Monthly Archives: April 2023

The next two cards from the weekly Topps Star Wars Living Set are now out. Featuring the iconic blue starfield and the impressive artwork of Kris Penix, check out Gorg (#407) and Dokk Strassi (#408). Each Tuesday, two new cards will be released and be only available for one week. Click here to view the entire Star Wars Living archive, including individual print runs.

The Black Series [Phase IV] Luthen Rael figure might be one of Hasbro’s best figures of 2023 thus far, but it’s painfully boring, as are many 6-inch figure’s these days. But that’s a problem with the source material more than anything else. (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

Amazon has unveiled their latest Echo Dot accessories, Star Wars themed to celebrate Star Wars Day.

Just in time for May the 4th, Amazon has several ways for Star Wars fans to celebrate, including three all-new, limited edition Star Wars-inspired stands for Echo Dot. All three designs, Darth Vader, the Mandalorian, and Stormtrooper, are available now for pre-order (US only) and will ship on May 4, 2023.

• Limited Edition Star Wars Darth Vader Stand for Amazon Echo Dot (4th & 5th Generation): Pre-Order the Stand (list price $39.99 US), Pre-Order the Bundle (Stand + Echo Dot) (list price $89.98 US)
• Limited Edition Star Wars The Mandalorian Stand for Amazon Echo Dot (4th & 5th Generation): Pre-Order the Stand (list price $39.99 US), Pre-Order the Bundle (Stand + Echo Dot) (list price $89.98 US)
• Limited Edition Star Wars Stormtrooper Stand for Amazon Echo Dot (4th & 5th Generation): Pre-Order the Stand (list price $39.99 US), Pre-Order the Bundle (Stand + Echo Dot) (list price $89.98 US)

Amazon also offers the below Fire TV remote covers:

• Star Wars The Mandalorian Remote Covers for Fire TV 2nd Gen (Bounty Blue and Grogu Green)
• Star Wars The Mandalorian Remote Cover Bundle with Fire TV 3rd Gen with TV Controls (Bounty Blue and Grogu Green)

The Black Series [Phase IV] Magistrate Greef Karga figure builds upon the previous release and looks fantastic. (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

Another Friday, another update for the Nielsen Streaming Charts. This week they added episode 5 of The Mandalorian season 3, which was about the pirate attack on Nevarro which gets repelled by the Mandalorians. So how did the episode do? Pretty well. The Mandalorian is #4 on the general streaming charts and #3 on the original series charts with 878 million minutes. Netflix’ #1 series The Night Agent obliterates the competition with 3.06 billion minutes though. But how does The Mandalorian season 3 compare to season 2 and the other Star Wars shows? Click through to find out!

The Mandos defend Nevarro against space pirates

(more…)

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

Pre-orders are now open for the Hot Toys Jedi Survivor Scout Trooper Commander (VGM52) 1/6 Scale Figure. Click here for the product page at Sideshow Collectibles.

Hot Toys’ latest addition to their Video Game Masterpiece Series is the Scout Trooper Commander from the newly released Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. Click through for complete details and gallery images.

(more…)

The Black Series [Phase IV] Darth Maul figure is based on The Clone Wars’ appearance on Mandalore. It’s nice, but it isn’t perfect. (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

PSWCS (Pennsylvania Star Wars Collecting Society) has announced the latest charity medallion in their ongoing (and excellent) series of charity medallions. This year’s medallion features the Stormtrooper in support of the Veterans Outreach of PA. Click through for the full press release and order details!

(more…)

The Black Series [Phase IV] Bix Caleen figure comes with a Speak & Spell, or does it? (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

Hasbro is celebrating May the 4th Be With You with their next Fan Stream. Mark your calendars for 11 Am EDT on May 3rd, with pre-orders for announcements likely to be on May 4th. 

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

We have another week of Mando Mania pre-orders. As always, click below for product links to this week’s The Vintage Collection and The Black Series reveals:

The Vintage Collection

• Speeder Bike with Scout Trooper & Grogu (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)

The Black Series

• Mandalorian Fleet Commander (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)

The Black Series Roleplay

• Yoda Force FX Elite Lightsaber (Entertainment Earth)

The Black Series [Phase IV] HK-87 figure is only the third HK-series assassin droid in the Hasbro Star Wars line. Do you know the first two? (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

Click through to check out the official Mando Mania week 9 page, featuring the release of the previously leaked The Black Series Mandalorian Fleet Commander. It took until week 9 but we finally have a reveal that was actually from Season 3 of The Mandalorian! This will be available tomorrow at 1 PM Easter at most online retailers.

