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As we enter the second half of season three of The Mandalorian it’s now obvious what the season endgame is. The plot moves forward a little bit and Bo-Katan finally gets a new mission, Din Djarin meanwhile is only along for the ride, rumors have it he has regular self help meetings with Boba Fett twice a week about playing the second fiddle on your own own show. But no, “The Pirate” was mostly fun, but it also once more underlines an essential issue that plagues all of Disney Lucasfilm Star Wars. The bad joke that is the New Republic. I think we need to talk about that.
Meanwhile The Bad Batch released its season (series?) finale. The final episodes didn’t turn out at all like you may have expected them to. Instead, everything ends on a bleak cliffhanger and we witness one major death (maybe, it’s Star Wars after all). Now we can only hope The Bad Batch will not end up on Bob Iger’s $3 billion chopping block, despite what must be high production costs and very low ratings. Anyway, the final three episodes (last week’s episode included) are well worth watching. I plan on reviewing all three final episodes later this week.
But for now let’s talk about the latest adventure of Bo-Katan in The Mandalorian. Read my spoiler review and let’s have a chat about what I think is the biggest sin in Disney Star Wars.
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It’s time for another round of micro pre-orders. Click below for links for this week’s The Vintage Collection Tusken Raiders set and The Black Series Pike Soldier.
- The Vintage Collection Tusken Raiders (Hasbro Pulse)
- The Black Series Pike Soldier (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
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Amazon has the TVC The Bad Batch 4-pack on sale for $44.20, limited-time deal. Click here for the product page.
Tags: Amazon.com, Price Drop, The Bad Batch (Disney+ Series), The Vintage Collection
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This week’s official Mando Mania page reveals The Black Series Pike Soldier as seen in The Book of Boba Fett. Click here to check out all the rest of the licensee reveals on the main Mando Mania Week 5 page.
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As part of Mando Mania week 5 Comicbook.com has revealed the next troop builder multipack: Tusken Raiders, Featuring 4 ‘unique’ decos. Click through for the full reveal.
Pre-orders go live tomorrow at 1 PM Eastern on Hasbro Pulse, and at a later date on ShopDisney.
Tags: Comicbook.com, Mando Mania, The Vintage Collection, Troop Builder Sets, Tusken Raider
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The Mandalorian Chapter 20 – The Foundling Character posters are out. Click below to check out Jedi Kelleran Beq and Paz Vizsla.
Tags: Character Posters, Kelleran Beq, Paz Vizsla, The Mandalorian (Disney+ Series)
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We finish up the Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary Retro Collection wave with the Biker Scout. (more….)
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Fans attending Celebration Europe next month can find the return of the popular Collecting Track Medallions. You can pick these up free for attending the various Collecting Track panels (one per panel). Get more information over on their Instagram and Facebook pages. Click below for the entire run of 20 pewter Return of the Jedi character medallions. Click through for the complete list of sponsors.
Sadly, due to a personal conflict, JTA cannot provide on-site coverage this year. We’ll post relevant collecting news as it becomes available. Keep an eye on our friends across the pond Jedi News who will be on site for full coverage.
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Amazon currently has The Black Series Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary Boba Fett on sale for $16.79. Click here for the product page.
Update: This deal is no longer available
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Today we look at Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) from the Retro Collection. Um, OK. (more….)
Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!
Tags: 3.75-inch 5POA, Battle Of Carkoon, Battle Of Endor, Hasbro, Kenner, Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight Outfit), Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight), Rebel Alliance, Retro Collection, Return Of The Jedi, Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary, Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi
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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 Yoda (#397) and Lagos (#398). 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.
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It’s our 4500th RDR today! And we’re celebrating that with a great product review! Wow. The Speeder Bike & Scout Trooper set is better than expected. See why you need this set. (more….)
Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!
Tags: 3.75-inch Super-Articulated, Battle Of Endor, Biker Scout, Galactic Empire, Hasbro, Kenner, Return Of The Jedi, Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary, Scout Trooper, Speeder Bike, Speeder Bike & Scout Trooper, Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, Vehicles
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Click below to check out this week’s The Bad Batch character poster release: Captain Rex.
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To recap: rumors of Damon Lindelof (with Justin-Britt Gibson) writing a new Star Wars movie, with two times Academy Award winning documentary maker, and director of two Ms Marvel episodes, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy said to helm the movie, appeared a few months ago. More details were added as time went on, such as who the lead actors are (chances are they are gone now, since they were attached to Lindelof, at least the male lead was attached to Lindelof), but then earlier this week it was reported that Lindelof and Britt-Gibson quit, but that Lucasfilm is still pursuing the project.
And now reputable trade magazine Variety revealed the name of the new writer attached to the project. It’s the guy who co-invented the game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”. If you believe it or not. The writer, Steven Knight, also created the BBC hit series Peaky Blinders, which is distributed worldwide by Netflix. So what other things has Steven Knight done? Click through for a few more details!
