Last year, with a brand-new generation of Star Wars movies on the horizon, everyone was picking apart the merchandise associated with Star Wars: The Force Awakens looking for clues as to what would happen in J.J. Abrams’ forthcoming film. Now it’s time to do it all over again with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story—just at a slightly less frenzied pace. “Last fall was unique in that it was the first Star Wars movie in a long time,” says Joe Ninivaggi, Hasbro’s director of global brand strategy and marketing for Star Wars. “The level of secrecy was higher than it is now.” But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still mysteries to be solved. And now that Hasbro is releasing images of eight forthcoming Rogue One figures and vehicles (we got the exclusive), it’s time for us to pick them apart and discern what, if anything, we can see in these toys that hasn’t already been revealed by some trailer, TV spot, or magazine spread. Check out the new toys (available Sept. 30) and the secrets they hold, below. Disney will be unveiling more merchandise from Hasbro and other licensees through its “Go Rogue” series on YouTube over the next few weeks.
12-Inch Figures (Death Trooper pictured)
Various characters, five points of articulation—that’s all bantha fodder. What really matters here is that aside from Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and the Imperial Death Trooper—the imposing soldiers clad in black uniforms—Hasbro will produce a new Darth Vader figure. And it’s not a Darth Vader from the original trilogy or from Revenge of the Sith. This is pre-A New Hope Darth Vader, when he was at his most intimidating and powerful.
Hasbro
Various characters, five points of articulation—that’s all bantha fodder. What really matters here is that aside from Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and the Imperial Death Trooper—the imposing soldiers clad in black uniforms—Hasbro will produce a new Darth Vader figure. And it’s not a Darth Vader from the original trilogy or from Revenge of the Sith. This is pre-A New Hope Darth Vader, when he was at his most intimidating and powerful.
12-inch InteracTech Imperial Stormtrooper
“Let’s take this fight to the sky!” That’s one of 65 sound and light effects in this stormtrooper variant, which comes with a jetpack. There are plenty of special units of stormtroopers on display in Rogue One, from the tan Shoretroopers to the Death Troopers, but the various sound effects stored in this jetpack trooper give some indication of where they will appear in the film. The trooper says phrases like, “Head for the canyon,” “There’s one: set for stun,” or “Aerial attack.” That sounds like the type of action going on when Jyn and Cassian seek to recruit Donnie Yen’s blind, Jedi-esque character.
Hasbro
“Let’s take this fight to the sky!” That’s one of 65 sound and light effects in this stormtrooper variant, which comes with a jetpack. There are plenty of special units of stormtroopers on display in Rogue One, from the tan Shoretroopers to the Death Troopers, but the various sound effects stored in this jetpack trooper give some indication of where they will appear in the film. The trooper says phrases like, “Head for the canyon,” “There’s one: set for stun,” or “Aerial attack.” That sounds like the type of action going on when Jyn and Cassian seek to recruit Donnie Yen’s blind, Jedi-esque character.
Imperial AT-ACT Playset
By far the largest of these toys is a set with the new AT-ACT, or all-terrain armored cargo transport. According to the box, it’s “a larger version of the standard combat AT-AT … [featuring] a dedicated cargo bed for the transportation of heavy building materials or combat munitions. It was deployed at major Imperial construction projects, such as shipyards and sprawling research installations.” Considering Jyn Erso’s father Galen is supposedly a scientist who sends the Rebel Alliance information about the Empire’s Death Star weapons test, that might give clues as to what is going on in that giant beach battle in the Rogue One trailers. The set also comes with figures for Sergeant Jyn Erso, an Imperial AT-ACT Driver, and an as-yet unexplained new all-black astromech droid, C2-B5.
