No Star Wars movie release is complete without action figures. (Well, I suppose that’s not technically true, since the original film did just fine in 1977 without them – but Kenner got that “Early Bird Certificate Package” into stores ASAP, didn’t they?)
Hasbro’s first wave of 3 3/4-inch action figures for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story features faces new, new-ish, and old. Let’s call the roll:
- Sergeant Jyn Erso – The woman of the hour! The Galaxy Far, Far Away’s newest rebel with a cause is dressed in the outfit (reminiscent of the strike team’s garb on Endor in Return of the Jedi) she wears on the previously unknown planet Eadu. Equipped with both a small blaster and a larger, functioning projectile launcher, she looks ready for anything the Empire can throw at her.
- K-2SO – The reprogrammed Imperial droid looks a little like a nightmare version of The Iron Giant mixed with a B1 Battle Droid. Alan Tudyk, whose motion-capture performance helps bring K-2SO to life, says the character is like Chewbacca in a droid’s body. Good thing he’s on the Alliance’s side! This figure comes with a zip line attachment. Maybe we’ll see him swinging across a yawning chasm a la Luke and Leia in A New Hope?
- Imperial Ground Crew – The back of the card says these heavily padded and armored personnel are responsible for getting Imperial ships through maintenance efficiently. But their uniforms sure look like riot gear to me. Add the fact that this figure comes with an over-the-shoulders combat harness and two orange-tipped batons (to direct traffic, or to bash rebels?), and you realize “efficiency” in the Empire often means brutality.
- Imperial Stormtrooper – The classic design still looks as fabulously fearsome as it did in the original trilogy. This trooper must be a unit leader; he (or she—serving as Imperial cannon fodder was equal-opportunity work) sports that rank’s orange pauldron. The trooper comes with a detachable, battle-damaged breastplate and a blaster (we’ll have to see if Rogue One’s troopers are better shots than their original trilogy counterparts).
- Kanan Jarrus – One of two Star Wars Rebels characters in Wave 1, Kanan is clad in his Stormtrooper unit leader disguise from “The Siege of Lothal.” The helmet goes off and on his head easily. He can pack an Imperial standard issue E-11 blaster in one hand while wielding his blue-bladed lightsaber in the other. He also has a projectile-shooting shield. This figure captures how Kanan straddles two lives: the Jedi Knight he never fully became, and the battle-hardened warrior the fledgling Rebellion has driven him to be.
- Sabine Wren – The Mandalorian soldier with an artistic flair also graces Wave 1, bringing splashes of color to the fight for freedom with her customized armor and her blue-and-green hair. This is the first time the character comes with a removable helmet. She also has a pair of blaster pistols and her own zip line accessory—no doubt for making a quick getaway after she wraps up her next TIE fighter redecorating job!
- Kylo Ren – Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ big bad (just not as big or bad as he wants to be) rounds out the wave of 3-3/4-inch figures. This figure is a really impressive sculpt, accurately capturing the texture of his black robes and the details of his chrome-lined mask. His accessories include his rough-hewn red lightsaber and a projectile-launching gauntlet. (Given his temper, it’s just as well the kid didn’t have one of those in the movie!)
Most of these figures feature five-point articulation, and all can be used with Hasbro’s Star Wars Studio FX App as stars in your very own mini-movies.
The case of figures features 12 individually packaged figures: two each of Jyn Erso, K-2SO, Imperial Ground Crew, Stormtrooper, and Kylo Ren; one each of Kanan and Sabine.
It’s time to Go Rogue. New Star Wars Rogue One items are live now on Entertainment Earth!
What figure from Hasbro’s 3 3/4-inch Rogue One figures impresses you the most? Cast your vote in the comments below!