It seems The Mandalorian season has come to an end but Mando Mania will continue, for at least another week. Today’s reveal includes The Vintage Collection Speeder Bike, Scout Trooper, & Grogu set. Get the full details at IGN.com! Pre-orders going live tomorrow at 1 PM Eastern. 

Regal Robot has opened pre-orders for their all-new Indiana Jones line. Click through for more details!

(more…)

We don’t think that the likeness of Luke Skywalker (Imperial Light Cruiser) is that great. The TVC version looks better. But what are your thoughts? (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

The Grand Inquisitor is a cool-looking and excellently-designed action figure. Too bad it was part of a garbage Disney Star Wars series. (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

When Hasbro chooses to release pre-orders piecemeal it can be easy to lose track of everything that was revealed over an eight-week period event. Below is a listing of the Mando Mania reveals from The Vintage Collection, Retro Collection, and The Black Series (with pre-order links in case you missed any). And, if you haven’t figured it out by now, Mando Mania was celebrated each week during The Mandalorian season 3 but focused on characters from last year’s The Book of Boba Fett. 

The Vintage Collection

• Boba Fett (Tusken) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Cad Bane (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Luke Skywalker (Jedi Academy) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• R5-D4 (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Speeder Bike with Scout Trooper & Grogu (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Tusken Raiders (Hasbro Pulse)
• Tusken Warrior (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Tusken Warrior & Massiff (Target Exclusive)

The Black Series

• Cobb Vanth & Cad Bane (Target Exclusive)
• Mandalorian Fleet Commander (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Krrsantan (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Luke Skywalker & Grogu (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Pike Soldier (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• R5-D4 (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Tusken Chieftain (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)

Retro Collection (Not Yet Available for Pre-order)

• Boba Fett (Dune Sea)
• Cad Bane
• Fennec Shand
• Grogu
• Krrsantan
• The Mandalorian
• Tusken Warrior

The Aayla Secura 6-inch figure is getting a lot of praise, but it’s inaccurate to the character from Attack Of The Clones. However, you might not care about that detail. (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

Zzzzzzz. It’s another dull Disney Star Wars action figure. Check out the Cassian Andor (Aldhani Mission) figure. (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

JTA sponsor Crazy Collecting has the latest pre-orders from both The Vintage Collection and The Black Series, including the N-1 Starfighter, R5-D4, Krrsantan, and more. Click through to see all available items.

Another excellent release in the latest wave of The Vintage Collection is Hunter. See why you’ll want to add this figure to your collection (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

You saw our review posted earlier today, now pre-order the Clone Trooper (Phase II Armor) figure coming this July!

It’s time again for yet another look at the Nielsen streaming charts. How does The Mandalorian fare with its fourth season 3 episode? Pretty well! While the absolute number, 795 million minutes, may seem pretty low (last week was more than 1.1 billion minutes) episode 4 which was added to the charts is also the shortest season 3 episode clocking in at just over 30 minutes of running time. This is good enough for #5 on the general streaming charts and #3 on the original series charts. So how does this compare to season 2 and other Star Wars shows? Also, I attempt to arrive at an estimate for the actual viewership numbers in the US and worldwide by using dark science, but no cloning! Click through to find out more!

Episode 4 featured an Order 66 flashback with Ahmed Best as a Jedi

(more…)

We have a near-perfect Clone Trooper (Phase II Armor) figure now. What a shame it’s on a Disney Star Wars card, though. Don’t let that ruin anything for you. This figure is stellar. And we thought the last action figure we ever would need would be a new clone trooper! (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

The next two cards from the weekly Topps Star Wars Living Set are now out. Featuring the iconic blue starfield and the impressive artwork of Kris Penix, check out Teeka (#405) and Glaucus (#406). Each Tuesday, two new cards will be released and be only available for one week. Click here to view the entire Star Wars Living archive, including individual print runs.

