What good MARKETABLE ideas are left to do from the prequels?

[JediTricks]

If I were Hasbro and had their resources at their disposal, yes.

No, I'm talking about with YOUR money. Don't pretend like Hasbro has unlimited resources, the brand has a limited budget because they don't want money-losers sucking the company down the tubes like it almost did in 2000 after over-investing in TPM caused Hasbro to restructure to avoid bankruptcy. I'm talking about with YOUR money, you are YOU and will be the significant investor in this scenario - would you take YOUR money and risk it on that podracer idea with the intention of selling it on the existing market?

Keep in mind that what I was talking about involved:
Year-long support

Which already doesn't fit the existing market.

Collector-friendly vehicles with totally BS cannons and rockets and stuff

Unless they're really well-hidden, they won't be collector-friendly. And if they're too BS, then the kiddies won't respond to them.

New and re-released figures (including an excuse to make oft-requested things like a Padme resculpt)

I had taken that into account, figures now run $7 a pop and you want to toss one OR MORE into a set that costs less than 4 times that amount.

A marketing campaign, including some sort of cool contest for kids

So you want to take your investment and increase it by an expensive marketing campaign.

Tie-in to the re-release of The Phantom Menace

The re-release that its own producer suggests is only an experiment and may very well flop on its face, and it's coming out in the exciting, kid-friendly month of February.

If possible, a Clone Wars tie-in (Honestly, do you think the folks making that show care that Anakin and Sebulba had a rematch in an excellent series of books they seem determined to crap all over? And do you think they aren't itching to have that very rematch on their show, involving as many extraneous fanwank cameos as possible?)

So far, Lucasfilm hasn't shown much interest in this sort of synergy, and what you suggest doesn't involve ANY of the ideas you've put forward, Anakin and Sebulba are the only existing podracers, you want to make all the OTHER ones.

If they can make the GIJoe 25th Anniversary and Pursuit of Cobra lines work (which, insane poorly-done distribution that leads to one or two pegwarmers killing the line aside, they both did) with absolutely no media support, I think they could pull podracers off. Adults think they were extraneous to the plot. I've yet to meet a kid who didn't say that was his (or her) favorite part of the movie.

Poorly-done distribution is often a sign that something in the line isn't working, not the other way around. Usually it means retailers are very concerned the line isn't going to work on their shelves and want tweaks to ensure the best possible chances with their customers. Also, your GI Joe analogy seems to have no connective tissue to the idea of another 16 all-new Podracer vehicles and figures, they are totally different animals with entirely different markets. And finally, to say that you haven't met a kid who didn't say it was their favorite part is a little dubious, you've asked EVERY child you've met over the last 12 years since TPM came out what their favorite part of the movie was, and that ALL those children saw and remembered the movie that well, and that the race scene remained their favorite part consistently throughout that span despite some kids born in the interim not even likely seeing the film? IMO, it seems like you're stacking the deck to fit your wishlist item. But even if you're not, even if every single child in 1999 found the podrace to be their favorite sequence in the film, why then did EVERY SINGLE PODRACE PRODUCT in that year fail miserably at market? Because even if it was their favorite, it certainly didn't translate to sales - not of the characters, and not of the vehicles.

So I went looking around the other sites to see what their polling lists showed as the figures the collecting community wants from the prequels this year. Leaving out resculpts, as we're supposed to be looking at what's "left to do", not what could they do again, there is the following:

Aehrrley Rue – helmeted denizen, Mos Espa (I have no idea who that is even after looking at the photo)
Ann/Tan Gella (Girls who give a massage?)
Ark “Bumpy” Roose – podracer (I have never heard of this podcacer)
Elan Mak (Kam Nale) – podracer (never heard of this podracer)
Kitster (human child, they'd probably do better to release a new Anakin)
Wald (iconic alien, but a child)
R5-X2 (Jabba’s box) (I guess this could work, but they just sold R5-D4)
Tey How (sat there, made comments)
PK Droid (maybe a good packin with something)

And that's the Phantom Menace. Pretty slim pickings. The R5 unit is probably the most marketable of those choices. I know that the collectors are probably asking for figures they'd like, not necessarily saying what is marketable. But this is what the collecting community as a whole believes is "left" from Episode I.

Aehrrley Rue, I have never heard of that or noticed it at all. Wow. That's impressive seeing how much research I put into TPM back when it came out.

I have heard of those 2 podracers only because of the aforementioned research I put in, and then secondarily because of the Podracing video game.

I agree with you on the upshot, none of it seems exceptionally marketable.

