While the video games based on the LEGO Star Wars universe have been on everyone’s radar since they started coming out in 2005, the attention that LEGO sets based on Star Wars games have received has largely gone unnoticed for a long time. The recently released 75335 BD-1 has served as a reminder that LEGO doesn’t always draw references from the movies, or animated/live-action TV series, because – going all the way back to 2008 – they’ve occasionally dipped into the video game source pool for inspiration.
Developed by LucasArts and released on the PlayStation 2/3/PSP, Nintendo Wii/DS, Xbox 360, as well as iOS and Java-enabled mobile phones in September 2008, The Force Unleashed video game was the core of a wider multimedia project that included a Dark Horse comic book series, a tie-in book from Del-Rey, a wave of Hasbro action figures and a single LEGO set.
In this third-person shooter/action/role-playing adventure, the player is Starkiller, Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, who is tasked with flushing out Jedi survivors following Order 66, as well as planting the seeds of the Rebel Alliance, a move orchestrated by Vader so he could overthrow the Emperor.
The project, which was received with mixed reviews at the time, has been relegated to the Legendarium now.
Despite going up against The Clone Wars toy line in 2008, The Force Unleashed was afforded a reasonable amount of attention from Hasbro, who included seven 3-3/4″ action figures from the video game in their second wave of Thirtieth Anniversary Collection toys in 2008.
LEGO, on the other hand, chose a much more subdued approach and included one set – 7672 Rogue Shadow – in their Winter 2008 wave.
Designed for stealth and infiltration, the Rogue Shadow was used by Starkiller on his mission to discover the whereabouts of any remaining Jedi. Crewed by eight Imperials – including Juno Eclipse – the heavily modified transport had a non-symmetrical, multi-faceted design with two outboard solar panels.
The version that LEGO produced arrived a full 10 months before the launch of The Force Unleashed video game and suffered poor sales due to a lack of context. Largely accepted as an adequately designed set that captured the main essence of the ship, 7672 Rogue Shadow came with three minifgures: a battle-damaged Darth Vader (sw0180), the Secret Apprentice (sw0181) and Imperial officer and minder Juno Eclipse (sw0182).
Despite being unpopular at the time of release, it has become a highly sought-after set and a sealed version commands a whopping US$350 price tag in the secondary marketplaces.
Released in July 2003 for the Microsoft Xbox, Windows PC, Mac OS X, and iOS and Android devices, Knights of the Old Republic was BioWare’s first Star Wars video game. It moved the player out of first-person perspective and into the third, and utilized a discrete turn-based d20 role-playing gaming system.
Four thousand years before the events of A New Hope, the game is set just after the Jedi Civil War that saw Darth Revan, with his apprentice Darth Malak, establish a second Sith Empire. The player starts the game as an unknown Republic soldier who has lost his memories, and through a series of encounters and adventures, regains them to discover he is none other than Darth Revan. Having returned to the Light Side, Revan defeats Malak and peace is restored to the galaxy again.
Since 2014, all of this has been added to Legends, though Lucasfilm has indicated it is looking at developing movie content based in the Old Republic period, opening the door for Darth Revan to get re-activated.
The game’s 2003 release was not backed up by any tie-in merchandising campaign. Eventually though, Dark Horse comics published a monthly comic book series in 2006, which ran to 2010, Wizards of the Coast added a Knights of the Old Republic supplement (with accompanying miniatures) to their Star Wars Role-Playing Game in 2008 and Del-Rey printed seven novels between 2010 and 2012.
It took LEGO over a decade to release their one and only inclusion to the Knights of the Old Republic toy box, with an exclusive May The 4th Be With You polybagged 5002123 Darth Revan minifigure in 2014. It was a gift with purchase available only at LEGO.com and brand stores, with a qualifying LEGO Star Wars purchase of US$75 / UK£50 / EU€55 / AU$100 between May 3rd to 5th, and again during the Force Friday product launch event for Rogue One in September 2016 with any LEGO Star Wars purchase.
From the ancient era of the Old Republic comes Darth Revan™! Thousands of years before the time of Darth Vader™, this legendary Sith Lord took part in the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War, and battled to create a sinister new Sith Empire.
