Not only does Star Wars Day fall on this coming Monday, May 4th (as in “May the Fourth Be With You”), but in just a few weeks on May 21st, we’ll be celebrating the 40th anniversary of one of the best– if not the absolute best– sequels of all time: The Empire Strikes Back. The follow-up to 1977’s original Star Wars film was released this month in 1980, and in commemoration of the occasion, the popular toy company Hasbro has released a series of The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary action figures in its six-inch Star Wars Black Series.
Laughing Place was fortunate enough to be sent a box of ten of these figures by Hasbro, and I spent this afternoon unboxing the package to check out what was inside. In the video below, I take a look at all ten figures– not to mention the also-included The Empire Strikes Back location backdrops– compare them to previous releases, and generally give my thought on how well Hasbro executed this anniversary collection.
Watch “The Empire Strikes Back” 40th Anniversary Hasbro Star Wars Black Series Figures Unboxing / Review:
All ten of these Black Series The Empire Strikes Back 40th anniversary six-inch action figures came on vintage-style Kenner-branded card backs sporting the movie’s classic logo. I happened to have collected most of the included figures through previous releases, but it was great to get my hands on the new ones and variations on existing characters– particularly:
- Snowspeeder Pilot Luke Skywalker – a different mold and coloring than the similar X-Wing Pilot Luke
- Bespin Han Solo – previously only available via a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive
- Dagobah R2-D2 – muddy from his fall in the swamp
- And my personal favorite of the bunch, the Hoth Rebel Soldier – never before released in this scale
The remainder of the figures had been released before but still look excellent as ever, especially in their new packaging: Bespin Luke, Hoth Princess Leia, Yoda, Lando Calrissian, the AT-AT Driver, and the TIE Fighter Pilot.
Hasbro also included backdrops depicting the iconic locations of Ice Planet Hoth, the Dagobah swamp, and Bespin Cloud City, all of which look excellent with their respective action figures posed in front of them.
All of these The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Black Series six-inch action figures are available now for $19.99 each via Hasbro Pulse and most major retailers. Many thanks to Hasbro for sending them over for us to check out. And May the Fourth Be With You!
