Author Archives: Thomas
A ton of all new figures were revealed in today’s livestream!
- SDCC exclusive Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker set with diorama pieces and lots of accessories
- A slightly retooled/repainted The Ronin figure from Star Wars Visions
- Jedi Temple Guard
- Barriss Offee
And then three Halloween figures were also revealed:
- Asajj Ventress as a literal witch on a broom
- A glow in the dark ghost version of the Imperial Royal Guard
- A Stormtrooper mummy figure
Article expanded and updated with photos!
An SDCC exclusive set that comes with all the bells and whistles
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Nielsen have added the final batch of Andor episodes, that is episodes 10 – 12, to their charts. So how did Andor do? One could say “pretty well”. How well? Andor was the #1 most watched streaming content in North America with its finale. Yes, it’s actually number one on the general streaming charts, making it a super rare victory for Disney+. And even better: Rogue One entered the Nielsen top 10 movie charts! Click through for all the details!
Having a good time
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Pre-production for Star Wars: Starfighter, the Ryan Gosling movie directed by Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine, Stranger Things, Free Guy), has added another cast member. Mia Goth will join the project as one of the villains. Production is still presumed to begin later this fall and release date, as of now, is 28 May 2027, so about a year after The Mandalorian & Grogu hits theaters in May 2026.
Mia is of course a British actress (all Star Wars villains must always be British!) and she has starred in various projects previously, you can see her in movies like Suspiria, Emma (based on the Jane Austen novel) or even very artsy projects like Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac Vol. II. Star Wars will be her first foray into the world of escapist space adventures.
Do you think the Ryan Gosling movie can succeed? Are you interested in this project which is supposed to be a stand alone story with all new characters, but set in a post sequels timeline?
Mia Goth joins Star Wars
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The new Nielsen streaming charts are available and the Andor episodes 7 through 9 were added. How does the show fare? In absolute numbers very, very well.
Andor is now the #5 show on the general streaming charts (it was #6 last week) and is still #3 on the original series charts with 830 million minutes watched, a slight increase over last week where it was 821 million.
But how does that compare to previous shows? Click through for more!
UPDATED
Syril is disappointed that Dedra won’t watch Andor
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Andor is on the rise on the Nielsen streaming charts! Nielsen have added the second batch of episodes that were released in week 2, that means episodes 4 through 6. And Andor, regardless of whether the amount of content released benefits the show, is the first Star Wars series since basically The Mandalorian and the Ahsoka premiere that is comfortably in the overall top 10 most streamed content charts in North America!
And on the Luminate streaming charts Andor accomplishes a rare feat. It’s still in the top 10 two weeks after the last episode was released. Again, the only other Star Wars series to manage this (on the Nielsen charts however), was The Mandalorian.
Time to party
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I waited a little longer this time to talk about the Andor streaming charts performance because I didn’t just want to cover the Luminate charts, but wanted to wait for Nielsen to add at least the first three episodes so we can better compare performance of the show with previous Star Wars series. Luminate only has numbers for The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew, both of which failed to even enter the charts repeatedly, so we only have incomplete data. But with Nielsen we can see how Andor stacks up compared to all the other shows.
So how does Andor perform? Surprisingly well. So well, that for the first time in almost forever a Star Wars series made the overall top 10 on the Nielsen streaming charts with 10th place. And 4th place in the original series charts.
In fact, an additional report by Parrot Analytics about financial performance of the show tells us that Andor is, despite its exorbitant budget, still a financial success for Disney.
So let’s look at the details! Click through for more!
Success
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I am sorry it took me a while to post the review for the Andor series finale. But there was so much to digest and unpack this week.
To call the series finale a triumph is an understatement. The finale is very, very surprising (I bet no one would have ever predicted this kind of story for the finale) and gives each and every character the ending they deserve, and some of those endings are also quite surprising, but always very fitting.
And to all the people who never cared for Andor, which is absolutely fine, Andor is very different from your typical Star Wars, let me tell you just this: the show, but especially the series finale, has not only made Rogue One a better movie now, but even made the original Star Wars movie a much more impactful story 48 years later. And this is the true artistic achievement here. Stories we already loved have now become so much more meaningful and richer and ultimately even better. When Luke fires that torpedo now… you will truly know what it means. Rogue One did some of that already, but the Andor series finale puts it all on another level. It elevates Star Wars as a whole, the entire series has. The finale is peak Star Wars.
Anyway, this week’s review for the finale is a bit long maybe, but I still hope you will join me in a discussion about the Andor series finale Make It Stop / Who Else Knows? / Jedha, Kyber, Erso. Just click on the banner below or here!
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This week’s three episode arc of Andor, Messenger / Who Are You? / Welcome To The Rebellion, was quite something. What can I even say? I believe Andor is exactly the kind of series we need at the moment.
