Proving you can’t always get what you want and that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet, recognized fan media blog Brick Fanatics put the question to LEGO and got a definitive answer about the possibility of a Star Wars collectible minifigure (CMF) series.
Persistent rumors have been circulating for months, thanks to self-declared experts with secret, inside sources on YouTube and Instagram, that a Star Wars CMF series was coming in 2022.
During the recent digital Recognized LEGO Fan Media Days (May 26/27th) Brick Fanatics was able to ask representatives of the LEGO Star Wars design team if there was any truth in claims that LEGO had the ability to sell Star Wars minifigures individually but chose not too (a claim made by ex-RLFMer Ryan “MandRProductions” McColluck).
Answering for his employers, Michael Lee Stockwell clarified that LEGO was “not in a position” to release individual Star Wars minifigures, ending any speculation that LEGO was keeping secrets.
“Any time any toy company works with a license partner, it’s through a contract. Simply put, the contract that we have with Lucasfilm and Disney is to develop construction toys. We can include minifigures in our construction sets, because that’s part of the play experience, but we do not have a license to develop action figures.”
Source: Michael Lee Stockwell (LEGO) via Brick Fanatics
The lack of a selection of individual Star Wars minifigures is a story that began nearly 20 years ago if lore is to be believed. The story goes that Hasbro made such strenuous objections – claiming that since they weren’t construction toys they came too close to being action figures – when LEGO brought out their minifigure triple packs (3340, 3341, 3342, and 3343) that Lucasfilm had to intervene.
In order to get around the terms of their Star Wars license, LEGO brought out magnets multipacks between 2005 and 2011 with separate minifigures with magnets in their legs, and then later minifigures on magnetic bricks that could be detached. Evidently, these didn’t satisfy the terms and conditions that defined a construction set and LEGO brought out their battle packs, starting in 2007.
“On our side [there’s] a clear rule that they have to consist of so many pieces so you can call them construction toys, and so that you can make activities,” Jens adds. “And in the past, okay, we’ve done different things [like] the magnets, but that’s merchandise. That’s not toys.”
Source: Jens Kronvold Frederiksen(LEGO) via Brick Fanatics
Since then there hasn’t been any sign of a Star Wars CMF series, and apart from the occasional rumor generating buzz, the subject has laid fallow for many years. Thankfully the matter has been laid to rest.
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