New ‘Star Wars’ toys and gadgets unveiled ahead of upcoming projects
Disney unveiled its new lineup of toys and gadgets Thursday ahead of a series of “Star Wars” projects coming out during the holidays.
The items are tied to the release of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” movie, “The Mandolarian” series debuting on Disney+ and “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,” a new video game published by Electronic Arts. Each of the properties has its own Funko statues and Black series figurines that will be popular gifts in December, but the highlights of the Triple Force Friday preview was once again the gadgets and higher-end products.
Here are some of the more impressive offerings heading to fans later this year:
Ultimate D-0: The past few droids tied to the movie releases were focused on a BB-8 and BB-9E. The high-tech toys brought a piece of the films to life courtesy of impressive engineering. For the “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” Hasbro is introducing D-0, which moves away from the spherical design and puts the droid on a wheel. It looks like a prequel droid on top of unicycle, but the new design is nothing to sneeze at.
Similar to the BB-8, D-0 connects to a mobile device or tablet, and users can control it in the same way. A new addition is the ball that comes with the droid. It features an IR technology that attracts D-0 toward it. Like a dog, it looks for the ball. The gadget has an ambient mode that lets it roam around the house, doing droid-like things. From trailers of “The Rise of Skywalker” and other products, it seems like D-0 is a sidekick to BB-8. The D-0 droid will sell for $149.
Kylo Ren Force Effect Elite: If you’re looking for the top-of-the-line lightsaber, look no further than this one. The Force Effect Elite sword has some heft with its all-metal hilt. The design has been updated to reflect the upcoming film, but the technology in the saber is the most impressive element. The lightsaber has individual pulsing LEDs that allows the light to pulse as a user holds it. When a user swings it around, the lights individually flicker in and out to give a realistic effect of blocking blaster shots. If it’s used on a door, the lightsaber will change color to make it look like it’s cutting through the surface. It’s a nifty trick — but one that retails at $299.
Lego Millenium Falcon: The company updated this version of the legendary ship. It looks like a solid piece of Lego upfront, but the “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” Millennium Falcon set lifts up to reveal the insides the ship. Users can see Lando, C-3PO and newcomer Boolio aboard the ship. With all the added material on the inside, the set is hefty — but fans will appreciate the detail inside. This version of the Millennium Falcon runs at $159.