Questions for Hasbro? - Week 19
On November 10th, we sent our nineteenth batch of questions to Hasbro for their weekly Star Wars Question and Answer feature. Today, we've got the answers to those questions!
1. OK, so, we’re creeping closer to Spring 2007. Any chance we can get some hints about the upcoming 2007 Vintage-style line? Pleeeeeeeeease? Also, on the topic of vintage-style figures, now that you’ve confirmed the inclusion of coin pack-ins for 2007, have you given any more thought to offering up a few vintage-style figures based on the original Power of the Force Kenner cardbacks? It seems like the perfect time to revisit that idea now that you’ve got those new coin toolings going (and the perfect way to get a new Stormtrooper Luke and Endor Leia we all want).
** The new vintage figures will be out in May. The details on the line will be revealed at Toy Fair, in February. We can confirm that there will be six figures in this Asst.
2. Amidst the plans of recycling ships for 2007, is there any chance of seeing the Toys R Us exclusive Jedi Starfighters re-released (sans pilot figures)? The Blue Utapau and Green Mustafar Jedi Starfighters were items that came and went pretty quickly and are still missing from a lot of collections.
** Good question. Yes, there is a high likelihood that at least one of these ships will find their way into the 85196 Starfighter Vehicle mainline (non-exclusive) assortment next year. There is still very high demand, among kids, for the Anakin and Obi-Wan Starfighters and these do play a very prominent role in EpIII.
3. The concept for Battle Packs like Mace Windu's Attack Battalion are cool but they are not really from the Clone Wars Expanded Universe material exactly... Is this something Lucasfilm gives to you to run with or do you design things like this yourselves and thus add to the ever-growing EU on your own?
** Interesting question and one that goes to the broader question of "where do ideas that expand the Star Wars mythos come from?" We on the Star Wars toy team like to consider ourselves as storytellers as well; with each product, we reinforce the magic of Star Wars whether its from the movies, games, comics, TV, and even toys, allowing collectors and kids to play Star Wars the way they want to at home. Given the jedi/droid/clone relationship (and one could also addd Starfighters in there too) there are a lot of "off to the side" figures that seem a natural and continuous fit to go with what we see on screen in Episode III. For instance, if we know that Kit Fisto and Plo Kloon have Starfighters, then it also stands that they also have Astro droids. Even Quinlan Vos, who is not seen in the movie, has troops and probably also has a Starfighter and presumably an Astro droid. All of these would be interesting to explore over the course of time. But something about Mace just struck us and we came up with several concepts that explore his off-screen attachments (wait.... Jedi don't form attachments... his... tools?). It's part Mace's power in EpIII. He's such a great character, but his unique choice of purple as a signature color just demands attention. So, indepentandly, we presented his Starfighter, clone batallion, and astro droid, and Lucasfilm gave us the go-ahead with each in turn and so we have expanded the character basis for Mace by expanding his repetoire a bit. So to get back to your original question...the creation of an "off-screen" expansion of the Star Wars mythos is allowed when the result is a natural, adjecent fit with what we already know from on-screen, and when the idea forwards exploration of the rich and expansive, and uniquely Star Wars, world of the jedi-clones-droids-ships relationship.
If you've got a question you've always wanted to ask the Hasbro Star Wars Team, then head into our forums to find out how to submit your question! 
Friday, November 17, 2006 | Jeff Smentek
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