These Star Wars 7 Action Figures Reveal A Different Side Of New Characters

By Brent McKnight | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Star WarsSo often these days a movie is shrouded in secrecy, with so much security it makes the president feel exposed, only to have their best-kept secrets revealed through a line of toys. Given that Star Wars has always been part of a massive marketing machine, and with Disney taking over the reins that’s not going to change any time soon, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is not immune to this. Now we have a better look at some of those new characters as they appear four inches tall and cast in plastic, as well as some concept art.

This picture appeared on some random Chinese website, and as it’s Christmas week and we’re in no mood to deal with cease and desist orders, we’ll just link to the site. You can check it out HERE. Most of it isn’t super interesting. You see Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley), the new droid BB-8, and our old pal Chewbacca. We already know what they look like, they look like John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, a robot with a soccer ball, and Chewbacca. But we do get a better look at the mysterious Kylo Ren.

Our only glimpse at him in The Force Awakens trailer is from the back, in the dark, with that cross-shaped, broadsword looking lightsaber that has caused so much controversy. Though this is definitely a miniature version, one without the benefit of color, you get a better idea of his overall appearance. He’s wearing a sinister mask/helmet combination similar to so many villains in the Star Wars universe. It’s hard not to draw Darth Vader comparisons. You also get a better idea of the rough texture of his outfit. We see him skulking through the woods, and he certainly looks like an outdoorsy sort.

Over at Indie Revolver (again, we’re not going to post the actual picture), they have a piece of concept art that offers up an even closer look at Kylo’s helmet. The overall shape is even more reminiscent of Vader here, though it’s probably not quite as shiny and polished, and is has those squiggly yellow lines. And you can see his eyes, which is different, but with the hood thrown over the top like in the trailer, there’s a definite Sith lord thing going on.

I have to admit, I like this much more than when we got our first looks at Darth Maul back before The Phantom Menace. This is way more sinister and creepy, where as with Maul they went out of their way to make him essentially an over-the-top monster, and that just didn’t do it for me, even though people seem to like him more than most things out of the prequel trilogies.

We’ll have to wait and see if Kylo Ren turns out to be as iconic and terrifying a villain as his predecessors, but he certainly has the look for it. One rumor has it that this lightsaber is one of the “Sith Relics” that have been rumored a time or two, and that Kylo Ren starts out the film with the so-called “Wampa Saber” that has also been reported. If that’s the case, it could explain the seemingly outdated, less functional design that has bothered so many people. Also, I wonder if an advanced age has anything to do with why the blade appears ragged and wonky.

As with everything related to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we probably won’t know for sure one way or another until we finally sit down in the movie theater on December 18, 2015. And with less than a year to go, it’s closer than ever.