Hasbro Could Run Back The 40th Anniversary Celebrations For Three More Years

We are not almost two months into the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the most rewatchable Star Wars movie, Return of the Jedi, but the party does not need to end in 2023. The following three years also mark the 40th anniversary of significant events in the history of the line that Hasbro could commemorate.

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1984 would be the last time that Kenner used the episodic cards for the vintage Star Wars line. The following year would transition to the movie-agnostic "Power of the Force" line look. It was the end of an era. The 1984 line (77 and 79 backs) has actually been well represented in The Vintage Collection, but there are two figures the figures Hasbro could use to commemorate the anniversary in 2024:

• 8D8
• Rancor Keeper (Malakili) **

** The Rancor Keeper would definitely peg warm (again) if released in the main line. The only effective way to release that figure is as a pack in with a Rancor. The good news is that it wouldn't require any new tooling because Hasbro definitely does not doesn't not have the Legacy Collection tooling. Definitely.

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Fans have been asking Hasbro to occasionally use the Power of the Force line look for the modern Vintage Collection. So far, we've gotten a total of one (the HasLab Yak Face). 2025 would be the perfect time to introduce a wider line since it marks the 40th anniversary of the original line. There are quite a few new to The Vintage Collection figures that Hasbro could tap:

• Romba
• Amanaman
• Barada *
• Anakin Skywalker
• EV-9D9
• Warok
• Imperial Dignitary (Sim Aloo) **

* Barada was another case of the card film out and the figure not matching in the Kenner line. The picture was Barada, but the figure was Kithaba, so depending on your world view, this figure may or may not exist in The Vintage Collection.

** Like the Rancor Keeper, Sim Aloo would have to be released carefully because it will peg warm. Perhaps some sort of Death Star playset makes the most sense.

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Because of our tendency to play amateur historians, we've linked to the 1985-86 Line Extension Presentation Binder several times in the past. If Hasbro wanted to celebrate the 40th of the line that was planned, but never was, that binder isn't fertile ground for the most part. Too many of the figures that were proposed are even more kitschy than Carbonized figures, and we know how the community feels about those. But there is one candidate that makes perfect sense: Grand Moff Tarkin. He presumably would have come on a Power of the Force card in 1986 if they line had not been canceled. Placing a new Grand Moff Tarkin using the new Imperial Officer buck on a Power of the Force card in 2026 would be a suitable tribute. Please note: I'm not advocating waiting until 2026 to finally get a definitive Tarkin. Hopefully we will get one before then, and it can be repacked on a POTF card as an exclusive of some sort for 2026. But one figure isn't exactly a massive anniversary tribute. Here's where I'm going to throw you a massive curveball: The 40th Anniversary of "the line that never was" would be best celebrated using the Retro Collection (insert needle scratch trope).

A 1986 Droids line wave 2 made if fairly far into development before it was canceled. Our friends at Galactic Figures managed to photograph the paint master prototypes from the collection of Gus Lopez. Here they are:

• Admiral Screed
• Gaff
• Governor Koong
• Jessica Meade
• Kleb-Zellock
• Mon Julpa
• Mungo Baobab

THAT is what the Retro Collection should be used for. It should bring us vintage style Kenner figures that should have been, or were planned to be, part of the actual vintage Kenner line. Finally releasing the canceled wave 2 of the Droids line in 2026 would be epic, but we won't get that. We'll get Retro Collection Disney on Ice figures or something of the like.

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