- Features LEGO® Star Wars™ Darth Revan™ Minifigure in mask and dark side robes
- Removable cape, hood and red-bladed Lightsaber
- A unique LEGO® Star Wars™ collectible!
This character’s notoriety and the rarity of the minifigure have combined to make it one of the most sought after in the LEGO Star Wars community, where it sells for between US$185 and US$200 on the secondary market. Handing over the money is easy – finding someone selling one is the tough part!
Skipping forward in time, the next video game that helped inspire LEGO Star Wars sets was The Old Republic, released in December 2011. Set three hundred years after the events of Knights of the Old Republic, this third-person MMORPG was developed by BioWare and LucasArts at the cost of $200 million over a period of five years. Despite being relegated to Legends in 2014, BioWare has continued to develop the game through expansion packs and SWTOR still draws in new players.
Being an MMORPG, there was no single plot line for the player’s character to follow, but instead, an extensive and immersive campaign set at a time of turmoil, with the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire in a state of tenuous peace – known as the Cold War – forming the background of the game. Featuring eight different classes, each had a three-act storyline that progressed as the character – who is aligned to the Republic or Sith – leveled up, in a series of story arcs that took the player across the galaxy.
While the game was not given the full weight of a multimedia marketing campaign, it did have a limited number of products supporting it: a series of four novels published by Del-Rey, Chronicle Books published a non-fiction art book, Dark Horse developed a webcomic series. Hasbro produced six 3-3/4″ action figures (and continues to release them), while LEGO created five sets to accompany the title.
Released as part of the Summer 2012 wave, the first two The Old Republic sets – 9497 Republic Striker-class Starfighter and 9500 Fury Class Interceptor – were based on two spaceships from the game, both of which delivered key characters in minifigure form.
Often mistaken for an E-wing, a multi-role starfighter that didn’t appear until nearly 3500 years after The Old Republic was set, this vessel was a popular starfighter at the time. Known as a Liberator-class by the Republic, or Talon-class by the Sith, 9497 Republic Striker-class Starfighter was so named because it had modifications made to it at the request of the Jedi Order for use as diplomatic escorts.
Along with her astromech T7-O1 and Republic Trooper Jace Malcom, Satele Shan, a Jedi Master who escapes Darth Malgus’s opening move to bring war to the galaxy, piloted the Striker-class starfighter to warn the Republic of the impending threat posed by the Sith.
The set featured a long fuselage, which houses the two-seater cockpit, that has two wings positioned at the back that can be swept forward. Included are three unique minifigures: Satele Shan (sw0389), T7-01 (sw0390) and Jase Malcom (sw0391).
Retired at the end of 2013, it is scarcity, rather than popularity, that has pushed this set’s secondary market price up to US$115.
Coming out at the same time, 9500 Fury Class Interceptor was based on the Fury-class Imperial interceptor, a starship used by the reconstituted Sith Empire to ferry prominent Sith Warriors and Sith Inquisitors throughout the Sith Empire.
Built mainly of light bluish gray and black plates, a front-mounted cockpit accommodates the Darth Malgus (sw0413) minifigure, while the rest of the body is made up of a small compartment that fits the two Sith Troopers (sw0414). The two large, twin-layered forward wings and rotating wings at the back gave the set a bat-like appearance.
Because it contained the only minifigure of Darth Malgus – which on its own can cost up to US$100 – this set is high on collectors’ wants list and a sealed example can command prices of over US$300 on today’s secondary market.
A year and a half after the release of the initial two sets from The Old Republic – and just as they were being retired – LEGO introduced 75001 Republic Troopers vs. Sith Troopers battle pack to the collection in the Winter wave at the beginning of 2013.
Oddly, the set’s description mentions Knights of the Old Republic while the graphics on the box labels it as The Old Republic instead.
More or less a set of their own creation, this LEGO set was designed to be an inexpensive supplement to the previous two The Old Republic sets, and provided four uniquely different minifigures – Sith Trooper – Dark Red Outfit (sw0436), Sith Trooper – Black Outfit (sw0443), Republic Trooper (sw0440) and Republic Trooper – Cheek Lines (sw0444) – and a Sith hover speeder.
The set’s affordable price tag and relative abundance means that this battle pack has only risen to around $40, which is just over triple its original retail price.
