Hey everyone! It has been far too long. Like for many of you, 2020 has kicked me square in the mouth. The pain, anxiety and heartbreak just didn’t want to end. At least for me, things are starting to get back to normal. I don’t know. We still have a few months to go before we welcome in 2021, who knows what can happen in that time. Maybe we will awaken undersea monsters with reckless atomic bomb testing or perhaps everything will go all Walking Dead as the virus mutates to decimates our numbers. I am hoping that we have all seen the end of what 2020 has to offer.
So, with that little rant out of the way…Let’s talk some Star Wars. Before I get back to my normal writing gig here at YODASNEWS.COM, I have several months of Star Wars related backlog to plow through. So…I guess this is my PAST 6 MONTHS IN REVIEW (Feel free to email me with a better title).
● HASLAB – You are killing me. How can I justify three hundred and fifty bucks for a toy? No, really…please tell me. I need to know how to make this nagging guilt go the way of the Death Star. Following in the footsteps of Jabba’s Sail Barge, Haslab is slated to produce the RAZOR CREST ship from THE MANDALORIAN. We have seen the mock ups and the unlocked bonus features that just fatten this deal. As much as I grumble about the price, we all know that I will pull the trigger and this will be a part of the collection come 2021. The more I examine this from a business standpoint, maybe this is the future of toys and collectables – Production on demand. You pay to play and they ship it out based on the numbers. No more Zannahs clogging up the racks at Target under this model. Maybe not…but I would never have thought that HASLAB’s success would have been possible 20 years ago. The hobby is evolving.
● I love the fact that THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is still playing at my local theater. I mean, how cool is that? A film that came out 40 years ago is still making money on the big screen. For those of you who have never seen it at your favorite movie house, I strongly recommend checking it out before it goes away. For someone who missed it the first time, trust me – Never pass on seeing STAR WARS on the big screen.
● A second trailer for THE MANDALORIAN? I don’t know if my heart can take the already excruciating long wait until October 30th. I am glad to see that Disney is getting this right after what I thought was a disappointing end to the Skywalker saga.
● At least we have new merch from Hasbro hitting the shelves (supposedly). Thanks to the success of The Vintage Collection as well as the increasing popularity of THE MANDALORIAN, the promise of new merchandise is floating through the air like the stink of a gutted Tauntaun on the snowy fields of Hoth. Now, as always, the big question is will the general public actually see the merchandise on the shelves or will distribution issues just be another nightmare that 2020 can take credit for?
I know I had more to say, but to be honest, my brain is fried at this point. It is hard to get back into the swing of things. I hope to be back with more Star Wars blurbs – mainly the Week in Review and my love letter to the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special – in the weeks to come. It is time to get back to normal. Star Wars has always put a smile on my face and I hope it always had for you as well. With that said, let us start grinning again…