General News
Hasbro will make action figures for The Acolyte. Now the only question is what figures they should or could make…. based on the first trailer I have some suggestions for Hasbro. So click through for my take on what Acolyte figures Hasbro should make.
So many Jedi
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In a movie with many iconic scenes, “Apology accepted, Captain Needa!” is certainly one of those memorable moments, when a sadistic Darth Vader once again disposes of one of his officers like a used paper tissue in The Empire Strikes Back.
And sadly, the actor portraying Captain Needa, Michael Culver, has passed away on February 27th 2024 at the age of 85, news of his death however only broke yesterday. Michael Culver did not appear in all that many Hollywood movies, but like many other accomplished British actors he had a very extensive theatre career and Culver was also always in high demand on British television, where he regularly appeared in various series until 2008, only after that did his tv career slowly wind down, but Culver would still narrate a few documentaries in later years.
So let’s all remember Michael Culver who will never be forgotten by the Star Wars community as the officer who would take full responsibility for losing track of Han Solo, only to become another one of Darth Vader’s victims. But as mentioned above, it would be wrong to limit Michael Culver’s long career to this one movie, some of the series he starred in that you may have heard of outside of Britain are Space 1999, The Professionals or the classic The Avengers.
Rest in peace!
Apology accepted, Captain Needa!
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One thing that always interests me is how Star Wars compares to the competition. How popular is Star Wars, and here I mean the toys really, in 2024, when we compare it to Marvel, GI Joe or Transformers? All Hasbro brands. Hasbro has not released exact sales figures for Star Wars in years, they used to brag about Star Wars sales back in the prequel era, which was about the last time they openly talked about revenue for Star Wars. Back then they even openly talked about Star Wars royalty expenses. Now it’s all top secret. So what can we do to find out how popular Star Wars toys (and here specifically action figures!) are compared to the major competitors? I thought that Hasbro’s own Pulse YouTube channel may be a good source to gauge how popular the various brands are. In the past three years Hasbro had a number of livestreams for all four brands on their Pulse channel and I believe that the number of views for each stream may be a good proxy for actual toyline popularity. As a bonus I will also look back to how things were in the prequel era. But how are things now? Click through to find out!
Who is more popular?
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I looked at Google Trends a couple of years ago. And I thought it might be fun to revisit them, especially with so much more Star Wars content that we got in the meantime. So how does The Mandalorian stack up against the competition? Star Wars or Marvel? Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader? What is trending more on Google? Click through to find out!
How much of an impression does she leave on Google?
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Toy photography is a hobby that enjoys growing popularity. A lot more effort however are animated shorts. Check out a very fun example of an animated action figure video created by DGDX Animation. In this short the Hasbro Indiana Jones action figure saves the Black Series Han Solo action figure from his captors. Watch it right after the jump!
Ford saving Ford
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I would like to discuss something that has been on my mind for a while, in fact, some of the points I will bring up here were mentioned by me before when I spoke about HasLab previously, i.e. that HasLab is – among other things – primarily a profit margin protection scheme, guaranteeing that something will never ever be submitted to the free market mechanism of supply and demand and thus will never see any discounts or mark downs. But today’s article is based on something UK etailer Kapow Toys wrote on X (still a very silly name, what is Elon Musk thinking?) earlier this week. They complain bitterly about Hasbro in a lengthy post. Click through to learn what Kapow Toys has to say and for a discussion about Pulse!
Collectors among themselves
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Inspired by the recent Topps article by Chuck I thought it could be fun to talk about the one Star Wars toy, collectible or any other piece of Star Wars merchandise you regret losing the most. Either because you were a kid and did not know better and trashed something, or maybe because you lost interest and disposed of something as you grew older, or your parents threw away some of your stuff as you grew older… or maybe someone even stole it from you. What is the one thing you regret losing the most?
German 1978 Panini Star Wars Sticker Album
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You have probably heard the story… years ago Zack Snyder approached Lucasfilm and pitched his idea for a Star Wars movie. But Kathleen Kennedy turned him down. So Snyder eventually transformed his Star Wars pitch into Rebel Moon on Netflix. To say the movie has been trashed by both critics and viewers is an understatement… but what would it have really been like if Zack Snyder had made a Star Wars movie? Well, YouTube channel Auralnauts just released a video the other day that answers this important question! They released Zack Snyder’s Star Wars – A New Hope. An 11 minute video reimagining the iconic 1977 movie into a Zack Snyder version. You have to see it to believe it. Click through for more!
