STAR WARS: FORCE FRIDAY 2017
This winter, the latest chapter of the epic ‘Star Wars’ saga is set to hit theaters with ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘ (or as many have taken to calling it, ‘Episode VIII’). Now that Disney owns the ‘Star Wars’ brand, we can happily look forward to a brand new ‘Star Wars’ movie every year, and with each new film comes a whole galaxy’s worth of new merchandise that releases in early September for an annual celebration that has been dubbed ‘Force Friday’!
Each year on ‘Force Friday’, a number of major retailers like Toys R Us, Target, and Wal-Mart open up the doors at the stroke of midnight to give ‘Star Wars’ fans a chance to be the first to pick up all of the latest new action figures, vehicles, prop replicas and more! Even of major online retailers like Entertainment Earth are getting in on the action with a number of new ‘Star Wars’ exclusives going live on their website for rabid fans to purchase as the clock strikes twelve!
With all of the new ‘Star Wars’ merchandise coming our way all at once, it’s going to be super easy to miss out on some of the best items! That’s why we’re rounding up some of our personal favorites below so you know just what to look for when you’re out toy hunting this weekend! Be sure to check out all of the fantastic new ‘Star Wars’ merchandise and collectibles below!
Action Figures
With ‘Star Wars’, there’s always bound to be a ton of cool basic figures! Thankfully Hasbro is laying out lots of great stuff in both their 6″ scale ‘Star Wars Black Series’ figures, as well as their classic 3.75″ scale figures!
For 6″ scale we’ve got a few new figures from ‘The Last Jedi’ including Rey in her Jedi training gear, Luke Skywalker, and unmasked Kylo Ren! While they aren’t technically for ‘The Last Jedi’ a number of other new 6″ scale figures are set to hit the mass market this weekend as well including Hera and Grand Admiral Thrawn from ‘Star Wars: Rebels’, and a new version of Darth Vader! These figures are all expected to retail for around $20 each.
In addition to these standard release figures, there are also going to be a number of special retailer exclusive figures available. These are all priced a little differently, with the price depending on just what is in each package! Gamestop will have an exclusive Supreme Leader Snoke figure with his deluxe throne ($35), while Walgreens has a ‘Force Ghost’ version of Obi-Wan Kenobi ($20) and Amazon has an Elite Praetorian Guard ($20). There will even be a 2-pack exclusively at ToysRUs of Admiral Ackbar and a First Order Officer($40)! The biggest new exclusive is shared by several retailers (Barnes and Noble, Gamestop, and Disney Stores), and it’s a doozy! The exclusive 6″ scale figure 4-pack dubbed ‘Guardians of Evil’ ($80) includes various versions of Imperial Guards from across the entire ‘Star Wars’ saga!
If you want a little something extra, there will be deluxe versions of Rey, Luke, and Kylo available exclusively at select retailers that include display bases and some extra accessories for your favorite characters! Rey can be found at ToysRUs, while Luke is at Target and Kylo Ren is at Wal-Mart!
For 3.75″ ‘Star Wars’ figures there is a much wider variety of items available! Of course, we will be seeing a number of new figures in the line of smaller scale figures, with the major downside being their lack of articulation (only 5 POA on average). This line will see new versions of fan favorites like Rey, Fin, Poe, Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker, and many more! Plus we even have new characters to look forward to like Rose!
Besides the standard figures in this smaller scale series, there will also be a number of new vehicles and even some creature packs available for people looking to get a little something extra out of their smaller scale figures! There’s a new X-Wing, A-Wing, Police Speeder, Probe Droid, and so many more!
Finally, with all of these 3.75″ figures laying around you probably need a display base or playset to keep using with them, right? That’s where the BB-8 Mega Playset comes in! It’s going to set you back $180, but what looks like a life sized BB-8 unfolds into a massive Star Destroyer playset on the inside! It’s perfect for all of your 3.75″ scale figures and even comes packaged with exclusive figures of Supreme Leader Snoke and an Elite Praetorian Guard!
