Those Remaining The Black Series Figure Rumors Distilled And Discussed

Based on what Hasbro revealed/let slip at New York Toy Fair this past February, the anticipation was very high and cautious optimism was felt by the collecting community for what Hasbro would reveal at San Diego Comic Con. But after the presentation ended, most of us felt that we didn’t need new underwear. I will be the first to admit that. Despite not losing bodily control, I still however was pleasantly surprised by what Hasbro offered. A ton of rumors that had been floating through the air were finally confirmed. And as I began to think why I didn’t do happy dances like I did in the past (most notably SDCC 2009), I realized that all of the rumors JTA has posted may have made us all (that’s us included just to clarify) have unrealistically high expectations. So, I decided to mill through the news archives at JTA to see just where we’re at with the rumor lists and break down where we are with Hasbro: the rumored versus the confirmed, to see how many are still outstanding. Click through for more.

After you read and re-read the remaining rumors, please leave your thoughts in our comments about where you stand with the Star Wars line. Discuss your attitudes and opinions and where you see the line going. Do you have any hope left for NYTF and/or NYCC that are coming up?

Based on SDCC 2014, this is what has been officially revealed thus far:

The Black Series – 6″
Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) with Wampa (perhaps the concentration of the “Need New Underwear” claims by Hasbro)
Han Solo (Hoth Outfit) with Tauntaun (JTA’s crystal ball rumor report)
Emperor Palpatine (JTA Hasbro Secrets Revealed Toy Fair report)
Bossk (revealed by JTA sponsor Dorkside Toys)
TIE Fighter Pilot (silhouettes of this character began showing up at overseas online sellers)
Clone Trooper Sergeant (we knew a repaint was coming, we just didn’t know which one)

Exclusives
Shadow Stormtrooper and Scout Trooper with Speeder Bike (Target) (total surprise)

The Black Series – 3.75″
Commander Wolffe (Season 6) (teased by Hasbro at Toy Fair 2014, but confirmed by JTA/BanthaSkull rumor report)
Commander Doom (teased by Hasbro at Toy Fair 2014, but confirmed by JTA/BanthaSkull rumor report)
Princess Leia Organa (Yavin Ceremony) (JTA crystal ball report)
Chewbacca (specific type of Chewbacca was unclear, but originally confirmed by JTA/BanthaSkull rumor report)
Captain Rex (Who the heck knows? Is this meant to replace the yet-to-be-released Droid Factory realistic Captain Rex?)
Dutch Vander (originally confirmed by JTA/BanthaSkull rumor report)
Darth Vader (Yoda’s Test) (Jedi New UK Toy Fair leak)
Darth Malgus (TVC carry-forward) (originally revealed by JTA at Toy Fair)
Starkiller (TVC carry-forward) (originally revealed by JTA at Toy Fair)

Rumored/Confirmed Figures STILL NOT OFFICIALLY PLANNED FOR RELEASE (yet):

At UK Toy Fair, our friends at JediNews.co.uk posted the following rumor list which contained a few figures that weren’t originally revealed by JTA:

The Black Series – 3.75"
Ep5 Hoth Han Solo's "Search For Luke" (STILL MISSING IN ACTION)

In January 2014, JTA revealed that many figures from The Vintage Collection would be repackaged into The Black Series lineup. Some made the cut, others didn’t. Wave 4 and wave 5 were switched and the Luke Skywalker [Dagobah Training] wave arrived unchanged in July 2014, but the Ree-Yees wave got jumbled up and the two TVC carry-forwards were sadly axed. (This decision will probably remain the worst decision for the TBS line for all time.) AT-RT Driver and Republic Trooper are still hanging in limbo and will probably never get re-released at this point.

The Black Series – 3.75" (originally scheduled to be part of wave 5)
AT-RT Driver (VC46 repack)
Republic Trooper (VC113 repack)

JTA sponsor Dorkside Toys revealed two figures that have yet to be confirmed by Hasbro, yet pre-orders are still active on them.

The Black Series – 3.75"
Princess Leia (Boushh Disguise) (we so desperately wanted to see this figure at SDCC)
Imperial Navy Commander (we hope this is the gray Star Destroyer Commander, but who knows?)

Not officially announced by Hasbro, but it’s showing in inventory computers and online shops are taking pre-orders for him.

The Black Series – 6"
C-3PO

JTA and BanthaSkull within moments of each other posted a full list of 18 figures that Hasbro has planned to release together. There were plans for Hasbro to release a massive opening first wave of The Black Series figures in the new line look for Fall 2014. Those plans were sadly axed and it looks like that massive wave has been chopped into three smaller waves at this point. These are the remaining figures yet to be officially announced:

The Black Series – 3.75"
Princess Leia Organa (Boushh Disguise) (from Dorkside Toys pre-orders)
Imperial Navy Commander (unknown if this the TVC repack or a "new" gray uniform repaint) (from Dorkside Toys pre-orders)
C-3PO (who the heck knows?)
Anakin Skywalker (The Clone Wars) (still no details on this....)
Commander Thorne
Mosep Binneed
Rebel Fleet Trooper (no details on this....) UPDATE: likely the Yavin Medal Bearer JTA revealed in March 2013

The remaining/outstanding figures left from JTA’s rumor reports, including the Crystal Ball report:

The Black Series – 3.75"
Yak Face
8D8 (Build A Droid)
Princess Leia (Bespin Escape)
Lobot
Lando Calrissian
Han Solo (In Carbonite)
Yavin Medal Bearer
Hammerhead
Death Star Gunner

So to have all of these wonderful figures rumored by JTA and other sites, and then to not have them shown at big events like SDCC is a huge letdown. But Hasbro did reveal that they don’t want to announced too much in advance in case things get backlogged again and they can’t deliver. It makes me pine for an alternative method of doing things. I wish that there was a way that these could all get made at the same time, release them at the same time and do this process once a year. I think getting inundated with everything for the product year at once may be the best way of handling things. Hasbro would also be able to see which figures would be hits and have plenty of time to put more into production. I don’t know what NYCC (in October) and NYTF (in February 2015) will hold, but I hope that Hasbro manages to get all of these rumors officially announced.

    Hasbro Homepage
    Search Hasbro

Most Recent Hasbro: