The Last Jedi Coming to Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital HD on March 27th

StarWars.com has confirmed that Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi will be released on Blu-Ray 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital HD on March 27th. You can watch the in-home trailer (containing some spoilers) below.

The film will be available on Digital HD from March 13th, with the Blu-Ray and DVD versions hitting shelves on March 27th here in the USA. The movie will come with a range of bonus features, including:

• The Director and the Jedi – Go deep behind the scenes with writer-director Rian Johnson on an intimate and personal journey through the production of the movie—and experience what it’s like to helm a global franchise and cultural phenomenon.
• Balance of the Force – Explore the mythology of the Force and why Rian Johnson chose to interpret its role in such a unique way.
• Lighting the Spark: Creating the Space Battle Scene Breakdown – Get a close-up look at the epic space battle, from the sounds that help propel the action, through the practical and visual effects, to the characters who bring it all to life.
• Snoke and Mirrors Scene Breakdown – Motion capture and Star Wars collide as the filmmakers take us through the detailed process of creating the movie’s malevolent master villain.
• Showdown on Crait Scene Breakdown – Break down everything that went into creating the stunning world seen in the movie’s final confrontation, including the interplay between real-word locations and visual effects, reimagining the walkers, designing the crystal foxes, and much more.
• Andy Serkis Live! (One Night Only) – Writer-director Rian Johnson presents two exclusive sequences from the movie featuring Andy Serkis’ riveting, raw on-set performance before his digital makeover into Snoke.
• Deleted Scenes – With an introduction and optional commentary by writer-director Rian Johnson.
• Audio Commentary – View the movie with in-depth feature audio commentary by writer-director Rian Johnson.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi will come in a variety of packages, including the Multi-screen Edition (includes Blu-ray and a Digital copy), the 4K Ultra HD Collector’s Edition (including 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and a Digital copy), Best Buy Exclusive Blu-Ray Steelbook, Best Buy Exclusive 4K Ultra HD Steelbook, and Target Exclusive Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital Pack (featuring an exclusive bonus feature "Meet the Porgs" and a 40-page gallery book).

Micro Force Blind Bags Series 1 Figures

With my favourite miniature Star Wars vehicles now no longer in production, I've turned my attention to a different 'micro' line: Hasbro's new Micro Force blind bag figures. My fiancée and I have been hunting these down over the past few weeks, and after a few double ups (and no small amount of surreptititious bag fondling), we finally managed to get our hands on the full set of Series 1 figures.

The first series of the Micro Force line contains rereleases of twelve figures from the now defunct Fighter Pods game. Each blind bag contains two figures, and retails for $2.99US ($4.09NZ). Characters are drawn from both the prequel and original trilogy eras, but with a strong focus on the latter.

The thing that really surprised us about these figures was the quality of the paint jobs. Eyes are individually drawn and highlighted, and tiny details - like Ahsoka's facial tattoos - are executed with surprising precision. In fact, in many cases, the faces on these figures look far better than those on their 3 3/4" counterparts - making them phenomenally good value for around only a buck-fifty each. With Series 2 (containing a raft of new sculpts from the post-Disney buyout era) now turning up in stores, and rumours of an upcoming vehicle expansion, there are a lot of reason to be excited about this line!

Micro Machines R2-D2 Playset

The return of Micro Machines in 2015 was - for me - the most exciting part of the onslaught of new Star Wars merchandise under the Disney banner. Alongside their line of miniature vehicles (which I allowed myself to collect with a completionist's compulsion), Hasbro also released a pair of transforming head playsets reminiscent of those we saw back in the '90s. Unfortunately, they were branded with a ridiculously high MSRP of $49.99NZ - putting them well outside my collecting budget. It seems this price discouraged a lot of other buyers too, as the sets soon found their way to clearance bins. I picked up the Stormtrooper playset for $15.00 back in 2016, but a couple of weeks ago I did one better - finding the R2-D2 set on clearance at Toys'r'Us for only $4.98US ($6.84NZ).

R2 opens up to reveal a Starkiller Base diorama, and comes with a Chewbacca microfigure and an exclusive 'dirty' variant of the First Order Snowspeeder. Also included is a single play feature - a rotating flight wand upon which a vehicle can be mounted.

Once again, however, this set is only a shadow of the transforming Micro Machines playsets of the '90s - each of which would come with around half a dozen micro figures and a raft of features. Once you've opened R2 up and spun your Snowspeeder around a couple of times, there isn't a lot more to do. And just how many iconic Force Awakens scenes can kids recreate with a single Chewbacca microfigure? In order to get the most out of this playset you'll need to supplement it with other vehicles and figures from your collection (as pictured above). Doing so turns this into a really nice display piece: one that justifies the $5.00 - but certainly not the original $50.00 - price tag.

The Black Series 3 3/4" Walmart Exclusive Emperor's Royal Guard, Ponda Baba, and Tusken Raider

Now that they're no longer the sole distributor of super-articulated 3 3/4" figures, Walmart appear to be quickly trying to clear out their stock of exclusive Black Series figures. This has been great news for collectors, as its seeing shelves finally fill with figures that had otherwise been languishing in storerooms. Recently, I stumbled across three of these that I'd been after for some time: the Emperor's Royal Guard, Ponda Baba, and the Tusken Raider for $12.83US ($17.71NZ) each.