Star Wars is and has always been timeless, but also, in many ways, relevant to the current era.
Andor this week is, for me, peak Star Wars, the best ever, exactly the right tv/streaming show at a perfect time. Never has Star Wars been more relevant, in my opinion.
Of course many will feel Andor is peak boredom, not Star Wars and that the political focus this week is annoying. But everyone else will hopefully agree with me that Star Wars has never been better.
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In my opinion today’s livestream was mostly a nothingburger for Black Series collectors.
All that was shown are either repacks, retools or repaints.
- Shore Trooper / Death Trooper troop builder 2-pack
- Sandtrooper (first time on the new Stormtrooper body and with one new blaster)
- Clone Lieutenant Galle (some new parts)
- Aayla Secura (ROTS Anniversary line)
- Magnaguard (ROTS Anniversary line, recolored in metallic blue)
- Force FX Elite Ezra Bridger lightsaber
The two ROTS figures are Walmart exclusives, pre-order here starts on May 4th at 10 am ET. Everythings else will be up for pre-order at 1 pm. Note: the troop builder pack will only be available for pre-order for non Pulse Premium people at 2 pm.
The figures are released in summer/fall 2025. Photos will follow in an update later!
UPDATE: Photos added!
Yay! Repacks and recolors!
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It took a while to review the new Andor arc this week. It’s a lot of content and I want to give it its due and let it sink in as well, the three episodes combined (Ever been to Ghorman? / I Have Friends Everywhere / What A Festive Evening) had a net runtime of about 2h15min (not including the credits even).
And in my opinion it was peak television. But also the most un-starwars-y thing ever (more than ever even!). Anyone who wants their lightsabers, space battles and other usual things in Star Wars will consider Andor to be the most pretentious boring nonsense ever. Without a doubt.
Anyone else will love it to bits. And there are so many things to love this time yet again. Andor turns into a proper spy thriller this week with lots of personal drama and peak world building. And someone even gets their sweet revenge!
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Now this is quite impressive for a 20-year-old movie! The rerelease of Revenge of the Sith is the #2 movie at the US box office! The last of the prequel movies earned $25.2 million over the weekend. Which outperforms a few new releases like the Until Dawn movie or The Accountant 2.
This is certainly evidence that Star Wars still has a lot of appeal, only fans are starved of good Star Wars movies, we haven’t had one since Rogue One. This may be a positive sign for the Mandalorian & Grogu movie if it actually sticks the landing. Of course Revenge of the Sith has things the Mandalorian will probably not have: Jedi, space battles and epic duels. So it remains to be seen if streaming show characters can actually transition successfully to the big screen. But fans certainly are longing for a good and fun Star Wars movie again. Now if only Lucasfilm actually made movies like that again. But there is hope both the Mandalorian movie and the Ryan Gosling movie may at least try earnestly to give fans fun and entertaining movies.
Did you watch the movie in theaters over the weekend?
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Hasbro signed a multi-year extension to their licensing agreement with Disney and will keep making Star Wars and Marvel action figures! In a press release the toymaker said this:
Under the extended agreement, Hasbro will continue to develop a wide range of products for families and fans of all ages, based on the iconic brands. This includes bringing characters from the Star Wars galaxy to life in action figure form through the highly popular lines, The Black Series and The Vintage Collection, as well as engaging new generations of fans with Lightsabers toys and other kids’ and preschool toys themed around characters from Darth Vader to The Mandalorian.
Read the full press release here!
My own guess is that Hasbro probably has more favorable conditions now, given the current state of Star Wars at least. Either way, this is good news for all those who want continuity. And objectively speaking the action figures made by Hasbro have never been better. The only remaining question is how Hasbro will deal with the tariffs. But both parties involved are apparently confident that Star Wars and Marvel is in good hands at Hasbro and that both toylines can and will have a bright future.
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Andor is back! Finally! We had to wait 2 1/2 years for this.
Lucasfilm and Disney have wisely decided to release each movie consisting of three episodes all at once, so for three weeks we will get three episodes on the same day. But that also means it’s a lot, and I mean a LOT, of content. The first movie is almost 2 1/2 hours long, reaching Lord of the Rings (theatrical cut) territory.
I want to make it short here: Andor is still the same. So it’s still the most “un-starwarsy” thing ever and anyone who felt Andor season 1 was boring or just bad even maybe will not change his or her mind. If you are one of those then you really need not bother and you can move on. What you will get here are lavish wedding parties, people talking in offices, and Syril having dinner with his mom who wants to get to know his all new sweet girlfriend (none other than ISB officer Dedra).
