force Awakens, Rebels, the Original Trilogy and more under the shared Star Wars umbrella.  The Hasbro Star Wars panel at New York Comic Con proved that not only is this beloved franchise in the right hands, but Hasbro’s team has their sights set far beyond the initial releases that hit on Force Friday.

The team revealed the next lineup of Black Series 6″ action figures, including a First Order Snowtrooper and Tie Fighter Pilot (to man the second seat in the cockpit of the incredible Black Series vehicle), as well as a Resistance Trooper, X-Wing pilot Ello Asty, and Domhnall Gleeson’s sinister First Order commander, General Hux.  Each figure’s digital sculpt was displayed, along with insight from the Hasbro team.  I love that they included the “Born To Ill” tag on Asty’s helmet, and that they confirmed the generic troop builder for the Resistance army actually had an actor model, so some random extra was lucky enough to be scanned and captured forever in toy form.  The other interesting thing to come out of the panel was how Hasbro’s team approaches soft goods on their 6″ figures.  Many people were curious about Hux’s sculpted coat, which seemed to break the trend of soft goods pieces in the Black Series, but the Hasbro team felt the firmer material would be the right way to go for the stiff, slick, methodical First Order General.

Back at San Diego Comic Con, Hasbro ran a fan poll for new characters to be added to the Black Series.  The winner ended up becoming plural– Knights of the Old Republic‘s Darth Revan and Rebels‘ Sabine Wren both scored so many votes that Hasbro opted to turn them both into toys, and the 3D sculpts were shown at NYCC.  Revan looks great, loaded with intricate detail, and he will employ a mix of PVC and soft goods pieces for his tunic and cloak.  The figure will also sport two lightsabers, one red and one purple.  Sabine will feature “a ton of deco,” replicating her paint-stained Mandalorian armor, as well as a removable helmet.  The design of this figure– like the upcoming Black Series Kanan– takes the animated character design and brings it into the more realistic aesthetic of the Black Series, and Sabine promises to be a truly outstanding figure.

Speaking of Rebels, another new figure in the 3.75″ collection made her debut at NYCC– The Seventh Sister, one of the new Inquisitors featured in Rebels‘ second season.  The figure looked great, a perfect rendering of the villain, and she will come complete with a Probe droid minion, gyroscipic lightsaber, and a removable face mask.  The Seventh Sister will join Captain Rex in the Rebels line, and Hasbro promised we will see more characters from the animated series in the future.

The panel also revealed the next wave of 12″ Epic Heroes, including a Tie Pilot, Rey (the line’s first female character), and BB-8, complete with snap-on attachments, which may or may not be seen in The Force Awakens.  Galactic Heroes– the pre-school Star Wars line– is also joining the Force Awakens zeitgeist, with upcoming figures including Kylo Ren, a Flametrooper, Rey and Captain Phamsa and Finn and Stormtrooper two-packs, and vehicle sets including Poe Dameron with his X-Wing, and a Tie Fighter with pilot.

Hasbro relaunched the Titanium Series on Force Friday with vehicles, but the die cast collection will expand with a line of mini helmets, including Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, a First Order and Imperial Stormtrooper, Darth Vader, and two unique X-Wing pilot helmets belonging to Poe Dameron.

Saving the best for last, the Hasbro team revealed their Force Awakens Han Solo Black Series figure, as well as a first look at the 6″ New Hope Princess Leia, who will feature a gown made entirely of soft goods.

Overall, Hasbro’s Star Wars panel let me with the impression that the sky is truly the limit for this line.  With at least six movies already set to hit theaters, in addition to the classic films, Rebels, and new Expanded Universe in play, the Star Wars universe is expanding exponentially… and it’s a great time to return to this galaxy far, far away.