Rumor: Hasbro to introduce Episode VII Falcon?

Falcon for China Toy FairJedi Temple Archives is hinting that something “Big. It’s Massive. It’s Freaking gigantic” that is “sourced to Episode VII.” And it may be introduced at SDCC. Naturally we expect Hasbro will be making an Episode VII Millennium Falcon toy (since we’re pretty sure it’ll be in the film,) but does this mean it could be the first toy out of the gate for the movie? The first toy to be revealed? Or will we be seeing something in the vein of the the life-sized Falcon built at the China Toy Fair?

Okay, so it’s probably just a toy reveal, but let’s indulge in some overthinking: A Hasbro Falcon would be a big toy, but I’d hesitate to call it massive, even for a reveal. And a life-sized Falcon would certainly make an impression on the con floor… Not to mention the marketing budget, San Diego not being Shanghai, and the movie will still be more than a year away come July. Maybe for SDCC 2015? (Parts of the Shanghai one could be reused, and shipping overseas is doable, but U.S. safety regulations may be another matter entirely.)

In any case, as reveals go, it’s probably one of the few things they can show us without giving too much away too early.

In other rumors floating around this weekend, Zac Efron knows nothing, and there’s apparently some dude on Reddit (totally solid!) that claims he was told Episode VII will be shooting some scenes at the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

Up close with Hasbro’s Black Series Mara Jade

Black series Mara Jade (Yakface.com)

Yakface has posted a look at the new Black Series Mara Jade figure in their Toyguide. I’m afraid the 80’s hair isn’t much better in these pics.

Black series Mara Jade (Yakface.com)Black series Mara Jade (Yakface.com)Black series Mara Jade (Yakface.com)

There’s a hefty gallery that gives you a good look at the figure… We’ve already gone over our disappointment over the catsuit, but how does the new figure compare to the previous ones, in your eyes? They provided a picture to compare and everything:

Mara Jade figures from 1998, 2007 and 2013 (Yakface.com)

The previous figure are from 1998, left, and 2007, center. Thanks to Yakface for permission to run a few of the pictures – head over to their gallery for many, many more.

UPDATE: Yakface has an easy fix for the, ahh, head issue.

New Hasbro line gives action figures a growth spurt

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Since we’ve had every other sort of announcement lately, I suppose some toy news was inevitable.  USA Today got the scoop on Hasbro’s new Black Series, so named because the color somehow inspired their designers.  (It reminds me of Jim Beam bourbon, but to each his own.)  The big change here is that the line will contain a few 6-inch figures, in addition to the traditional 3¾-inchers.  Never before has six inches been considered such an enormous upgrade.

Hasbro hopes the new line will appeal to both new buyers and adult collectors, which makes sense since the larger figs are priced significantly higher than the regular ones.  They’re supposedly quite detailed and articulated, but I remember reading that the original Clone Wars line (based on the Tartakovsky series) didn’t sell because they weren’t the same size as the normal figures.  Have times changed?  Or are the clearance racks about to get a whole lot more crowded?

Droid Factory line canceled: What will happen with the Jedi Mara figure?

There have been rumors swirling around the collecting site last week that the Droid Factory line was canceled… And now it’s been confirmed. Why is this relevant to us? Well, the Mara Jade Skywalker figure we were sorta/kinda excited for was part of that line, which means we won’t be seeing it this spring.

Hasbro’s release says that many of the Droid Factory figures will become part of a new line for the fall – hopefully the Mara figure will be among them.

Roundup: J.J. Abrams and Jon Favreau excited for Episode VII – Quentin Tarantino, not so much

Directors. Hollywood Life talks to Star Trek’s J.J. Abrams and Iron Man’s Jon Favreau about Episode VII. “I am looking forward more then anyone to the next iterations of Star Wars, but I believe I will be going as a paying moviegoer,” Abrams said.

“I am just giddy, first and foremost as a fan, to see what happens with it. I think there is a lot of question marks of how they are going to do it, and who they are going to do it with, and what the story is going to be about; but to say that I am not excited about it is definitely an understatement. We’ll see,” Favreau said. (Lest we forget, Favreau voiced a character on The Clone Wars back in 2010.)

On the other side of the spectrum, Quentin Tarantino said the other day that he couldn’t care less about Star Wars and isn’t interested in the job. But then, did anyone actually expect he would be?

