On the second day of Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), Hasbro revealed more than a dozen new Transformers and gave fans a peek at what was to come with the company’s Marvel and Star Wars panels — the panels did not disappoint. Hasbro announced more than 20 Star Wars: The Black Series and Star Wars: The Vintage Collection figures and more than a dozen Marvel Legends figures.
The highlight of the Star Wars releases was the crowdfunded Star Wars: The Vintage Collection Ghost from Haslab. The ship first seen in Star Wars Rebels is being brought to the real world ahead of Ahsoka, which comes out on Disney+ next month. This set features an exclusive Hera Syndulla action figure and a removable Phantom II shuttle. The shuttle is huge, with the capacity for at least 15 action figures. That’s not all, the more people that get the Ghost, the more you get! This endeavor needs at least 8,000 backers to happen, but as more people sign on, new characters, including Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, and Zeb Orrelios, get added to the set. Fans have until Sept. 6 to sign up!
“In every possible way, the reaction in the room (when the Ghost was announced) was amazing,” says Patrick Schneider, Global Marketing Director for Star Wars and Indiana Jones for Hasbro. “We started Haslab with Star Wars with the (Jabba’s) Barge, so much passion for that. The Razor Crest set a then-record …[For the Ghost] We’ve had more backers on day one than the Razor Crest did. So we’re on a great flight path just hoping this thing gets unlocked in the next few days and we’re all able to celebrate.”
The Star Wars action figure lineup is also full of excitement. New The Black Series figures from Ahsoka include Ahsoka Tano, Sabine Wren, R2-D2, and Hera Syndulla. You can also wield Ahsoka’s lightsaber with The Black Series Force FX Electronic Lightsaber, which features a white LED blade and features tons of sound effects, and comes with a stand to display it on!
Hasbro also announced its lineup of The Black Series holiday figures for this year, including a Mandalorian Scout, a Jawa with Salacious B. Crumb, a Snow Trooper, a Purge Trooper, and a KX Security Droid! These figures are covered in holiday cheer, decked in red, white, and green, dressed in costumes, and more!
“It’s a new way to look at things,” says Chris Reiff, Associate Principal Product Designer for Star Wars. “We’re always so serious and chasing which version of brown goes on that character to break that frame a little bit and jump into a whole bright color and fun world is nice.”
The Star Wars action figure lineup is also full of excitement. New The Black Series figures from Ahsoka include Ahsoka Tano, Sabine Wren, R2-D2, and Hera Syndulla. Hasbro also announced its lineup of The Black Series holiday figures for this year, including a Mandalorian Scout, a Jawa with Salacious B. Crumb, a Snow Trooper, a Purge Trooper, and a KX Security Droid!
The Vintage Collection releases also build up hype for Ahsoka, including Ahsoka, Darth Revan, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Sabine Wren, Imperial Officers, Pre Vizsla, and Chewbacca for Life Day!
Marvel’s lineup is equally impressive, with Marvel Legends figures for Rogue, Gambit, Storm, Wolverine, Magneto, Bishop, Lady Bullseye, Luke Cage as Power Man, Daredevil, Gamerverse Iron Man, The Fist Ninja, Clea, and Blade. Each figure is highly articulated and comes with accessories to highlight how cool the character is! The Lady Bullseye, Luke Cage, Gamerverse Iron Man, Fist Ninja, Clea, and Blade figures also come with Build-A-Figure parts to create the Mindless One figure! The lineup also includes a 2-pack of figures featuring Peter Parker on the job with his camera and Smythe!
Hasbro also offered a sneak peek at the upcoming animated X-Men ‘97 series coming to Disney+ with an action figure multipack! This pack featured 4-inch figures of Rogue, Storm, Gambit, Cyclops, and Wolverine, each with clip-on accessories!
This drop also brings window box packaging back to Marvel Legends, which currently uses a picture of the figure on the front of the box instead.
“We definitely heard from the community how much they wanted the window box packaging back,” says Dan Yun, Brand Manager for Marvel Legends. “We are super excited and I think the fans, at least who we’re talking with here, are super happy about it.”
Yun also gave a sneak peek into the creative process Hasbro uses to decide which characters will be given the action figure treatment.
“We really do check the forums, the fan pages, the reactions and if there are characters from movies that we haven’t gotten to and we see that there is a demand out there, we try very hard to bring it to the forefront to make it happen,” Yun says. “We know that Bruce Banner was somebody that needed an update. Some of our key people were like, “Yeah, let’s do that. I think now is the time.’”
All of the figures will hit shelves later this year or in early 2024! Action figure collectors are sure to be happy with these new drops!