And anyone who loved season 1 will almost certainly also enjoy or even love the first three episodes of season 2! There is lots to talk about, so please either click here or on the banner below to discuss the first three episodes of season 2, One Year Later, Sagrone Teema and Harvest!
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The Ninth Jedi was easily the best episode in the first Visions season. Back then the Japanese studio behind the short said that they hope to be able to continue the story since they have mapped out so much more than the short was showing, enough for a full series even.
In case you forgot: The Ninth Jedi is set in the far future of the Star Wars Galaxy where the Jedi Order is nothing but a distant memory and all but extinct, even if there are still a few Force sensitive people who call themselves Jedi in the galaxy. But they have no lightsabers. The art of making them has been lost a long time ago, but on a remote planet one man still knows how to make lightsabers, the Sith however capture him and eventually his young daughter and a young Jedi boy set out to help rebuild the Jedi order and to rescue the lightsaber swordsmith after defeating a couple of Sith who try to kill them all.
And now at Celebration Japan we not only got the release date for Visions Volume 3, October 27th on Disney+, but we also learned that yet another The Ninth Jedi short, “Child of Hope”, will be part of Visions Volume 3. However, the news do not stop here, because then it was announced that The Ninth Jedi will even get its very own limited spin-off series in 2026 that will continue where the Volume 3 short “Child of Hope” ends.
This is certainly excellent news for all the fans who asked for The Ninth Jedi not to be forgotten about. The very best thing would have been to announce a live action project, but seeing the story continue in animated form is certainly the next best thing.
Is there any other Visions short you’d like to see more of? Especially volume 1 had a few interesting stories. Volume 2 maybe not as much, which I found very uneven or at times even bad. Let’s hope Visions Volume 3 can step up the quality again. Ultimately I feel that Visions should become something of an ideas lab for Star Wars where creators can pitch their “vision” of Star Wars, with the best ones then getting picked up for more.
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S.H.Figuarts is still in the business of making Star Wars figures, even if things have slowed down considerably. SHF are also notorious for showing prototypes of figures that never make it to production. So do not think the figures shown at Celebration are all guaranteed releases down the road. But one can always be hopeful. That being said the choice of figures shown at Celebration is somewhat of a headscratcher here and there… click through for more!
Luuke with Yodaa or Luke with Yoda?
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The current US president has signed an executive order which will effectively put a 54% tariff on all imported goods from China and 46% on imported goods from Vietnam. This will have a huge impact on Hasbro and other toy companies who have their toys made predominantly in those two countries! Click through for more!
George Lucas – A True Visionary!
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Three brand new Black Series figures were revealed by the Hasbro team today!
- Night Trooper (Ahsoka)
- Ezra Bridger (Ahsoka)
- SM-33 (Skeleton Crew)
SM-33 will be a deluxe figure!
All figures will be available for preorder on the 26th at 1 pm ET! The Night Trooper and Ezra will come this summer, SM-33 will be available in fall!
Article updated with photos and some additional info! Click through for more!
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Chris Cocks is currently at New York Toy fair and there he was interviewed by Yahoo Finance about the new tariffs imposed by the US administration, targeting, among other countries, also China, which is still the #1 manufacturer of toys worldwide. And while efforts are on the way to move away from China, it will take a long time to fully replace China and especially all the Star Wars action figures are basically still made there, so there is no escaping tariffs for now. And this means: price increases are looming on the horizon. Read more after the jump!
Chris Cocks talks about the impact of tariffs on toy prices
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There were a few Black Series reveals today! Let’s dive right in!
- Moff Gideon in Dark Trooper Armor
- Imperial Praetorian Guard
- Cassian Andor in Imperial test pilot outfit from Andor season 2
- Director Krennic with photoreal head
And then several repacked figures will come in the 20th anniversary Revenge of the Sith line!
- Count Dooku
- Kit Fisto
- R2-D2
All the ROTS figures are Walmart exclusives! And will become available at the Walmart March Collector Event, more news about that to follow.
The regular figures will be available for pre-order on March 5th at 1 pm ET and will be available later this year in summer!
One roleplay item was also revealed!
- 501st Clone Trooper helmet
Updated with photos! Click through for more!
A first Andor season 2 figure was revealed!
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After yesterday’s news there is already rampant speculation about who will succeed Kathleen Kennedy at Lucasfilm. The Hollywood Reporter even has an entire article about it and they have some insightful things to say! Click through for more!
UPDATE: Industry insider Jeff Sneider shared some additional info about Kennedy’s retirement and who may replace her.
Those guys?
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Yes, I know, you may be skeptical. But very reputable Hollywood trade newsletter Puck News (their newsletter and website have a paywall) broke the story earlier tonight, according to three of their sources Kathleen Kennedy will step down as Lucasfilm president and retire by the end of 2025. Major Hollywood trade magazines like The Hollywood Reporter are running the story as well, this time it’s apparently for real! Click through to read it all!!!