A little later than usual here is the review for The Mandalorian season 3 finale! I suppose the final episode made a few people feel a bit silly about overthinking things where no overthinking is required.
The finale was certainly lot of of fun, if endless action, blaster shootouts, throwing spaceships at people and heroes fighting baddies clad in all black with melee weapons and blasters is your kind of fun! Add a cute little space baby that can use the force and you can have a really good time with the finale! And I will certainly not spoil anything when I say that everyone gets a “happy for now” ending. The Mandalorian is not a drama with wild character twists… it is an updated version of your typical 1930s or 1940s (space or wild west) adventure serial.

Anyway… it’s time to discuss the season finale and to talk a bit about the season as a whole! So click here to read my spoiler review and let’s discuss The Mandalorian season 3 finale!

Thanks to The Vintage Collection Admiral Piett action figure, we have a near-perfect Imperial Officer template. It’s so good that we can barely complain about it. (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

Once again, Ollies is the place to find amazing deals if you are lucky enough to catch them. Along with a $9.99 The Black Series Saw Guerrera, here are a few others that David in South Carolina found at his local Ollies:

• Archives Series Chewbacca $9.99
• Black Series Ponda Baba $9.99 (These disappeared quickly)
• Black Series Dr. Evazan (sic) $9.99 (These are peg warmers)
• Walmart Exclusive TVC Leia (Endor) 50th for $4.99
• Mandalorian Retro Boba Fett (Morak) $4.99
• Mandalorian Retro The Armorer $4.99

Let us know what you are finding in your area!

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

Mando Mania is coming to an end for now, but there are still more pre-orders! Click below to pre-order this week’s The Black Series and The Vintage Collection announcements!

The Vintage Collection

• R5-D4 (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Boba Fett (Tusken) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)

The Black Series

• R5-D4 (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)

Other Entertainment Earth pre-orders (10% off all in-stock orders, plus free shipping on orders over $59):

• The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figures Wave 3 Case of 8

Lucasfilm revealed some new poster art today to celebrate the season finale of The Mandalorian. Click below to check it out!

The Black Series [Phase IV] Senator Mon Mothma is a lovely release, but is it perfect? (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

The official Mando Mania page for Week 8 is now live, and it looks like we also get R5-D4 in The Black Series line. Also pictured, but not mentioned is a new Mandalorian Commander character. No word yet if this is part of the official reveal. Head over to the official Mando Mania Week 8 page for the rest of today’s non-Hasbro reveals.

UPDATE: The official site pulled the picture of the Mandalorian Commander, so I guess we will see that reveal at a later date 🙂

There’s another exclusive reveal today from The Vintage Collection. Screenrant.com has the full details on the newly announced Boba Fett (Tusken). Head on over for more images!

This week there’s another fan site reveal for Mando Mania: The Vintage Collection R5-D4. Check out the full details over at our friend’s Jedi News. 

Target gets the 6-inch Gamorrean Guard for an exclusive…. again. And it’s more money than five years ago! (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

It’s time to look at another Seagate release. This recently announced hard drive features a lot of bells and whistles for an SSD Drive, but how does it look ‘in the wild’? We’ve unboxed it, installed it, and taken plenty of pictures. Click through to check out our full review and get our thoughts…

Two more character posters were revealed today via Twitter for The Mandalorian Chapter 23 – The Spies: IG-12 and Praetorian Guards. Click below to check them out.

It’s official. Hasbro hit an all-new low with collectors. The Target-exclusive Boba Fett figure in Kenner colors has an MSRP of $22.99. It’s not funny anymore. That said, the figure has some major authenticity issues. Find out what they are. (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

The next two cards from the weekly Topps Star Wars Living Set are now out. Featuring the iconic blue starfield and the impressive artwork of Kris Penix, check out Praster Ommlen (#403) and Beezer Fortuna (#404). Each Tuesday, two new cards will be released and be only available for one week. Click here to view the entire Star Wars Living archive, including individual print runs.

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

Amazon currently has The Black Series Ahsoka Tano (The Mandalorian 19) marked down to $13.99. 

Click below to check out the character posters from The Mandalorian Chapter 22 – Guns For Hire (The Duchess & Captain Bombardier) and Chapter 23 – The Spies (Moff Gideon). 

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

The latest Micro Galaxy Squadron vehicles are up for pre-order on Amazon:

Starfighter Class

• Gold Leader’s Y-Wing Fighter
• TIE Bomber

Mystery Bundle (Light Armor Class and Scout Class):

• TIE Interceptor
• Vulture Droid
• A-Wing Fighter

Yes, it’s very much beating a dead horse at this point. But we are fast approaching the weekend and it’s time for some entertainment and fun debates about things that have been talked to death already! One can never talk enough about the sequels, right? Especially in light of the recently announced Rey movie, correct?