Be prepared!
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Happy New Year to all our viewers past and present! We hope you all have a happy, healthy, and fun 2024! 2024 will be our 20th anniversary on the web so thank you all for sticking with us through the years.
Cheers!
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2023 will soon be over, it’s that time of the year where many people look back, reflecting on the things that happened, but where people also look forward, to things they hope to achieve in the new year. So I thought it would be fun, on this very last weekend of the year, to think back to things that could have been. But never were.
Three years ago, on December 10th 2020, Kathleen Kennedy revealed her big plans for Star Wars and Lucasfilm as part of the Walt Disney Investor Day event. Kenobi! Andor! Ahsoka! Visions! Willow! Rangers Of The New Republic! Lando! A Droid Story! Children Of Blood And Bone! Indiana Jones 5! Whatever it is Taika Waititi is supposed to make! And most important of all: Rogue Squadron! You may have forgotten already, but the plan for Rogue Squadron was to be released in December 2023, just now. So in some alternate universe we would be talking about the latest Star Wars movie now, instead of discussing yet another movie that was announced a few months ago… Anyway, this is the perfect opportunity to look back… to what happened and did not happen… Click through for some delicious memberberries!
They even filmed a short teaser featuring the director Patty Jenkins and an X-Wing
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All of us here at JTA are wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and continued good fortune into the New Year and beyond!
I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.
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It’s that time of the year again to look back and to reminisce. So it’s a good opportunity to talk about your favorite action figure of the year! The rules are very simple: name your favorite Star Wars action of the year you bought in 2023 and it would be ideal if you did not name some vinyl cape Jawa you bought on ebay for 10,000,000,0000 quatloos (congratulations though), but a figure that was actually released in 2023 or at least in this decade. Anything goes. SH Figuarts, Hot Toys, Black Series, Vintage Collection, Mission Fleet, Funko Pop – whatever you like best. Feel free to also name your most favorite non Star Wars action figure you bought this year in addition to your favorite Star Wars figure, because most here certainly collect more than just one thing. I will tell you my picks after the jump!
Bruce Lee’s goddaughter who is also an accomplished martial artist as a Star Wars action figure. Will she get at least one vote?
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Jedi Temple Archives wishes all our viewers and their families a very Happy Thanksgiving!
It’s an older meme, Sir, but It checks out
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Unless you live under a rock you will have heard of Disney’s latest box office disaster. The Marvels is a colossal flop at the box office, so colossal, that it will not just be Disney’s biggest box office flop ever, it will be the biggest money loser in the history of Hollywood, period. But this is not about The Marvels, the question is if this unmitigated disaster will have an impact on Star Wars. Why? Because Disney should be in panic mode right now and sadly, there are quite a few similarities to what Marvel is experiencing now and what may happen to Star Wars in the the near future. If all of Kathleen Kennedy’s plans ever come to fruition. So let’s discuss why The Marvels may impact Star Wars, what the similarities between the two franchises are, and what any of that means! Click through for more!
Oops!
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Star Wars is still worth a lot of money to people. A battle damaged X-Wing model used in the Star Wars movie was auctioned off for a whopping $3.1 million. It was part of late model maker Greg Jein’s estate. Jein created miniature models for various movies throughout his career (he never worked on a Star Wars movie, but he was involved with various Star Trek movies and series and more recently with the first Avatar movie and Interstellar), which earned him three Oscar nominations. Friends found the filming model stashed away in a box in Jein’s garage after his passing. He had accumulated a wealth of movie props (not just models), over the decades, but an original X-Wing filming model was of course a very special find. A Stormtrooper costume Jein also owned sold for $645,000 and one of the more curious items was a hairpiece worn by William Shatner in the original Star Trek series (which went for $13,500). Overall Jein’s auction brought in $11.5 million.