Symbol photo
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Luminate, a Nielsen competitor who have been releasing streaming charts for some time now, released their year end streaming market analysis a while ago and their report – among other things – offers a lot of insight into how Star Wars is doing on Disney+. And in more general terms how Disney+ is doing, at least when it comes to original streaming content.
And for the first time ever we get numbers in this report for shows like Skeleton Crew and even The Bad Batch!
As you probably know Skeleton Crew never made either the Luminate or the Nielsen Streaming Charts. Nielsen have finally released their charts for the week in which the Skeleton Crew series finale was released – and it did not make the top 10 once again, making it the very first Star Wars live action show on Disney+ never to crack the top 10 original series charts.
But how bad was it really? Luminate’s report does include numbers for the first five episodes of Skeleton Crew (all the 2024 episodes) plus numbers for The Bad Batch which released earlier in 2024. And what do you think the #1 original show on Disney+ was in 2024? And how does it compare with the competition?
Star Wars in 2024
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Earlier today Hasbro released their numbers for Q4 2024 and also for the full year. As expected Chris Cocks is full of praise for himself and Hasbro and sees the company on the right path. He wants to transform Hasbro into more of a games company, not really toys anymore, they also want to go more into (digital) gaming, no surprise, with how successful the licensed D&D title Baldur’s Gate 3 was and how much money on the phone Monopoly Go! is making for them. And Cocks even announced a new strategy “playing to win!”. One aspect of this new strategy is to appeal to kids ages 13+, of course Hasbro feels the effects of the smartphone and video gaming, and the cut off age for certain toys is getting ever lower. This is where games and the entire Wizards of the Coast branch are supposed to succeed. And yes, for the full year Wizards grew again, while consumer products (aka “toys”) revenue greatly declined by 12% for the full year.
Revenue overall declined by 17% for the full year, much of that can be attributed to the sale of eOne (Hasbro got rid of their entertainment branch), but even without that revenue still declined 7%. Total earnings for 2024 were $4.1 billion, vs $5 billion in 2023. But profitability is up, operating margins are pretty good and Hasbro owned inventory (aka unsold stuff languishing in a warehouse) is also greatly reduced.
What do I hear you say? Star Wars? What about Star Wars? Click through to find out…
UPDATE: now with earnings call transcript and a few insightful words about Star Wars from Hasbro (nothing positive)
Getting smaller year after year…
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Earlier today Disney Parks revealed on their social media accounts that a rather famous Star Wars character will finally come to Galaxy’s Edge.
And it’s none other than Luke Skywalker.
So much for “Galaxy’s Edge should be a living thing, not a Star Wars museum about the past, and Rey and Kylo will attract all the fans”.
I suppose several Disney execs still rue the day they decided not to recreate Tatooine for their Star Wars themed shopping mall.
In other news: the now defunct Star Wars Hotel will be converted into office space.
Source: Disney Parks on X
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Third time’s the charm? The Rey Palpatine movie, tentatively titled “New Jedi Order”, has found yet another new writer. This after Damon Lindelof and his writing partner were let go over creative differences, then Steven Knight was tasked to come up with something, yet according to reports Lucasfilm didn’t like any of his treatments, so he focused on other things more worth his time and moved on… but Kathy won’t give up that easily, Lucasfilm has now hired yet another screenwriter as per The Hollywood Reporter, so this is pretty official!
And the new vict… I mean writer is George Nolfi! If you wonder “who?”. Nolfi has written seven movies in total so far. Among them several pretty average and forgettable ones. His best known works are the very average (some would say bad) “Timeline” (the movie based on a Michael Crichton book), then there’s Ocean’s 12, and he also wrote two pretty good Matt Damon movies, The Bourne Ultimatum and The Adjustment Bureau, the latter is like Timeline the only somewhat more fantastical movie where mysterious guardians of the timeline try to prevent a romance between Damon and co-star Emily Blunt. But Nolfi has never really worked on an all out scifi/fantasy movie before.
Nolfi is also a director, his most notable work as a director is The Adjustment Bureau.
So he has experience, he knows how to direct and to write (and produce) movies. Nolfi certainly has the qualification and at least the two Matt Damon movies are even pretty enjoyable. But let’s see where this is going. I am saying it once more: if Disney really let Kennedy make her Rey movie, even more so with a non-director like Obaid-Chinoy at the helm, they are more foolish than I already think they are.
Also, since Nolfi has worked a lot with Matt Damon previously… could this mean he’s joining Star Wars as well? Now we only need Ben Affleck!
Post your humorous thoughts in the comments!
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