So let’s talk about the Star Wars sequels and whatever it was JJ Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and all the others involved believed would be a good idea for a sequel and an original cast reunion… and how to do it right! Click through for a short editorial, also, this contains spoilers for Picard season 3 currently on Paramount+. So beware!

Lucasfilm’s idea of a cast reunion and sequel

(more…)

We are approaching the end of the week, which means Nielsen update their weekly streaming charts! As usual with a four week delay, so the ratings released today are actually for The Mandalorian episode 3, which was all about Doc Pershing eating biscuits and space popsicles, oh, and getting his mind fried! So how did The Mandalorian season 3 do with its third episode? Well, it has climbed to number 3 on the general streaming and original series charts with 1,115 million minutes viewed! This is the highest number for season 3 yet, but as usual the devil lies in the detail, because Nielsen’s streaming charts depend very much on things like episode length, number of episodes available, but most important is always the length of the current episode, and episode 3 happens to be, thus far, the longest season 3 episode by quite some margin. So what does that mean for the ratings? Also, for the first time ever Star Trek makes an appearance on the charts! What happened here? Click through for a closer look!

Surveillance cam footage from a Disney+ test screening room

(more…)

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

There were quite a few Indiana Jones figures also announced at Star Wars Celebration. Pre-orders are now open for them. Head over to Entertainment Earth for all of the pre-orders (Amazon links are also listed for convenience).

Indiana Jones Adventure Series:

• Indiana Jones (Dial of Destiny) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Helena Shaw (Dial of Destiny) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Indiana Jones (Temple of Doom) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Short Round (Temple of Doom) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Indiana Jones (Hypnotized) (Entertainment Earth)
• Indiana Jones (Cairo) (Entertainment Earth)
• Marcus Brody & René Belloq (Entertainment Earth)
• Indiana Jones Adventure Series Wave 2 Case (Entertainment Earth)

Also available at Entertainment Earth are new Pop! Vinyls:

• Raiders of the Lost Ark Boulder Pop! Vinyl Moment
• Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones Pocket Pop! Key Chain
• Raiders of the Lost Ark Arnold Toht Pop! Vinyl Figure
• Raiders of the Lost Ark Marion Ravenwood Pop! Vinyl Figure
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Sallah Pop! Vinyl Figure
• Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones Pop! Vinyl Figure
• Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones with Jacket Pop! Vinyl Figure
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Henry Jones Sr. Pop! Vinyl Figure

The Retro Collection The Mandalorian (Prototype Edition) figure is as boring as it looks. This line is going nowhere. (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

You all remember Rey’s dialogue from The Rise of Skywalker: “And I am all the Jedi!”

Now imagine some five-year-old kid shouting “And I am all the Star Wars action figures!” and you have a pretty good idea about the latest The Mandalorian episode. The big villain returns, yes, Moff Gideon is back! And Bo-Katan and her merry band of Mandos is ready to reclaim Mandalore! But not before Grogu gets the best toy ever. Or the worst. You decide… But say what you will, the weirdly titled “The Spies” is peak Saturday morning cartoon and probably the biggest fun you can have on tv/streaming in ages, well, since Luke Skywalker returned on The Mandalorian.

So there is a lot to talk about today about the latest adventure of Bo-Katan and her loyal follower Din Djarin who is happy to serve her! Click here or on the banner to read my spoiler review and let’s discuss “The Spies”!

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

The Week 7 Mando Mania reveals are now available to pre-order. Both are exclusive to Target:

• The Vintage Collection Tusken Warrior & Massiff ($27.99)
• The Black Series Cobb Vanth & Cad Bane ($55.99)

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

In case you missed it, previously announced The Vintage Collection figures are also now available at Entertainment Earth. Click below for direct product links:

• Hunter
• Admiral Piett
• Starkiller

Thanks to JTA reader Jon for the alert!

This week’s main Mando Mania update (Week 7) has revealed a new The Black Series set: Cobb Vanth & Cad Bane. Click through for all of today’s other Mando Mania week 7 reveals.

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

It’s a mega-pre-order day for The Black Series and The Vintage Collection! After weeks of small piecemeal pre-orders, we are back to another round of mass pre-orders. As usual, we will add the links as we get them and help you make sense of all of today’s pre-orders! 

