With the release of the final
The Rise of Skywalker trailer and the movie poster revealed, all we have left to help us fill in the time until December 20th is wait for their obligatory - but highly entertaining - LEGO-ised versions to pop up, right?
Wrong! A whole raft of new
LEGO Star Wars sets from the Original Trilogy,
The Mandalorian and
The Rise of Skywalker hit shelves at the start of October and - OT/TV sets aside - it's time to have a look at where they fit in to the upcoming
Star Wars movie.
The initial release of
The Rise of Skywalker sets came ahead of schedule when some US retailers
jumped the gun and put out some sets early, but
the official party started on October 4th when five - yes, just five - sets and a Brickheadz two-pack from the next installment of the
Star Wars franchise were made available to purchase. That doesn't include the SDCC exclusive
Sith Trooper bust of course.
75257 Millennium FalconWe're nearly half way through the trailer before we get a glimpse of the first LEGO Star Wars-made available-on-Triple-Force-Friday set, with a quick look at the cockpit of everyone's favourite flying cheeseburger, complete with Resistance heroes. The ship's second appearance shows the cockpit again, but this time has a couple of familiar faces from the Original Trilogy, which are reflected in the minifigure inventory. This 1351-piece set, with its $160 price tag, is available at LEGO.com, Walmart and Amazon.com now.
75250 Pasaana Speeder ChaseSkimming across the desert landscape of Pasaana is a makepiece skiff, presumably being chased by the accompanying treadspeeder, carrying the core of the Resistance's action-driven characters. The fast-paced glimpse of this vehicle doesn't give us much to go on. The product description on LEGO.com doesn't give much away either, but given that it comes with a First Order Jet Trooper minifigure you can bet it's part of some pivotal action! Grab this set now on LEGO.com, Walmart or Amazon.com for $39.99.
75249 Resistance Y-Wing StarfighterThe third of the Triple Force Friday sets to make its final trailer appearance arrives in a barrel-rolling attack on the underbelly of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Piloted by the Zorii Bliss, this persona of mystery is able to squeeze a level of agility out of this venerable bomber that none of us have witnessed before. Hopefully this "wishbone" will bring luck to the Resistance in their last face-off against the New Order. This set is available now at all good purveyors of LEGO - such as LEGO.com, Walmart and Amazon.com - for $99.99. |
And that's it for the trailer - a mere three sets are shown. To see more of these new sets we have to jump back to the
teaser trailer, which treated us to a single A-wing fighter.
75248 Resistance A-Wing StarfighterDescending towards an expansive settlement shrouded by cloud a lone Resistance A-Wing, presumably on a vital errand to find out why LEGO chose to include a Lieutenant Connix minifigure in this set instead of General Organa, swoops between mountainous peaks. Some seconds - and a handful of mouth-watering visuals later - we see the same type starfighter streaking past a Star Destroyer with its engines aflame. Is this the end of Snap Wexley? This 269-piece set will cost $29.99 to add it to your collection, and can be purchased at LEGO.com, Walmart and Amazon.com right now. |
The mathematically astute reader will notice that this article is one set and a BrickHeadz two-pack short of being complete. That's because neither are seen in any of the footage that Lucasfilm has revealed, and with this latest trailer release dubbed as the "final" one we aren't likely to find out more until the movie hits cinema screens.
75256 Kylo Ren's ShuttleOne might assume that the personal spaceship of the new Supreme Leader would be something special, or that said Supreme Leader wouldn't be riding around in the same company car that the last boss man of the First Order issued. On the otherhand, this could be a clever way of LEGO to produce a corrected 75104 Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle, which was lumbered with the wrong wings after changes to the ship's design in post-production. Seeing as Kylo's own craft has appeared in both the previous Prequel Trilogy movies it is fair to say that we'll get treated to it in the next one. Available now at LEGO.com, Walmart and Amazon.com, this set has a $129.99 price tag.
75232 Kylo Ren & Sith TrooperWith its initial concept reveal during the run up to the summer convention season's inaugural event - San Diego Comic Con - this much-vaunted vermilion trooper of the First Order numerous has been afforded a lot of attention. Along with Kylo Ren, who is sporting his newly repaired face mask, it's easy to connect the dots between the two and come to the conclusion that the Sith Trooper is part of the Supreme Leader's personal guard. With a price that will set you back a triffling $19.99, this two-pack can be purchased at LEGO.com and Target.com, where it is a shared exclusive. |
Previous initial product launches have had considerably more variety and scope. With six sets and three buildable figures as part of
the initial offering of LEGO
The Last Jedi sets, the current assortment is the weakest yet.
Even the latest addition to the
Star Wars cinematic line-up -
Solo: A Star Wars Story - had better fare on its
merchandise launch day, with eight sets, four promotional polybags and two buildable figures. Despite doing miserably at the box office it still had enough favour with license holders that it earned a slot at San Diego Comic Con and has been unoffically dubbed the best
convention exclusive that LEGO has ever brought to the table.
Not surprisingly after the fall-out that surrounded the heavily merchandised, over-hyped and under-whelming
The Last Jedi, the marketing campaign for
The Rise of Skywalker has been delayed and subdued. The product launch came a month later than normal, was co-mingled in with the release of merchandise from the new Disney live action
The Mandalorian TV series, some "retro"
Star Wars toys and collectible tie-ins for the new Jedi: Fallen Order video game. And as
our recent poll showed, the enthusiasm that fans and collectors have shown over previous toy launches has waned significantly.
Are you on the fence about the new LEGO
Star Wars sets or are you as excited (but keeping your emotive fingers away from your keyboard) as ever? Head to our
dedicated LEGO forums and share your opinions about them.