The Black Series

It’s been rumored for a few days now, but Hasbro has now confirmed, via an article on USAToday.com, that they will be debuting a new 6″ line of Star Wars action figures.  Starting in August, the new line will feature highly detailed action figures in the same vein as Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line.

There will be eight figures in the initial offering, including Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot, R2-D2, Darth Maul and a Sandtrooper.  Each figure will cost about $19.99.  The tag line for this new line is “The Black Series,” which will also include 3.75″ figures.

While the article says “vintage-style” when referring to the 3.75″ figures, we probably won’t know until next week if that means we can still expect Vintage Collection type packaging or if they’ll have the new Black Series packaging of the 6″ releases.

One of the most interesting quotes in the article is from Derryl DePriest:

“Our focus here is the adult collector, the dad,” DePriest says. “We know they have their own generation of youngsters they like to share the adventure with. It can be something for dad, and the 3¾ world can be something for the kids to share.

That seems to further Hasbro’s position that they’re focusing more on kids than the adult collector.  It may also indicate a more basic line of figures along the lines of what has been shown for Hasbro’s upcoming Iron Man 3 and Spider-Man lines; more basic sculpts, less articulation and fewer paint applications.

Although the 6″ concept figures shown by ThreeA Toys at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 were much more detailed, the Luke pictured in the USA Today article seems to be on par or better than we’ve seen from the Marvel Legends line.  It will be very interesting to see how long this line lasts and if it can pull in the collector market that has 18 years of history with the 3.75″ line.