Also note, ShopDisney does not always put up pre-orders but will wait to list theirs when they are in stock. If they do list them, they often appear later than the pre-order launch time. We’ll add them if/when they list them. 

The Vintage Collection

• Moff Jerjerrod (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Nien Nunb (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Krrsantan (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• The Mandalorian’s N1 Starfighter (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Jabba’s Palace 4-pack (Hasbro Pulse / ShopDisney Exclusive)

The Black Series

• Omega (Mercenary Gear) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Cad Bane (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Darth Maul (Old Master) (Gamestop Exclusive)
• Force Spirits 3-Pack (Hasbro Pulse / ShopDisney Exclusive)

TBS Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary

• R2-D2 (Artoo-Detoo) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Darth Vader (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Emperor’s Royal Guard (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Jabba the Hutt (Hasbro Pulse / ShopDisney Exclusive)
• Darth Vader Revenge SWC Exclusive (Hasbro Pulse)

The Black Series Roleplay & Other Stuff

• 332nd Ahsoka’s Clone Helmet (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• Chatter Back Animatronic Chopper Droid (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)

Other Entertainment Earth pre-orders (10% off all in-stock orders, plus free shipping on orders over $59):

• The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figures Wave 3 Case of 8

Today’s Mando Mania exclusive reveal comes via Fan Sites. Head over to our friends at Jedi News for a complete look at the TVC Tusken Warrior & Massiff Target Exclusive set. 

Look for this to go up for pre-order tomorrow (April 12) at 1 PM Eastern.

It’s another mega pre-order day for Hasbro with most of the Star Wars Celebration reveals going up for pre-order today. As usual, we will post a pre-order breakdown with links at the 1 PM Eastern launch time, but since there are quite a few, here’s a breakdown of what to expect today:

The Vintage Collection

• Moff Jerjerrod (Mainline Release)
• Nien Nunb (Mainline Release)
• Krrsantan (Mainline Release)
• The Mandalorian’s N1 Starfighter (Mainline Release)
• Jabba’s Palace 4-pack (Hasbro Pulse / ShopDisney Exclusive)

The Black Series

• Omega (Mercenary Gear) (Mainline Release)
• Cad Bane (Mainline Release)
• Darth Maul (Old Master) (Gamestop Exclusive)
• Force Spirits 3-Pack (Hasbro Pulse / ShopDisney Exclusive)

TBS Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary

• R2-D2 (Artoo-Detoo) (Mainline Release)
• Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) (Mainline Release)
• Darth Vader (Mainline Release)
• Emperor’s Royal Guard (Mainline Release)
• Jabba the Hutt (Hasbro Pulse / ShopDisney Exclusive)
• Darth Vader Revenge SWC Exclusive (Hasbro Pulse)

The Black Series Roleplay & Other Stuff

• 332nd Ahsoka’s Clone Helmet (Fan Channel/Amazon)
• Chatter Back Animatronic Chopper Droid (Mainline Release)

The rest of the Star Wars Celebration reveals will go up for pre-order on May 4th.

You have to wonder what Hasbro’s defect is anymore. We’ll be charged with nitpicking here by the Hasbro sycophants and bootlickers, but we demand quality. And we’ll go public with our disdain regardless of the ramifications. How could they not correct and properly update Nien Nunb before announcing its re-release? Not only did they neglect to correct the figure’s height. (Nien Nunb is tall like the Sullustan B-wing pilots and not short like the action figure. Photographic evidence exists and proves this unequivocally.) But even worse, they didn’t bother to fix the figure’s upper lip with the darker brown color.  (more….)

(more…)

Three new movies were announced at Star Wars Celebration. A sequel to the sequels featuring Rey, a “Dawn of the Jedi” movie set 25,000 years in the “past” and then we also had an announcement for the Mandoverse crossover event movie, which is meant to be the culmination of all the various series like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett and possibly also Skeleton Crew on the big screen. It’s very likely that all those shows will culminate in some version of the much loved Thrawn trilogy. And that is exactly the reason why I feel Filoni’s movie may be a love letter to fans, the ultimate fan service. Click through for more!

Jedi Master Luke teaches Grogu

(more…)

Star Wars Celebration Europe has wrapped up and (as always) during the closing ceremonies revealed the date and location of the next Celebration: Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Center near Tokyo, Japan. The event is scheduled for April 18-20, 2025. What do you think about this choice for the next Celebration? Will you make the trek?