Starting price for the X-Wing model was $400,000, but in the end the model was sold for $3.1 million to an unknown bidder. The model was used for Red Leader, Red Two and Luke’s own Red Five in the movie. Feel free to come forward and post in the comments if you’re the lucky one who now owns an original X-Wing filming model! You know it belongs in a museum, right? Don’t just display it in your own private collection room.
The X-Wing is now the most expensive Star Wars prop ever that was used onscreen. Even beating another X-Wing filming model that was auctioned off before, which went for $2.375 million last year.
What do you think future generations will want to pay millions for when it comes to sequel trilogy props?
The $3.1 million X-Wing filming model. Source: Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press
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Happy Independence Day America! Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, and Star Wars toys! What’s more American than that? Cheers!
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Today marks the official 40th anniversary of Return of the Jedi. Did you see it in theaters on May 25, 1983? If you did then you are as old as me. Did you manage to snag this classic poster from the Fan Club when it was only $10? I passed on it because as a 12-year-old I had no such thing as money. I did manage to see it on opening day at Showcase Cinemas in Louisville, KY… the same theater I saw Star Wars at. Sadly, Showcase Cinemas was wiped from the earth in 2010. But, it was always ‘the theater’ to go to during the Original Trilogy release!
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Long-time Star Wars product designer Mark Boudreaux has passed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. Hug your Khetanna today because without Mark it would still be just a dream product. We thank Mark for his 40+ years of contributions to this hobby.
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This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, JTA may receive a commission if you click and make a purchase.
Happy Star Wars Day! There’s lots of news, deals, and pre-orders coming today, so scroll down to keep up with it all! We will add deals below as we find them.
May the 4th deals:
- The Black Series Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) – Amazon $20.49
- TBS The Mandalorian, Ahsoka & Grogu – Amazon $50.99 (Deal is dead)
- TBS Q9-0 (Zero) – Amazon $5.99
- The Vintage Collection Obi-Wan Kenobi Multipack – Amazon $32.99
- Retro Collection Bounty Hunter 2-Pack (Boba & Bossk) – Amazon $19.49
- Retro Collection Bounty Hunter 2-Pack (IG-88 & Dengar) – Amazon $18.99
- The Black Series Dark Trooper – Amazon $11.99 (!!) (Deal is dead)
- The Black Series Leia Organa Force FX Elite Lightsaber – Amazon $175.49
- LEGO UCS Millennium Falcon 75192 – Walmart $685
Click here for the Amazon Star Wars Day Deals page for all other deals
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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
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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
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It’s a question that has occupied the Star Wars fandom ever since The Force Awakens was released, and even more so after The Last Jedi: how much do people, and here we include all people, i.e. not just the hardcore action figure buying demographic, like the new Disney Star Wars movies? Some believe almost everyone surely hates the movies. Others claim that only a vocal minority dislike them whereas most regular people like the movies.
Well, let’s try to settle this debate once and for all! Rasmussen Reports conducted a representative survey in the US among adults in March 2023 and asked them the hard question: do you like the Disney Star Wars movies better, about the same or less than the original movies made by George Lucas?
On top of that I will also try to once and for all settle the question about how many male vs female Star Wars fans there are. And I will also use another survey to shed some more light on which age groups in the US are the most avid Star Wars fans. Younger people? Older people? How many Gen Z kids like Star Wars vs people who watched the original movies almost 50 years ago?
The results may surprise you!
Do people like Rey? Do women like Rey?
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You probably never really pay attention to it anymore, but before each and every Star Wars Disney+ series we get this short Lucasfilm Star Wars helmet montage. The entire sequence is very dark, helmets all flash by very rapidly and as mentioned, chances are high you barely pay attention to it anymore.
Now each and every series does have its own slightly different version of this helmet montage, i.e. the sequence of the helmets and even the helmets included in the sequence slightly differ between series like The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, The Bad Batch or The Mandalorian.
Until now The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor and The Mandalorian had one thing in common: the inclusion of BB-8 and Kylo Ren featured in the short intro sequence (The Bad Batch only has helmets from the Clone Wars era). Not anymore though. Click through for more!
Vader from the Lucasfilm Star Wars intro
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Merry Christmas to all our readers around the world! We hope your day is fun-filled and packed with at least one Star Wars goodie!
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