It’s Star Wars Day! What should we expect in terms of reveals and preorders? Look no further than last year as your rough guideline as to the types and quantities of products announced/revealed and available for preorder the following day on May 5th. For preorders, by my count, we should see about 12 mainline and fan channel items split evenly between the Vintage Collection and Black Series lines. There may be a couple retailer exclusives as well that may or may not throw off that balance.
Next week’s May 4th Fan First Wednesday Livestream kicks off at 10am ET.
Dan Who Review’s latest interview (10:20) with the Marvel team confirms more official details of Hasbro’s move to plastic-free packaging for the Marvel lines (and by extension Star Wars).
“You can’t stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting.”
The past 24 hours have been rife with discussion on the advancing progress of Hasbro’s commitment to removing plastic from their packaging by the end of 2022. Yesterday’s Marvel Legends Livestream gave collectors their first official look at the redesigned packaging for several products that incorporate the windowless form factor. Star Wars Black Series collectors can expect something very similar to be implemented this year as well. Last year, we exclusively shared Hasbro-proposed designs for the Black Series and now sights are set on what will happen to the beloved Vintage Collection, Retro Collection and even the 6″ Kenner-style carded Black Series figures.
I think I speak for a large portion (all?) of the collecting community when I make a direct plea to Hasbro and by extension, to Lucasfilm Licensing, to put a merciful end to the piecemeal preorder process of figures from the same wave/case assortment. This request applies to Vintage Collection and Black Series preorders alike.
Here is a list of outstanding preorders (U.S. only) accumulated so far for Vintage Collection, Retro Collection and Black Series items. If you’ve preordered (at least one of) everything, the list is substantial in length and price*.
The wait is finally over. 10 months have passed since the announcement, but reports are now showing that the Walgreens exclusive Black Series 212th Clone Trooper has finally surfaced in stores. Instagram follower rebeltimmy reports finding his in Michigan as well as twitter follower DarthArmo in Ohio
Some very interesting details have come to me regarding a Deluxe cantina band member coming to the Black Series line. Nalan Cheel from the Modal Nodes will be character 05 in the packaging sequence for A New Hope and it includes quite a bit of extras making that pricepoint feel a bit more warranted.
No word on whether or not it is a retailer exclusive but it is in the same packaging as the current deluxe line and is not a convention exclusive.
