The 2012 Darth Maul Design: Designed to emphasize on the theatrical release of
Star Wars Episode I:
The Phantom Menace in 3D, Hasbro created a new line called Movie Heroes. The 2012 line lasted through three waves. The first two were available everywhere, but the third wave saw very limited release in Europe. The Movie Heroes 2012 collection also had a Walmart exclusive subset called Discover The Force.
The 2010-2011 Dark Skies (The Clone Wars & Saga Legends) Design: In the Summer of 2010, the Clone Wars animated series was becoming decidedly darker in tone; the Dark Skies packaging reflects this eerie foreshadowing. The success of the Vintage Collection resulted in Dark Skies cases being offered with either Saga Legends or Clone Wars identifiers: the former focused on main characters/greatest hits from both film trilogies, while the latter continued to introduce new characters from the the animated series as well as repackaged favorites since the show’s debut in 2008. For nearly two years Dark Skies packaging left fans wondering exactly how much longer the animated exploits of Anakin Skywalker, Captain Rex, and Ahsoka Tano would continue as the series inevitably marched towards the events of Episode III.
The Red Design: After a full year of the new Clone Wars animated series proving to be a success on Cartoon Network, the line continued from the previous year but in new packaging for 2009. Released in Spring of 2009, the Clone Wars line of figures continued to impress fans of the series by offering an increased number of new characters—more than made available in 2008—as well as new outfits for several of the main characters. The popularity of the line made assortments difficult to locate, and Hasbro responded by releasing full cases of series heroes such as Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano.
The 2008 Blue Design: For the first time since 2003, Star Wars audiences were treated to a new animated series based on the events of the Clone Wars. Starting with a movie-length theatrical release on August 15, 2008, the Clone Wars continued on the Cartoon Network as an engaging series starting exactly where the events of the movie concluded. Clone Wars action figures were released on July 26, 2008 and featured accurate sculpts based on their on-screen appearances. The animated look was a resounding success, much more so than their 2003 counterparts. Clone Wars animated cardbacks were cut in the shape of Clone Trooper helmets reminiscent of their appearance in Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and were instantly recognizable to children engrossed in the television series.
