10 CHARACTERS WE NEED WITHIN THE BLACK SERIES LINE, and what is holding it back.

Hasbro's line of 6 inch collectable figures has seen a steady growth over the years, covering characters and vehicles not just from the theatrically released movies, but from television, games and even written media. However, despite seven years, much of the galaxy remains underrepresented. With Hasbro just having announced new merchandise, here are ten characters who have yet to make an appearance in the line, but are long overdue a figure in no particular order, as well as where I feel Hasbro is dropping the ball when it comes to the line.

Honorable Mention

Ben Solo (Exogol)

I feel this might be a controversial choice, so I assure you, this is a figure I want too.

Without a doubt, the brief glimpse audiences got of Ben Solo after he returned to the light was a high point of The Rise of Skywalker. As such, it can naturally be assumed that a figure of him during this sequence would sell well, paired with the repaired Skywalker saber and his blaster, as well as a updated likeness using the new deco techniques implemented in 2018. The reason why I've chosen to omit him from the main countdown is because out of all of the Sequel Trilogy cast, he has been the character with the greatest representation alongside Rey, with 9 figures to date. I both hope and have no doubt that we will see this character down the line.

10: Bastila Shan

Originating from the much-acclaimed and beloved Knights of the Old Republic videogame, Bastila Shan has in recent years seen a resurgance due to her inclusion in the Galaxy of Heroes Mobile Game, introducing her to new fans and reintroducing her to old fans. Bastila wouldn't be the first character from either Knights of the Old Republic or Galaxy of Heroes to join the line, as Revan in both his dark and light incarnations have both had figures in the line. Even Bastila herself has seen a release within 3.3/4 The Vintage Collection line. As such, it would be good to see a character from that under-utilised era be featured in the line alongside the currently released Revans, as that era has a wealth of characters that have pottential to be figures.

9: Saw Gererra (Jedi:Fallen Order/Rebels/Rogue One)

Saw Gerrera is a character who's impact has been felt across many pieces of Star Wars media, first appearing during the Onderon arc in The Clone Wars, he has since played rolls in novels, books, games and even the rare move to films with his live action debut in Rogue One. Both in and outside of the universe, he's a character who has grown to be a major pressence due to his role in and out of the main faction of the Rebellion, as both Funko and Hasbro have featured him. As such it'd be a shame that we never get a Black Series figure to go alongside the other rebel leaders with his greater pressence across the Star Wars media landscape.

8: Bodhi Rook (Rogue One)

Bodhi Rook is a pivotal member of the Rogue One cast. Without him, the Death Star would have remained hidden until it was too late, the weakness would never have been revealed and the plans would have never been transmitted from Scarif. He goes from a man just trying to make his way into the universe to risking it all to bring hope to the galaxy, yet within the Black Series line he has yet to make an appearance. This proves to be jarring, as other companies have released merchandise featuring him, such as Lego and Funko, even Hasbro did in their "Mission Series". Seeing him still omitted from the line after almost five years after the film's release is dissapointing. Hope is not lost though. With the latest Fan First Friday stream having a lot of love for the first "A Star Wars Story" film and the unexpected Rebels Crew rerelease featuring Zeb showing that Hasbro haven't forgotten their incomplete teams, perhaps it is only a matter of time until we see this corageous pilot complete the crew.

7: Finn (The Rise of Skywalker)

Finn has seen good representation across the merchandise for both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. He was amongst the first figures released to coincide with The Force Awakens alongside Rey and Kylo, and for The Last Jedi we released a figure based on his fateful duel with Captain Phasma. Across the other lines of merchandise for each film in the trilogy he has been a mainstay, both at other companies and in Hasbro's own Galaxy of Adventures line, yet almost nine months from the release of The Rise of Skywalker we are still missing the former Stormtrooper. While the initial waves for The Rise of Skywalker had to coincide with the release of Jedi: Fallen Order and The Mandalorian, since then things have eased up in terms of release, so hopefully we see Finn get a figure of his best look.

6: Poe Dameron (The Rise of Skywalker)

Much like his co-general, Poe Dameron had also been omitted from the line despite being a mainstay with prior films merchandising. Poe's look in The Rise of Skywalker proves to be quite a departure from the typical costumes we expect from him, as he swaps in Resistance uniforms and flight suits for a perfect marriage of Rick O'Connell, Indiana Jones and Nathan Drake's outfits in a unique, adventure-ready look. Not only would such a figure be a unique figure amongst prior Poe's released, but it would be an oppurtunity to correct past mistakes for Hasbro, who haven't been the best at capturing Oscar Isaac's likeness.