Click here for the official release. 

The return of The Bad Batch for one final season was not the only animated Star Wars news. A trailer for Star Wars Visions 2, which will be released on May 4th, was also released. Check it out after the jump!

This is probably from the episode made by Studio Aardman (Wallace & Gromit)

(more…)

The Bad Batch will get a third and final season, this was revealed earlier today at Star Wars Celebration in London. A SWCE exlusive trailer was also shown which reveals that Palpatine will return in season 3, as well as Fennec Shand who was featured in season 1 and Wolffe.

However, the way animation is produced it is misleading to assume the season was greenlit just “now” or even recently. The fact that they could already show a teaser trailer means the season has been in (post) production for quite a while now, rendering takes quite some time. The dialogue was probably recorded more than a year ago, before Disney knew what the ratings for season 2 would be. Let’s just hope the producers were given advance notice that this will be the final season, so they can bring things to a proper conclusion. The Bad Batch will return for the final season in 2024.

Let’s also hope that showrunner Jennifer Corbett won’t waste time on random fetch quests and treasure hunts in season 3, since half of season 2 was entirely pointless, with the other half however delivering good to very good episodes that prove The Bad Batch could have been excellent if they had focused more on the actual plot.

Tales of the Jedi will also return. This was announced previously at SWCE.

Palpatine will return in The Bad Batch season 3

The next two cards from the weekly Topps Star Wars Living Set are now out. Featuring the iconic blue starfield and the impressive artwork of Kris Penix, check out Captain Merumeru (#401) and Fixer (#402). Each Tuesday, two new cards will be released and be only available for one week. Click here to view the entire Star Wars Living archive, including individual print runs.

It’s the 40th Anniversary of Return of the Jedi, and Matt Ferguson has again made a beautiful poster to celebrate the event! For this release, Matt’s following up with the same style as his The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary poster. Hopefully, we will be seeing the full DS version of this poster on Disney Movie Insiders soon!

Fans attending the 40 Years of Return of the Jedi panel yesterday at Star Wars Celebration were treated with a 13×19 version of this poster on their way out. 

Return of the Jedi will also be heading back to select theaters starting on April 28th. Read about that and more at Starwars.com.

Many viewers of The Mandalorian have observed that season 3 seems to be shifting focus, away from Din Djarin and Grogu, over to Bo-Katan played by Katee Sackhoff. Season 3 is virtually all about Bo-Katan. How she reunites the Mandalorian clans, how she gets the darksaber back, how she gets her fleet back, how she will become yet again the leader of Mandalore. With Din Djarin mostly being along for the ride and Grogu more or less being relegated to cute pet status. So is that just something happening in season 3 or is this a sign that the series is slowly shifting away from Din Djarin as the only main character?
Well, IGN conducted an interview with The Mandalorian executive producer and director Rick Famuyiwa that sheds an interesting light on recent developments! Click through to learn what he has to say about The Mandalorian!

Bo-Katan, at the center of things

(more…)

Our next Visual Guide update features Princess Leia (Endor) from The Black Series Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary. Click below for the complete Visual Guide. Click here for a full review.

Since the Hasbro Panel that streamed on YouTube is a recording, all the reveals have already been posted on their Facebook page! So what can The Vintage Collection and The Black Series collectors look forward to? A new The Vintage Collection HasLab for 2023 was also announced (without any further details though). Click through for all the details!

Coming to TVC

(more…)

Let’s continue our Visual Guide updates from the Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary. Up next is the Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard) The Black Series release. Click below to check out the full Visual Guide. Make sure to also check out our full review right here.

The Hasbro panel for Star Wars Celebration Europe will also be a live fanstream for those who cannot attend. Fans can tune in at 1 PM Eastern/6 PM BST. 

The Black Series is bringing 6 more figures to the line, focusing on their season 2 appearances. Look for 5 Walmart exclusives and 1 mainline release. Here’s the breakdown:

Walmart exclusives:

• Echo
• Tech
• Hunter
• Wrecker
• Clone Commando

Mainline release:

• Omega

Omega will be available for pre-order on April 11 at 1 PM Eastern, while the five Walmart exclusives will go up for pre-order on Star Wars Day (May 4th) at 1 PM Eastern. 

