Hasbro was kind enough to give ASM a turn in their Star Wars Q&A program! Read on for our answers.
- Admiral Natasi Daala is a prominent character in the new Star Wars novel series. Since we have gotten more Expanded Universe characters over the past few years, what are the chances of getting a Daala figure, either by herself or in a comic-pack?
Unfortunately, the list of novel-only characters who have not yet found
a home in the lineup is a long one. Corran Horn and Whistler, some of the
Mandalorian figures from the exclusive set a few years ago, and the
upcoming Jacen and Jaina Solo figures pretty much comprise the contingent
so far. The simple reason if one of reference; if they appear in a comic,
they have a much higher likelihood of being made into a figure since we
have reference and a segment dedicated to the comics (for example, the
X-Wing series has a good showing for a novel since may stories have been
adapted). If Daala, or any other novel-only characters make strong
showing in the Fans’ Choice poll, we will certainly take consider them for
the mainline or another opportunity as it may arise. - Along the same line of thought, any other EU characters you can confirm? I know that Comic-Con is just around the corner, and you may not be able to reveal anything until then, so if that’s the case, can you at least hint at characters or, at least, how large a presence the EU will have?
One of the drawbacks of having his batch of Q&A due *after* Comic-Con
is that some answers have already revealed themselves. We hope that you
were pleased with what was shown for the EU – both in the mainline wave
with Jacen and Jaina, K’Kruhk (finally!), the new Shaak Ti from The Force
Unleashed, Space Trooper, and Dark Trooper Phase I. We think it’s a
sensational wave. In addition to this wave, we revealed some of the next
comic packs, including Exar Kun and Ulic Quel-Droma from Tales of the
Jedi, Master Tholme and Tr’a Saa from Republic, a Black Hole Stormtrooper
from Classic Star Wars, as well as 2010 previews of Jarael and Rohlan
Dyre from Knights of the Old Republic, and Darth Nihl and Delia Blue (our
first Zeltron) from Legacy. All in all, we think it was a strong showing
for the EU at Comic-Con. - With the release of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, was there ever any talk of ramping up more Star Wars/Transformers Crossovers to ride the hype and excitement of the sequel?
We actually don’t expect much of an effect, positive or negative. Our
experience from the first Transformers movie, in 2007, showed us that
during the movie window kids who might have otherwise been into Star Wars
Transformers seemed to show interest in the “real” Transformers
personalities, but this was to a small degree. This did not last long,
and kids found their way back to the Star Wars Transformers play pattern
after the movie window, but not to any greater extent because of the huge
new awareness and interest in Transformers brought about by the movie.
They have their own kid fanbase, pretty much, who stick with it reliably.