It's finally here. The first wave of the new 2012 Star Wars brand packaging is officially in stores now, and as you saw in this report...stores are gearing up for the big promotion of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D hitting theaters on February 10th.

Formerly known as Saga Legends, Hasbro has created a "new" line of realistic-style action figures called Movie Heroes. Apparently at one time was going to be called "Movie Legends", which I think I actually prefer. But I digress...

The 2012 line look features Darth Maul from the movie, and Hasbro has carried over the design to this line as well. Movie Heroes is a line of figures that are repacks/repaints of action figures from the past that include "action features". Since 1995, every time there has been a movie released, Star Wars figures include some kind of action feature that improves playability for kids. This is accomplished through hidden (or not-so-hidden) buttons, squeezable limbs, or oversized accessories. This year is no exception, except that instead of newly-sculpted figures, Hasbro has opted to just reissue oler ones. Longtime collectors can ignore these, but newer fans may want to get them, because they are "new to you!"

Here's the rundown of the line that's currently in stores:

MH01: Shock Trooper
MH02: Super Battle Droid
MH03: R2-D2
MH04: Battle Droid
MH05: Darth Maul
MH06: Darth Vader
MH07: General Grievous
MH08: Obi-Wan Kenobi
MH09: Yoda
MH10: Qui-Gon Jinn
MH11: Clone Trooper (with Jetpack)
MH12: Destroyer Droid

There will be more all-new figures coming later this year, and 6 of those can be seen here. The only other figure that has not been shown yet thus far is a light-up Darth Vader, which was confirmed at NYCC last October.

The Galactic Battle Game is also included here, with new colors for the battle stands (the 4 different designs are still here) and the battle dice. The battle cards are different now, featuring a 2-sided card and the battle instructions are on a separate insert.

MH03: R2-D2
This is the same astromech droid that has been released multiple times in the Saga Legends lineup, but now he has "dirt" smeared all over him! Plus, the variety of "phrases" of chirps & beeps have been increased. Supposedly, there are 32 different ones, but I don't speak astromech, so I'll take Hasbro's word for it.



MH04: Battle Droid
This is a repaint of the Battle Droid figure that has been available in a 2-pack form for the past few years, but now it's flying solo. At least he has a big rocket-firing blaster cannon (borrowed from The Clone Wars droids) to keep him company.


MH04: Battle Droid (Variant)
Since the above figure was based on the droids from Episode II...it was inevitable really that there would be a variant...which is this figure from Episode I. Completeists take note: the deco is unique on both droids, so you will want both versions.


MH05: Darth Maul
This is another repaint-of-a-repaint, but since this is the year of Darth Maul...why not get as many versions as possible? This one includes an arm that spins, and knees that swivel and allow him to kneel...which was pretty cool in 2002, and frankly, is still pretty cool now.



Stay tuned for each figure to be added to the Photo Archive, with all-new details, comparisons, & more!