5: Rose Tico (The Rise of Skywalker)

Without a doubt, Rose Tico is a character who deserved better than she was dealt in The Rise of Skywalker, as her character went from being a pivotal figure in emotionally grounding the conflict of the Sequel Trilogy, to having a minimal role when she could have done so much as she rises in the Resistance Ranks to work alongside Leia. Despite her limited on-screen appearance, she still maintained a presence in merchandise, with Funko and T-Shirts possitioning her alongside our other young Resistance heroes and newer faces like Zorii Bliss and Jannah. As such, Rose is a key figure in this new generation of heroes, and both her as a character and Kelly Marie Tran deserve better.

4: Sana Starros (Marvel Star Wars)

Sana Starros made headlines upon her arrival into the galaxy, as she stepped off the boarding ramp and proclaimed herself as the wife of Han Solo in the early days of the main Star Wars series at Marvel. Of course things were much more than the cliffhanger seemed, but since then she has became a key player across many of the titles released by Marvel. She's helped the original trilogy heroes out of many sticky situations, served as an agent for Hera Syndulla, pulled off cons with Lando and often been reunited with her ex-girlfriend Doctor Aphra on her adventures, and as such has became an important player in the Galactic Civil War, with her set to return in the new Aphra series. So far the Black Series has only dipped its toe into the wealth of characters from the comics with Aphra's crew and a exclusive Luke variant, but hopefully that means we don't have to wait too long for Sana to make her debut in the line.

3: Iden Versio (Battlefront II)

Iden Versio was the first true protagonist of the modern era of Star Wars videogames with Battlefront II's story campaign, in which we see through her eyes the final days of the Galactic Empire and her heart change from a loyalist to a Rebel leader, even playing a role in assissting the Resistance decades later. Despite this, at the time of the game's release the closest thing we got to merchandise was a Imperial Pilot in a similar colour scheme marketted as a "Inferno Squad Agent" rather than a named character. Fortunately with the strong tie in to Jedi Fallen Order's release and the newly established "Gaming Greats" line, Hasbro has comitted to bringing the characters of the video games both new and old to life. Hopefully we see Iden have a proper release, not just a simple repaint that lacks any true unique look.

2: Asajj Ventress (The Clone Wars)

Asajj Ventress is one of the crucial figures to the Clone Wars era. With her origins in Attack of the Clones concept art for a Sith Apprentice and her pivotal role in both Canon and Legends, the entirety of that era simply would not be the same without her. She has seen proper pressences in merchandise across the board, from LEGO minifigures to high-end statues, even having her unique lightsaber released under the Black Series Force FX line. Yet, the main Black Series line has been relatively slow to tap into the Clone Wars era as a whole, as until this year we had a single release in the form of Rex. To omit Asajj would be a mistake, much like how The Clone Wars television series focused heavily on Ahsoka's growth, Asajj's was also a key story as we watched her change with the galaxy, seeing her drift from Seperatist to Bounty Hunter to aiding the Order she'd left behind long ago for a darker path, she's as just a big player in the series as Ahsoka, and shouldn't be left out.

1: Vi Moradi (Galaxy's Edge)

Vi Moradi is the face of Galaxy's Edge. While characters such as Rey, Kylo and Chewie walk the park, the story on Batuu is Vi's, as she inspires visitors to this little corner in the Galaxy Far Far Away to outsmart the First Order. It was Vi who's message featured on media invite's to the park. Despite this, she has been left out of the main line, with even characters with minimal to no involvement with the park whatsoever being released under Galaxy's Edge branding, such as Cardinal and Pyre of the novels and Resistance respectively, and while I'm glad that they got releases, Vi's omission is just wrong. To this date we have had 7 Black Series releases for the Galaxy's Edge park since the areas opened, yet Vi is still missing from the line. Vi's story is Galaxy's Edge story, so I desperately hope she gets the representation she deserves soon.

Hasbro's Current Problem

Hasbro is without a doubt one of the bigger and more recognizable companies one might think of when it comes to Star Wars. They inherited the license from Kenner and continuously released products since, they have had the longest involvement in the brand out of any of the companies holding the license currently and their products are perhaps what might come to the minds of Star Wars fans when they think of merchandise, alongside Lego and Funko. However, in recent years they have lagged behind not just other companies, but even other lines put out by the same company, such as Power Rangers: Lightning Collection and Marvel Legends, who continuously put out more items spanning their properties entire histories in comparison to the small selection we see sampled in the Star Wars line. There are of course reasons for this, such as those lines being able to cut costs and reuse parts with minimal new tooling, but even with that it feels like Star Wars has fallen into a lull of trooper variants and rereleases in the past year, with the only differences being a grey or blue line on some armour, and while rereleases can be a good consumer-friendly practice, we are seing figures within a year of their first release get repacked with near to no differences, some within mere months of release.

People want new characters, and there is no shortage of sources to pull from. Other companies have acknowledged this, yet Hasbro seem to be treading the boards and playing it safe. Perhaps with a couple of years without a big movie release to tie into will allow the team to go back and fill in vital spots in their roster that they've missed.