This wasn’t to be the only The Old Republic set of the year, because the Summer wave included the medium-sized 75025 Jedi Defender-class Cruiser – a hammer-headed Defender-class light corvette that was modified for use by the Jedi as a base of operations and heavy starfighter – in it.
The set featured a split cockpit that could be accessed by hinged lids, two storage compartments for the pair of included Jedi Holocron, two escape pods, retractable landing gear, and a lifting handle. Overall it was a lot of bricks for a spaceship that had limited play appeal and appeared in a game that wasn’t aimed at the same age group which LEGO intended to appeal to.
According to The Old Republic lore only species from the Human, Zabrak, Mirialan, Miraluka and Twi’lek races were able to use these ships within the video game, a fact that the designers at LEGO noted when they designed Mirialan and Zabrak heads for the Jedi Consular (sw0501) and Jedi Knight (sw0500) minifigures. Also included was the Sith Trooper – Black Outfit minifigure from 75001 Republic Troopers vs. Sith Troopers, as well as a hooded Sith Warrior (sw0499).
Anyone wanting to add this to their collection will be looking at spending between US$350 and US$400, mostly because the minifigures – which account for around 65% of the sets secondary market value – are highly prized by collectors.
The balance of Light/Dark Side play was thrown out of balance with the release of 75025 Jedi Defender-class Cruiser as it was the last of The Old Republic sets, so the Sith faction was never able to compete on an even battleground with the Jedi and Republic forces.
Co-developed by DICE, Criterion Games and Motive Studios, Battlefront II debuted in November 2017 on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. It came as a much-needed expansion and updated sequel to the highly popular Battlefront video game and brought new aspects to the first-person shooter series.
While the game’s campaign mode is set in the period following Revenge of the Sith and follows the 501st Legion, it was the single-player missions that gathered the most attention. Taking place during the end of Return of the Jedi, the game’s main character – Iden Versio – leads the elite Inferno Squad on a number of missions to thwart the Rebel Alliance’s attack on the second Death Star. Following the Empire’s defeat at Endor, Inferno Squad is tasked with supporting Operation: Cinder, the final act of total war on the galaxy that was set in motion by the death of Emperor Palpatine. Disillusioned by the Empire’s actions, Iden and Inferno Squad defect to the Rebel Alliance, and take up their cause.
Despite not having the support of a multi-product launch, Battlefront II exceeded expectations and became the best-selling Star Wars video game – until the release of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga in April 2022. So well was the game received that it received post-release support in the form of a spin-off novel, a selection of Hasbro action figures, and a single LEGO set.
Released as part of the Winter wave at the beginning of 2019, 75226 Inferno Squad Battle Pack is similar in contents and play form to 75001 Republic Troopers vs. Sith Troopers.
The set contained four minifigures – Iden Verso (sw1000) and three un-named Inferno Squad Agent minifigures, each with a different expression (Grimacing – sw0988, Frowning with utility belt – sw0986 and Frowning with sunken eyes – sw0987) and included an accessory vehicle that LEGO describes as a TIE fighter-style speeder.
Lacking connection to any existing LEGO Star Wars sets it was seen as a fringe set by the bulk of LEGO Star Wars collectors when released. However its inclusion of four Imperial minifigures ensured it was a popular seller amongst army builders, and now – because it was only available for one year – goes for around US$30, which is more than double its original retail price.
With no new Star Wars movies coming out for at least another year and a half, LEGO is drawing on source material outside the normal timeline more and more. While it is likely that we will see more sets based on video games – though a return to the Old Republic is not likely, especially with the remake of Knights of the Old Republic on permanent pause. The lack of any visual content – whether animated, live-action or video game – for the High Republic story arc suggests that this period in the Star Wars timeline isn’t likely to be visited by LEGO either.
What does that leave? If sales of 75335 BD-1 do well, then there’s good reason to consider more sets from Jedi: Fallen Order or its upcoming sequel Jedi: Survivor. The announcement of Star Wars: Eclipse, an RPG set during the time of the High Republic, might eventually change that, but without a confirmed release date the likelihood that LEGO will look to this for inspiration is low at this point.
What video game-based sets are on your wish list? Are there Star Wars video games that ought to be considered? Share your ideas with us!
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