MSRP for all figures is $24.99.

Nerdist.com has the exclusive reveal.

As usual Star Wars Celebration also revealed several things not meant for the vast number of fans out there who could not afford a ticket or the trip to London! But as usual very kind people do post the spoiler material on Reddit and other places! So let’s talk about the Acolyte trailer that was screened at Celebration and the first few minutes of The Mandalorian Chapter 23 screened at one of the panels that heralds the return of a very important character and name drops someone very important. A first glimpse at Skeleton Crew was also provided! And we also got a short Andor season 2 teaser! Only read this article if you like spoilers! You will be absolutely spoiled if you click! So only proceed if you want to know more!

Updated with some additional info, Skeleton Crew trailer also added!

Carrie Ann Moss in The Acolyte in true potato cam leaker guild style

(more…)

Well, to the surprise of probably no one Hasbro will backpedal from one of their most controversial decisions in the recent past: the plastic free packaging that had figures inside of windowless cardboard boxes will be no more beginning in late 2023! Beginning in late 2023 and going into 2024 various action figure collector lines, like G.I. Joe, Marvel Legends, Power Rangers and of course The Black Series will return to plastic blisters and plastic windows. However, the plastic will be made from either bio PET or recycled plastic! Click through for the official statement!

No more pfp packaging for Star Wars going forward

(more…)

Earlier today Kathleen Kennedy announced three all new movies at Star Wars Celebration… yet again. But the movies she did announce will make waves! Daisy Ridley will return to Star Wars as Rey in the movie that was originally meant to be written by Damon Lindelof, who exited the project. Steven Knight is still meant to write the Rey movie, with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a two time Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker who also directed two Ms Marvel episodes, in the director’s chair!

But it does not stop there! Two more movies were announced! And one of them will be directed by Dave Filoni and is meant to be an epic crossover Mandoverse event movie! Click through for more!

She’s back!

(more…)

Click through to check out the Ahsoka teaser trailer! 

Perhaps it is time to begin again…

Update: Newly revealed Ahsoka teaser poster added

(more…)

It’s time for yet another look at the Nielsen streaming charts, episode 2 of The Mandalorian season 3 was added. How are the ratings? The Mandalorian is #6 on the general charts and in 4th place on the original series charts. According to Nielsen the series accumulated 889 million viewing minutes. How does that compare to season 2 and other Star Wars series on Disney+? Well, episode 2 of season 3 is shedding viewers! Click through for all the details!

In chapter 17 we visit Mandalore after a short detour to Tatooine

(more…)

Celebration Europe kicks off tomorrow and Denuo Novo will be set up at booth N600 showcasing their high-end Star Wars collectibles, including the debut of their all-new STAR WARS™ The Mandalorian™ Battle Damaged helmet and STAR WARS™ The Mandalorian™ Muddy helmet. Click through for complete details.

(more…)

Today’s Visual Guide update adds Han Solo (Endor) from The Black Series Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary line. Click below to check out our full Visual Guide. You can also check out a full review of this figure right here.

Lladró is unveiling their special edition Darth Vader with a stunning gold finish. Click through for the official press release. 

(more…)

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

Pre-orders are now open for both the regular and deluxe versions of the Hot Toys Darth Vader figure. Click below for pre-order links!

• Darth Vader (MMS699)
• Darth Vader (MMS700)

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

Pre-orders are also now available for the Hot Toys C-3PO Diecast Sixth Scale Figure. Click here for the pre-order page. 

Regal Robot has begun preorders for their latest ARCHIVE COLLECTION replica maquette, scanned from the original concept for YAK FACE made for Return of the Jedi. 

This signature edition is limited to just 125 pieces, each with a plaque signed by the original sculptor, Judy Elkins, who designed the character, sculpted the maquette, and even built the full-size mask for the character!

Click here for the product page for more information and order details!

Seagate has unveiled their latest line of custom Solid State Drives, featuring RGB LED lighting and interchangeable faceplate designs. These are sure to intrigue both gamers and custom PC builders alike with their unique design. Click through for the full press release and photos! 

We’ll be posting a full review on the 1 TB version of this drive shortly, so stay tuned!

(more…)

Hot Toys has also revealed a beautiful diecast version of C-3PO (MMS701) from Return of the Jedi. Click through for the details and gallery images.

(more…)

Check out the deluxe version of the Hot Toys Return of the Jedi Darth Vader (MMS700)! Get all the details after the jump!