Hasbro
By far the largest of these toys is a set with the new AT-ACT, or all-terrain armored cargo transport. According to the box, it’s “a larger version of the standard combat AT-AT … [featuring] a dedicated cargo bed for the transportation of heavy building materials or combat munitions. It was deployed at major Imperial construction projects, such as shipyards and sprawling research installations.” Considering Jyn Erso’s father Galen is supposedly a scientist who sends the Rebel Alliance information about the Empire’s Death Star weapons test, that might give clues as to what is going on in that giant beach battle in the Rogue One trailers. The set also comes with figures for Sergeant Jyn Erso, an Imperial AT-ACT Driver, and an as-yet unexplained new all-black astromech droid, C2-B5.
Rebel U-Wing Fighter
Up to this point, we knew Cassian Andor was a captain in the Rebel Alliance, and an intelligence officer. But he’s also the man in the cockpit of this Rebel U-wing fighter. The ship has an engine design that hints at the later X-wing starfighter, and when its wings are tucked back, it resembles an A-wing. (The box even suggests buyers look for Her Syndulla’s A-wing from Star Wars Rebels). It’s also described as “a sturdy troop transport and gunship,” meaning it will drop units into the fray and provide air support during battles.
Hasbro
Up to this point, we knew Cassian Andor was a captain in the Rebel Alliance, and an intelligence officer. But he’s also the man in the cockpit of this Rebel U-wing fighter. The ship has an engine design that hints at the later X-wing starfighter, and when its wings are tucked back, it resembles an A-wing. (The box even suggests buyers look for Her Syndulla’s A-wing from Star Wars Rebels). It’s also described as “a sturdy troop transport and gunship,” meaning it will drop units into the fray and provide air support during battles.
TIE Striker
The TIE series of starfighter ships has over 40 variations throughout the Star Wars universe. The newest for Rogue One is the TIE striker, a streamlined version of the standard TIE fighter with curved wings more suited for in-atmosphere combat. These are fighters that will participate in the battles on various planets throughout the film, not out in space. It has a more oblong cockpit instead of the spherical TIE fighter, and doesn’t have the visibility issues of the fighter, but according to the product documentation, comes with a TIE fighter pilot figure. So perhaps in-universe the Empire trains pilots for various TIE vehicles and deploys them whenever necessary.
Hasbro
The TIE series of starfighter ships has over 40 variations throughout the Star Wars universe. The newest for Rogue One is the TIE striker, a streamlined version of the standard TIE fighter with curved wings more suited for in-atmosphere combat. These are fighters that will participate in the battles on various planets throughout the film, not out in space. It has a more oblong cockpit instead of the spherical TIE fighter, and doesn’t have the visibility issues of the fighter, but according to the product documentation, comes with a TIE fighter pilot figure. So perhaps in-universe the Empire trains pilots for various TIE vehicles and deploys them whenever necessary.
The Black Series: Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, K-2SO
The chemistry between Jyn and Cassian will be the center of Rogue One, with Cassian’s reprogrammed security droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) contributing to that rapport. Hasbro showing off this trio of figures as the start of the Black Series products for the film emphasizes their importance. But of special note should be Cassian’s warm costume, somewhat reminiscent of Han Solo’s getup on Starkiller Base many years later in The Force Awakens. We’ve seen Jyn wearing a headscarf and K-2SO (picture) doesn’t have anything to wear over his droid body, but the new garments for Cassian indicate that he’ll be present for events in colder climates and not just the beach battle.
Hasbro
The chemistry between Jyn and Cassian will be the center of Rogue One, with Cassian’s reprogrammed security droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) contributing to that rapport. Hasbro showing off this trio of figures as the start of the Black Series products for the film emphasizes their importance. But of special note should be Cassian’s warm costume, somewhat reminiscent of Han Solo’s getup on Starkiller Base many years later in The Force Awakens. We’ve seen Jyn wearing a headscarf and K-2SO (picture) doesn’t have anything to wear over his droid body, but the new garments for Cassian indicate that he’ll be present for events in colder climates and not just the beach battle.
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What Hasbro’s New Rogue One Toys Reveal About the Movie