We now know that Kenobi will not only bring back Ewan and Hayden back in their signature roles, but also Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse come back as Owen and Beru Lars! The Bad Batch trailer brings us Tarkin, Fennec and Saw Gerrara! Interesting premise with the BB clones being hunted by the Empire. This looks fun! Now if only this could come out on Blu Ray or 4k discs...

A few weeks ago, I had time off and hit all the Wal-Mart's and Target stores in my neck of the woods. So what did I find? Nothing. Sure, I found basic things like groceries, cleaning supplies, etc. But no collectibles. No Star Wars Vintage Collection figures, and no new Black Series toys, save for 1 WM that had Dark Side Rey. No new Retro GI Joe Scarlett and no GI Joe Classified line, except for Scarlett. Do you want Trap Jaw for MOTU Origins? Nowhere to be found. But 3rd and 4th wave MOTU Origins figures can be found at brick and mortar. The only company that has new toys is the McFarlane Toys DC Heroes line. It used to be fun to look at the toy aisles. Now, it isn't. Thankfully there are preorder sites. If you want a product order it online in advance. You won't find it in stores anyway. Which sucks.

The Cantina scene in A New Hope is visually stunning, with all the different aliens hanging out, some looking for an escape. Some, like the evil doctor here looking for trouble. Dr Evazan is at 14th, and is simply an amazing figure! His 2nd release is the one with the correct clear scar while his 1st release had the pink scar. The sculpt, articulation are all excellent. https://www.jedibusiness.com/figureDetails.aspx?id=1130

At 15th, I have a figure originally released in the 3.75 Black Series but was finally put on a Kenner style card in 2019: The Elite Praetorian Guard! This outshines the VC Emperor's Royal Guard as far as protectors go. With 14 POA, he can achieve almost any action pose you can put him in. Having ball joint hips helps out here. He can easily hold his weapon in either hand, including a 2 hand weapon grip. While there are different helmeted guards with different weapons, for display purposes this figure works, and sadly, like the Knights of Ren we probaly won't get the rest. https://www.jedibusiness.com/figureDetails.aspx?id=20400

I'm no fan of the Disney Sequels (I liked Rogue One and Solo) so I have a plan on how the ST could be set in an alternate universe. Yes, it involves time travel and yes it involves the World Between Worlds. I'm using the Legends villain Abeloth, and setting her in the Disneyverse, too. Rey is the main character until she encounters Luke, Han and Leia. The story will be a trilogy, with part 1 focusing on Rey failing to stop Abeloth and being sent back in time to just after the Battle of Endor and take the heroes to Exegol to defeat Palpy once and for all. Part has Luke and Rey training new Jedi along with Ahsoka Tano and Cal Kestis. Part 3 will be the final battle, as the new Jedi Order confronts Abeloth in an all out battle on Mortis, with the fate of the galaxy at stake.

At 16th, I reluctantly put Aayla Secura in this spot. She's an excellent figure, has 14 POA, holds her lightsaber well in her right hand, and has an unlit hilt which fits on her belt. She is also one of the best sculpted figures done by Hasbro, and if repacked could be released as is. But she has a couple issues. The blue skin needs to be a shade lighter, it looks like she got a tan. Her height should be equal or slightly shorter than Luke Skywalker, yet she towers over him. The robe doesnt fit well, but I gave it to my Ben Kenobi Legacy figure and that fits him fine. https://www.jedibusiness.com/figureDetails.aspx?id=1083

Luke Skywalker shows up, and for a good reason he isn't Top 10 material. At 17th, Dagobah Landing Luke Skywalker isn't a bad figure. He comes with a removable helmet, blaster, unlit lightsaber hilt and lightsaber. He also sports 14 points of articulation, which is impressive. Luke's uniform is glossy, to simulate it being wet, and despite the chest plate being painted the wrong color, this is a great figure. It's also one of the hardest to find, and commands a lot of money on eBay. https://www.jedibusiness.com/figureDetails.aspx?id=689

While checking out the latest in collecting, I came across this little story. Who knew about the Stewart Trooper?! https://jedibusiness.com/NewsDetails?id=23192

At 18th, the Rebel Commando wraps up the Rebel troop builders, and we finally get a variant to boot! In both a White trooper, and a Black trooper, we get 2 different troops on the same numbered card, and some diversity in the Rebel ranks. The weapons fit best in the right hand, his helmet and coat fit okay. https://www.jedibusiness.com/figureDetails.aspx?id=10115 https://www.jedibusiness.com/figureDetails.aspx?id=570

At 19, the Rebel Hoth Trooper was the hardest figure to find as part of the 1st new VC wave since 2012. He's well sculpted, his backpack fits well, his pistol stays in the holster and he holds his blaster rifle well in a 2 handed weapon grip. https://www.jedibusiness.com/figureDetails.aspx?id=10115

A return of Battle Packs could give us much needed sequel trilogy figures for the VC. Rey and Kylo's duel on the Supremacy vs the Praetorian Guards is one of them. Only Rey and a maskless Kylo would be new sculpts. New head sculpts for the guards would be needed, as well as new weapons since the guards had different helmets and weapons.

One of the best action scenes in Episode 8 was when Finn fought Phasma. Finn in the FO disguise is a need, so here in a Battle Pack he makes sense. Phasma has a great body sculpt, and would only need a new helmet sculpt showing her eye as Finn opened her helmet. If a full Battle Pack were to be made, throw in FO Rose and DJ.

I'm back on sequel trilogy figures for the VC, and am on my least favorite movie, Episode 8. We got a 3.75 inch Poe in the Black Series line, which got a new updated head sculpt for Episode 9, but he's in his X-Wing uniform. Poet's look from Craig is unique and one Hasbro could easily do. Swap heads with Cassian, give it a different paint job, and you have Crait Poe!

Last night I wrapped up Light of the Jedi, the 1st novel in the High Republic era. Written by Charles Soule, who has done a great job on the 2nd Darth Vader monthly series and the current Star Wars monthly series, they picked the right writer to kick this off. This is not going to be a spoiler filled post, but I liked it. It wasn't bad, but not great. Parts I liked were the Jedi and their different views of the Force. What didn't work for me was jumping from character to character. Now, this is a world building novel, so I cut it some slack. The threat, except for one, didn't really put tension into me. Ship fragments exiting hyperspace IMO wouldn't devastate planets if they made impact. But, I'm no physics major. Plus the Star Wars universe isn't known for adhering to science as we know it. One ship fragment, full of Tibanna gas almost hits a Star. That took all the Jedi to stop. The villains, called the Nihil, seem more like the Pirates of the Caribbean. Barb