(more…)

Hot Toys is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Return of the Jedi with the release of Darth Vader (MMS699). Click through for complete details and gallery images.

(more…)

The Retro Collection Special 2 Action Figures [4-LOM/Zuckuss] set completes the line of characters seen on the Executor bridge. (more….)

Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!

Our Credit Collection Visual Guide updates continue with the addition of Moff Gideon (Credit Collection). Click below for our full Visual Guide. Stop by and check out our review of this figure too.

Imagine someone made a fan movie mash-up of 1970s SciFi classic Logan’s Run, Alice in Wonderland, Romeo & Juliet and Wall-E and then decided to act it all out with Star Wars action figures. I am not sure what to think of the latest The Mandalorian chapter Guns for Hire. It had some really nice visuals, but also some atrocious acting and guest stars that should never ever be in Star Wars – ever. And the plot was just… something else.

So there are many, many things to talk about! Let’s read my spoiler review for Guns for Hire and debate the latest The Mandalorian chapter by clicking here or on the banner!

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.

This week’s Mando Mania The Vintage Collection and The Black Series reveals are now available to pre-order. Click below for pre-order links.

• TVC Luke Skywalker (Jedi Academy) (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
• The Black Series Krrsantan (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)

Other Entertainment Earth pre-orders (10% off all in-stock orders, plus free shipping on orders over $59):

• The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figures Wave 16 Case of 8

Today’s Visual Guide update is another The Black Series Credit Collection Release. Click below to check out the Tusken Raider. Make sure to also check out our full review of this figure right here.

It’s finally time to talk about the Bad Batch season 2 finale, which consists of three parts. Now The Bad Batch season 2 was very, very uneven, to put it mildly, but the season does go out with a bang and not a whimper and it goes in directions few people probably predicted it would go. In fact, this multi episode arc is in many ways better than anything we have seen in The Mandalorian season 3 so far.

The Bad Batch season 2 does its best to make its version of The Empire Strikes Back and thus the Bad Batch and the viewers are left behind defeated, with a (seemingly) dead team member and Omega in Imperial captivity. And then there’s a final reveal that will have viewers scracth their heads.

So there’s a lot to unpack, read my spoiler-review and let’s discuss The Bad Batch season 2 finale by clicking here or on the banner!

Mando Mania week 6 reveals another addition to The Vintage Collection: Luke Skywalker (Jedi Academy). You can check out all the rest of the licensee reveals on the main Mando Mania Week 6 page.

Today’s Mando Mania exclusive reveal is The Black Series Krrsantan, a ‘premium’ figure for a whopping $33.99. This figure does look impressive, but that price tag does not! You can check out the full reveal at CBR.com! According to the article, this goes up for pre-order today on Hasbro Pulse and Amazon at 1 PM Eastern (could they have meant tomorrow at 1?). 

UPDATE: As expected, this did not go up for pre-order today. Look for pre-orders to go live tomorrow at 1 PM Eastern. 

UPDATE 2: CBR has changed the price info in their article and price is now $33.99 instead of $39.99. Still expensive, but not ludicrously expensive.

The Bad Batch has wrapped up its second season. Click below to check out the Saw Gerrera character poster from the finale episodes.

We are continuing our Visual Guide updates from The Black Series Credit Collection. Up next is The Mandalorian [Beskar].  Click below for our full Visual Guide, and click here for our full review.

Check out the latest character poster from The Mandalorian Chapter 21 – The Pirate: Carson Teva. 

Our next Visual Guide update from The Black Series commemorative releases is The Armorer (Credit Collection). Click below for our full Visual Guide. Click here to check out our full review.

The next two cards from the weekly Topps Star Wars Living Set are now out. Featuring the iconic blue starfield and the impressive artwork of Kris Penix, check out Kino Loy (#399) and Din Djarin (#400). Each Tuesday, two new cards will be released and be only available for one week. Click here to view the entire Star Wars Living archive, including individual print runs.

Today we are starting a run of Visual Guide updates featuring some of The Black Series commemorative releases. We’ll start things off with Greef Karga (Credit Collection). Click below for our full Visual Guide. Click here to also check out a full review of this figure.

Lladró’s catalog of high-end porcelain Star Wars statues gets bigger with the release of their handcrafted porcelain Grogu. Click through for the complete press release.

(more…)