History. Huffpo’s Mike Ryan takes a look at the Making of books and interviews to document Harrison Ford’s history with Han Solo, and all the comments he’s made about the character over the years.

Release date. ComicBook.com’s Scott Johnson and his sources theorize that Disney could make Episode VII the first Star Wars movie not come out in May, since Avengers 2 is currently slated for May 1, 2015. I am beyond skeptical.

Hasbro and Disney. MSN Money takes a detailed look at the rumor that Disney is in talks to buy the toymaker, while CNBC analyst David Faber said that Hasbro is denying it.

On a lark… Entertainment Weekly takes inspiration from other franchises.

Rumor: Disney looking into buying Hasbro?

Anti-trust lawyers must be wringing their hands with glee at this one: MTV Geek is saying that after acquiring Lucasfilm (pending approval) Disney will be turning to Hasbro. Or rather, that they’re having “discussions.”

Buying Hasbro would give Disney the rights to Transformers, G.I. Joe, Dungeons and Dragons, and My Little Pony, among others. And by folding in the toys, they’d be getting a bigger share of the Star Wars pie as well.

Celebration VI: Hasbro’s Jedi Mara Jade Skywalker figure has a new sculpt, same catsuit

Well, this is disappointing… Hasbro revealed their new Mara Jade Skywalker figure at Celebration VI – the Jedi one we voted for in hopes she’d be wearing something other than the catsuit. Well, as expected, the figure is wearing the catsuit anyway… And sporting the wrong lightsaber to boot, so there are certainly going to be some disappointed Mara fans out there. In any case, start looking for the figure in the spring.

Thanks to Phil of ASMZine for the heads-up – check out the figure, plus further thoughts and the possibility of another – under the cut.

Continue reading “Celebration VI: Hasbro’s Jedi Mara Jade Skywalker figure has a new sculpt, same catsuit”

Dunc’s recap of Friday at Celebration VI: Detours, cupcakes, Mark Hamill and more

Today was fairly busy, starting off with the Del Rey panel. It was also the first official reveal of Detours, which I chose not to attend in order to write up Del Rey. This one goes a little beyond just the stuff I was able to attend, if only because of the sheer overlapping amount of big things going on. (Yes: Still exhausting!)

Oh, and apparently The Clone Wars is moving to a Saturday morning debut? Alrighty then. Bryan Young went to the S5 premiere tonight and has posted a review and recap.

Some quick thoughts on Del Rey, Detours, cupcakes, the Essential Reader’s Companion, Mark Hamill and more below the cut.

Continue reading “Dunc’s recap of Friday at Celebration VI: Detours, cupcakes, Mark Hamill and more”

EUbits: Kotobukiya is going to Bishoujo Mara Jade, Star Wars Reads day

Namesake corner. Reports out of SDCC are saying that Kotobukiya’s next Star Wars Bishoujo statue will be none other than Mara Jade. (NOT the figure at right; see below.) Here’s hoping they show the same restraint they did with their Jaina Solo, though I’m guessing the catsuit will be anything but optional.

UPDATE #1: Here’s the Mara slide from Kotobukiya’s presentation… It features art from the cover of Sacrifice, not an original sketch. Maybe at CVI? Meanwhile, Hasbro has listed their Jedi Mara figure for Wave 2 of the Droid Factory line.

Meanwhile, the official Celebration store will have a Mara mini state one day at Celebration VI. I wonder if it will be the never-produced Mara statue that Star Wars Shop was showing off at Celebration V?

UPDATE #2 (7/15:) Rebelscum has pictures from the Collector’s Panel, and it looks like I was right on the Mara mini-figure being the one (above) from CV! As well as Darth Bane (see comments,) plus a Quinlan Vos.

Events. Lucasfilm and its publishers have announced a a national Star Wars Reads Day for October 6. Bookstores and libraries who participate will get a free event kit, plus I suspect the 501st and Rebel Legion will be all over this.

The blogside. Tricia Barr and the late Racheal Ambrose discuss the Hapans; Topless Robot picks the best and worst of Marvel Star Wars

Interviews. Star Wars Book Report talks to Mike Stackpole, while Mark at Jedi News has a chat with John Jackson Miller.

Summer for Children’s Literacy. EUC is offering free bookmarks for the summer reading program.