Image: Hasbro
Hasbro’s 6″ line of Star Wars action figures, the Black Series, launched a decade ago, and has gone on to give us many great representations (and some not so great) of Star Wars heroes and villains from across the galaxy. It is, however, absolutely insane that it will take until 2024 for the line to give us a second Padmé Amidala. Two!
Over the weekend at MCM London Comic-Con, Hasbro lifted the lid on a few more Star Wars toys headed to our galaxy early next year. Reveals for the Vintage Collection series of 3.75″ figures spanned the saga, from a new Count Dooku to a new Clone Trooper and even a Finn, based on his appearance in The Force Awakens (the first explicit sequel trilogy figure from Hasbro since The Rise of Skywalker released). The Black Series line also teased a new celebration of the first movie of the prequel trilogy with two figures.
A young Anakin Skywalker figure based on The Phantom Menace will mark the first time that the child version of the Chosen One will ever be a part of the Black Series, but the second, Padmé—based on her handmaiden combat attire from the film’s climactic Theed battle—marks only the second time that she has appeared in the figure line at all. Her first appearance, based on her Tatooine/Geonosis look from Attack of the Clones, was all the way back in 2019
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that we’re getting a new one (although she does look like she’s got a bit of a weird head size thing going on with her sculpt), but Padmé is one of the main characters of the prequels. She’s got so many looks across the movies, and sure, not all of them would make for particularly action-packed action figures—I don’t care, give me a traffic cone in the shape of that gorgeous, iconic Queen Amidala dress!—but it’s still completely wild that this only the second time in what will be almost 11 years that such a hugely important character will get some action figure representation. You can’t read two sentences through a Hasbro Star Wars press release without a new variant of Din Djarin being announced!
The Black Series has had a spotty history in representing female Star Wars characters over its run—there was a not-insignificant period of time where the first and only Princess Leia figure in the line was her chainmail bikini look from Return of the Jedi—but has gotten infinitely better in recent years at including a better variety of characters from across the saga. Hopefully it won’t take another five years until we see Padmé again—along with many other characters from The Phantom Menace and other movies still waiting for their moment on the toy shelf.
Click through to see all the new Star Wars reveals from the weekend—all of which are now available to preorder from Hasbro Pulse, Amazon and other retailers for release in spring 2024.