UPDATE: Steven Knight will be quite busy apparently, since the trades report that he is supposed to write the completely unnecessary and pointless Vertigo remake (Hollywood really needs to think long and hard about what they are doing), with Robert Downey Jr as (executive) producer and maybe even starring.
“Who Wants To Be A Writer For Lucasfilm” would be a great idea for a new game show, but with a twist, the loser gets the job and the winner is let off the hook!
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The Han Solo (Endor) figure from the Retro Collection line is not bad. But did any of us need another version of this Han Solo ever again in our collections? (more….)
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“This is the way!” is the catchphrase on The Mandalorian. But as it turns out the series may have actually lost its way. The latest episode “The Foundling”, was definitely not a highlight, despite a momentous fan service moment. In fact, The Bad Batch entirely blew The Mandalorian out of the water this week with its latest episode that not only saw the return of Echo, but also featured Crosshair, Senator Chuchi and had a Grand Moff Tarkin cameo, as things ramp up for the season 2 endgame. So the new Bad Batch episode is definitely worth your time!
The Mandalorian on the other hand seems to be wandering aimlessly in the desert, with no clear direction, no clear goal and plots that more often than not make little sense. This week is all about a space dragon monster thing that kind of eats Paz Vizla’s son Ragnar, the very Unlucky. So the Mandos go after the monster to rescue the kid. Andor this is not. Maybe Andor is more of a curse than a blessing, because now everything will be compared to it, when it comes to acting and plot. And as much as I hate to say it, The Mandalorian season 3 falls short in almost every category so far.
Why exactly? Read my spoiler review for “The Foundling” and let’s discuss the latest adventure of Din Djarin and Grogu!
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Pre-orders are now available for the latest The Black Series and The Vintage Collection figures from yesterday’s Mando Mania announcements. Click below for pre-order pages:
- The Vintage Collection Cad Bane (Entertainment Earth • Amazon)
- The Black Series Luke Skywalker & Grogu (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 2 Case of 8
- The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figures Wave 2 Set of 4
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Poster collectors can pick up the Season 3 The Mandalorian poster today at 12 PM Eastern on Disney Movie Insiders for 400 points as part of this week’s Wednesday Wins campaign. Don’t forget, if you need points you can pick some up on eBay!
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Now let’s look at the Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) figure from the Retro Collection line. Do you know this figure’s secret? (more….)
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Chances are you have heard of that Damon Lindelof Star Wars movie set to be released in late 2025. The movie has a director, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a Pakistani woman who made documentaries about trans people in Pakistan (plus a few other documentaries) and directed two Ms. Marvel episodes (so, zero actual blockbuster movie experience), the movie is said to have found its two leads: two poc, male and female. The movie is supposed to be set in the post sequels era, i.e. it exists in the continuity of the sequels. Now while Lucasfilm, wisely, hasn’t officially announced anything, a reputable source, Jeff Sneider, spilled the beans about the Lindelof Star Wars project a while ago and he added more and more details as time went on. But now the story has taken a not very surprising turn….. Click here to read more!
A Lucasfilm producer – symbol photo
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We still need to talk about the last The Bad Batch episode: “Pabu”. It’s yet another filler and the archetypical “false paradise” episode where the heroes find a place that tempts them to stay for good.
“Pabu” is by far my least favorite episode this season, which is saying something, since we already had quite some filler episodes this season. Well, there is one major development in “Pabu” at least, so that’s something.
So let’s talk about season 2 episode number 13 out of 16. Or 29 out of 32 overall. And chances are there will never be an episode 33. We will see. Click here to read my spoiler review and let’s talk about “Pabu”.
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Mando Mania Week 4 has revealed another new addition to both The Black Series and The Vintage Collection. The Black Series has added Luke Skywalker and Grogu, and The Vintage Collection has added Cad Bane. Both additions are from The Book of Boba Fett. Cad Bane is featured on the main Mando Mania release page, and the Luke Skywalker & Grogu set is previewed exclusively at Fandom.com.
Pre-orders start tomorrow at 1 PM Eastern.
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Well, the Endor Bunker is released and comes with a cool interpretation of Nik Sant. The verdict is still out on this playset, but it’s better than we thought. (more….)
Thank you for reading Research Droids Reviews: Season 14!
Tags: 3.75-inch Super-Articulated, Battle Of Endor, Endor Bunker, Endor Rebel Commando (Scout Trooper Disguise), Galactic Empire, Hasbro, Kenner, Nik Sant, Playsets, Rebel Alliance, Rebel Commando, Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary, Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, The Vintage Collection
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Here are the latest character posters from The Mandalorian Chapter 19 – The Convert: Elia Kane (Amnesty Officer G68) & Dr. Penn Pershing (Amnesty Scientist L52). Click below to check them out!
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Walmart.com has another deluxe The Black Series price drop, this time Wrecker for $17.40 via third party seller. Free shipping on orders over $35. Thanks to JTA reader Chris for the alert!
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Toy Reviews