Force Link Wrist Band
One interesting new feature that Hasbro has implemented into all of the 3.75″ scale figures this time around if the ‘Force Link’ chip technology! If you were around in the late 90’s for the release of ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace’, you’ll probably remember these large computer chips that came packed with each figure and that could be used with a speaker system (sold separately) to make your figures “talk”. The new ‘Force Link’ is essentially the exact same thing, except that the chip is built directly into the figures, vehicles, and playsets and the activator can actually strap to your wrist to make it even easier to use! Whenever the activator is placed near the collectible in question, it will respond with a sound effect of voice to match! The downside is that the activator is still sold separately, although it does come packaged with a sweet Kylo Ren figure so you’re at least getting your money’s worth for the $25 it is going to set you back!
Funko
Oh man does Funko have a lot of cool new stuff coming out to celebrate ‘The Last Jedi’! There are full new waves of POP! Vinyls, Mystery Minis, Wacky Wobblers, and more! Funko is known for having a little something for everyone and their lineup for ‘The Last Jedi’ certainly doesn’t disappoint! Aside from all of the stuff you’ll find everywhere, there are a number of special retailer exclusives that you’re definitely going to want to track down for your POP! collection!
Plushies
Water Bottles
With all of these exclusives, plus blind boxed figures and the variety of common releases, this line is going to be either a total dream or a complete nightmare for most Funko collectors!
LEGO
While there are a number of amazing new LEGO sets coming out for ‘The Last Jedi’, there is one that stands above all others as the only one you reeeeally need to know about; The new 7,542-Piece Ultimate Collectors Edition Millennium Falcon. The price tag is mighty hefty at a borderline insane $800, but this is literally the biggest LEGO set ever made!
Looking at this thing, it’s pure insanity. For starters, it’s gigantic! It opens up all the way for you to actually be able to utilize the entire interior as a playset, fitting 4 LEGO minifigures in the cockpit, while having a fully accessible living area, gun turrets, and more! The set even includes figures from multiple generations of ‘Star Wars’ so you don’t have to make up your mind which version you prefer! Figures confirmed to be included are ‘Empire Strikes Back’ versions of Han, Chewie, and Leia (including a buildable Mynock!), and ‘The Force Awakens’ (Old) Han Solo, Rey, and Finn!
Again, we know it’s expensive, but this may well be one of the single coolest toys ever created for any line in all of history, let alone just in the realm of ‘Star Wars’!
Role Play Gear
What would a new ‘Star Wars’ movie be without a few cool new lightsaber and blaster accessories? For ‘The Last Jedi’ Hasbro has a solid number of new items for the Rebel in all of us!
For starters, there’s a trio of new NERF blasters available based on weapons from the film including Poe Dameron’s blaster ($25), Captain Phasma’s blaster ($45), and a First Order Stormtrooper blaster($45)! These, coupled with some of the other cool new items like Kyle Ren’s Deluxe Lightsaber would make for a heck of an afternoon in your backyard!
If you don’t like Kylo’s lightsaber, you can always pick up a few of the new Lightsaber Blade Builders sets and customize your very own saber to use! Each set is based on a famous Jedi’s lightsaber, although there are some add on packs to give you a wider array of options.
Additionally, if you feel like dressing for the occasion there’s a new voice-changing First Order Stormtrooper helmet available ($35), or you could go a little extra crazy and pick up the new ‘Star Wars Black Series’ prop replica of Poe Dameron’s X-Wing Helmet ($80) that has built in speakers for cockpit sound effects! That last one is definitely one for hardcore fans only though considering the price point.
If you don’t feel like dressing up and grabbing your weapons, but want to have a little extra ‘Star Wars’ in your life, there’s also the new Electronic Porg Plush! These little guys are set to steal your heart when ‘The Last Jedi’ hits theaters, and now you can bring one of your very own home! It flaps its wings, chirps, tweets, and is generally interactive fun for the whole family! A Porg is only going to set you back around $40, and you don’t have to scoop a litter box with one of these so what’s not to love?
While there are plenty more awesome new ‘Star Wars’ items releasing this weekend for ‘Force Friday 2017’, these are definitely some of our personal favorites! Are you going out toy hunting this weekend for new ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ products? What are you looking for? Let us know what all you find! There’s so much to be seen in a galaxy far, far away! Happy Hunting, and May The Force Be With You!