All three are repacks from previous lines - but they're characters that I either missed the first time, or didn't have the presence of mind to pick up when available. Lately I've been claiming that the detailing of 5POA figures is now just as good - if not, in some cases, better - than their super-articulated companions. I still believe that to be true. That being said, the inclusion of extra articulation on figures like these will always be a welcome sight, especially when it comes to posing figures for display.

Another feature of the super-articulated line that I've missed is the raft of accessories packed with each figure. The Tusken Raider is perhaps the least well-equipped, and even he comes with a removable fabric cloak, rifle, and gaffi stick.

Ponda Baba ups the game a little, coming with a beverage, blaster pistol, and two pairs of interchangable hands (depending on which edition of A New Hope you prefer). You can also swap out his intact arm for a severed one - allowing you to reenact Obi-Wan's wanton act of violence against this drunkard.

But the real standout here is the Emperor's Royal Guard - whose accessories basically amount to a completely alternate outfit (and one taken from the Legends universe, no less). The Royal Guard comes dressed in his on-screen helmet and fabric cloak and armed with a force pike. Beneath the cloak, however, is a highly detailed lightly-armoured figure complete with Imperial cog emblems on his shoulders, and a blaster and working holster mounted on his hip. Once stripped of his cloak, he can then be equipped with his alternate 'training' helmet, shoulder armour, and double-bladed halberd for an entirely different look.

This taste of super-articulated figures has got me more excited than ever for the return of the Vintage Collection in 2018. While the first wave won't hold too many exciting figures (mainly focusing on rereleases of sequel trilogy and Rogue One characters from Walmart's exclusive Black Series line), it holds an enormous amount of promise going forward.

Game of Thrones Creators to Write and Produce New Series of Star Wars Films

Yesterday - somewhat completely out of the blue - StarWars.com announced that Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have been hired to write and produce a new series of Star Wars films.

(Image courtesy of StarWars.com)

Details are predictably thin on the ground at this stage, but the announcement confirmed that these films would be separate from both the episodic Skywalker saga and the recently-announced trilogy being developed by Rian Johnson.

Honestly, I find this news a little exhausting. The wording of this announcement suggests that Benioff and Weiss will be responsible for the production of at least two Star Wars feature films. This means that Disney now have at least seven new Star Wars films in the works (including Episode IX, the as-yet untitled third "Star Wars Story" film, and Rian Johnson's recently announced trilogy). Don't get me wrong, more Star Wars is always a good thing - I just wish we had a little more breathing room to appreciate each installment in the saga (I'm already looking forward to the eighteen month lacuna between Solo and Episode IX). I also worry that such an excess of releases may water-down the pomp and ceremony that always made Star Wars film releases such huge events.

How about you? What are your thoughts on this announcement? Be sure to let us know via Facebook or Twitter, or by sending an email to relicsoftheforce@gmail.com!

Solo: A Star Wars Story Teaser Trailer Released

With less than four months before the theatrical release of the film, we finally have a teaser trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story. You can check it out below:

I'd been feeling a growing sense of indifference about this film over recent months. With production allegedly mired by dysfunction, and a release date so close to the release of The Last Jedi, it had been hard to muster up any real enthusiasm for the project. But that's all changed now. Solo looks slick, fun, and unlike anything else we've seen in the saga so far. There's a real Firefly / Guardians of the Galaxy vibe going on - which just so happen to be two of my favourite franchises outside of Star Wars.

What are your thoughts on the teaser trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story? Be sure to let us know via Facebook or Twitter, or by sending an email to relicsoftheforce@gmail.com!

The Hunt Is On - Rogue One 3 3/4" Shoretrooper Captain and Bistan 2-Pack Found

With the first wave of Last Jedi stock eclipsing the last wave of Rogue One figures, I'd began to wonder if we'd ever see the Shoretrooper Captain and Bistan 2-pack. Fortunately, a small amount of stock trickled through to Amazon recently, and I managed to pick one up for the US MSRP of $14.99US ($20.67NZ).

I'm a real sucker for interesting aliens, so I knew I had to have Bistan - a.k.a. 'space monkey' - in action figure form as soon as I first saw him on the Rogue One behind-the-scenes reel. Unfortunately, while Hasbro's 5POA figures have been getting better and better, they seem to have dropped the ball on this one. He's a serviceable enough representation of Bistan, but there's something about his details that just look a little muddy. Maybe it's the sculpt, or maybe it's the paint app. Or maybe there's just too much fine detail in his face to translate well to a figure of this scale (and cost). Either way, while he looks fine on display from a few feet away, you won't want to get up too close.

Bistan comes with a screen-accurate sidearm and the obligatory pre-Force Link giant rocket-firing shoulder-mounted apparatus (not pictured above). He's also paired with a Shoretrooper Captain - a reprint of the single-carded Shoretrooper from wave 3. While technically the same figure, it's nice that Hasbro changed the deco to prevent us from getting a straight double-up.

The best part about this 2-pack, however, is that it officially wraps up my Rogue One hunt list - a satisfying feeling indeed!