Kenner's Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back vintage toy line ran from 1980 to 1982, following the success of Kenner's original Star Wars toy line. This line featured a variety of characters and vehicles from the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. It was succeeded by Kenner's vintage Return of the Jedi toy line in 1983.
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Development[edit | edit source]
Kenner's The Empire Strikes Back line re-released many toys from the original Star Wars line but with the new film's logo on the packaging.
Continuity[edit | edit source]
Although Star Wars author Stephen J. Sansweet noted in his 1999 book Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive that Kenner's The Empire Strikes Back product line lasted from 1980 to 1982, he later stated in his 2012 book Star Wars: The Ultimate Action Figure Collection that the line lasted until 1983. In fact, The Empire Strikes Back line's final toy releases came in 1982 before Kenner transitioned to its Return of the Jedi line in 1983.
In a cut scene from The Empire Strikes Back, the character Sate Pestage was intended to have an appearance as a hologram warning Darth Vader of the Emperor's imminent transmission. He was referred to as the "Grand Vizier."[4] Hints of this scene can be found on the box for Kenner's "Darth Vader's Star Destroyer" playset, explaining that the image in the red plastic viewing screen is the Grand Vizier.[5] Some toy catalog ads for the toy changed the title to "Grand Emperor."[6]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
Characters | Creatures | Droid models | Events | Locations |
Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
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Creatures
Droid models
Locations
Organizations and titles
Sentient species
Vehicles and vessels
Weapons and technology
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Miscellanea
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Bibliography[edit | edit source]
"Galactic Bazaar: Vader Rules Collectibles"—Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 11
"The Man Who Shot Luke Skywalker"—Star Wars Galaxy Collector 1
"Around the Galaxy"—Star Wars Galaxy Collector 3
"An Elegant Toy"—Star Wars Galaxy Collector 3
- Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive
"Mexican Stand Off"—Star Wars Galaxy Collector 8
"Market Wars: What's Hot and What's Not in the World of Star Wars Collecting"—Star Wars Galaxy Collector 8
"Scouting the Galaxy: Of Freebies, Wimps and Fake Fetts"—Star Wars Insider 31
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Action Figure Collection
"Launchpad"—Star Wars Insider 156
"My Star Wars"—Star Wars Insider 156
"Classic Moment: The Fastest Hunk of Junk in the Toybox!"—Star Wars Insider 157
"Classic Moment: He's Worth a Lot to Me!"—Star Wars Insider 159
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive
- ↑ Kenner Vintage Star Wars Photo Archive
- ↑ Jedi Temple Archives Vintage Visual Guide
- ↑ Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays
- ↑ Kenner's Star Wars Playsets, Part 2: From Icy Trenches to Ewok Campires
- ↑ The Star Wars Collectors Archive: Darth Vader's Star Destroyer Action Playset