Cliegg Lars (mostly exposition)
Corde (died and apologized for dying)
Dorme (female figure in a fancy dress, might as well do another Padme)
Hermione Bagwa – waitress (I really think this is the most sloppy costuming in Star Wars history. It looks like they
bought this outfit at a mall. I hate that scene for making Star Wars seem less otherwordly and
seem like a zany version of our own, but this character really looks like she wandered out from
behind the counter at Spencer Gifts or something.)
Jocasta Nu (librarian. And there again, remember when in Star Wars the next step on the road was interesting.
the Jawas led the droids to Luke, Yoda taught Luke the force. Now if you want to get to the next
phase of the adventure you literally go to the library to be scolded by the lady in charge.)
Onaconda Farr/Dar Wac (Rodian assistant) (this could work, but you could also take the Rodian from Jabba's band
and use it couldn't you. The marketable idea is different aliens in Renaissance fair clothes?)
Queen Jamilla (might as well do Padme)
Rogwa Wodrata (Separatist) (you have to pause the movie to see this alien)
Gilramos Libkath (Neimodian/Rune Haako) (can't you just use your Episode I Rune Haako figure?)
Sar Labooda (arena background Jedi) (this is a Jedi, but the Target arena sets had random Jedi and they didn't
seem to be a terribly marketable hit)
Sarissa Jeng (arena background Jedi) (see above)
Padme – Lakeside (the number of outfits Padme wore where she just talked to someone is so over the top)
Padme – Loyalist Committee
Padme – Picnic
Padme – Packing (Really, look at this. People want the figure where Padme went to a picnic or was PACKING! In
the original trilogy Han and Leia were going through asteroid fields and encountering mynocks in a cave that
turned out to be a worm. Anakin and Padme talked by a lake, ate a pear, went on a picnic, and sat by
a fire. It's like every bad romance novel cliche in one movie, like that's what Lucas perceives as what it
should be like when two people REALLY, REALLY fall in love. And we want action figures of this?)
Sephjet Josall (background Jedi) (see above)
Tikkes (Separatist) (same as with the Rodian)
Toonbuck Toora (Separatist) (Used to be with Star Wars aliens they were tough customers in a bar, or bounty
hunters, or fighting Luke on a sail barge, now we can watch them govern!)

And that's Episode II. The Jedi are probably the most marketable, but I'd worry about them pegwarming if they were carded figures.

Hermione Bagwa's costume is sadly accurate to the rather lame design drawn up for her.

I've never heard of Sephjet Josall, what a boring-looking guy he is! How would that be in any way interesting? The Jedi used to be wizards, sorcerror monk warriors, but with the prequels they're just "guy in robes holding light-stick".

Anyway, yeah, that list is about as marketable as ice cubes to eskimos.

BD-3000 Luxury Droid (where is this in the movie?)
Merumeru (another Wookie would probably be a good choice)
Emperor Palpatine (Foundation of Emperor) (a main character, but in a non-dynamic scene)
Padme (Anakin’s Return) (she has Leia's hairdo so it's probably the best choice for all the Padmes left)
J’oopi She’ (Klaatu Jedi) (obscure, but an alien Jedi might sell, see Target analysis above)
Padme (Declaration of Empire) (sitting and talking)
GH-7 Midwife Droid (MIDWIFE DROID!)
EW-3 Midwife Droid
Ma’kis’shaalas (Jedi)
Mon Calimari Water Dancer (interesting concept art, but a Star Wars ballerina might not be the best idea)
Queen Apailana
Padme Funeral (she's DEAD!)
Padme Peacock Dress
Senator Fang Zar (is he from the cut scenes?)
Whie Malreauz (Padawan Learner)

A few more Jedis and Wookies might sell to the kids. They might fit in with the Clones Wars mindset.

BD-3000s were in the opera house. THE OPERA HOUSE! HOW EXCITING! I utterly hate the design too, as un-Star Wars as you can get. Creepy and plasticky and just awful. Certainly would make a fantastic action figure though, right? Yeah, give her a lightsaber, a blaster, and a garbage disposer or firecracker so kids can just take it from step A to Z right away.

So my opinion remains the same, even with the intense market research of the collecting community, there isn't much that's marketable. The only main characters people list as choices in the poling results are Padme and Palpatine.

Good breakdown. That's about what I expected.

[2-1B]

Chux, I know who you are talking about with that Warwick Davis / dude on a leash tandem...I recall seeing a pic of it in the Insider before TPM was released. I don't know what silly names have been assigned to them through the silly EU, but know I have seen them before.

[bigbarada]

No, I'm talking about with YOUR money. Don't pretend like Hasbro has unlimited resources, the brand has a limited budget because they don't want money-losers sucking the company down the tubes like it almost did in 2000 after over-investing in TPM caused Hasbro to restructure to avoid bankruptcy. I'm talking about with YOUR money, you are YOU and will be the significant investor in this scenario - would you take YOUR money and risk it on that podracer idea with the intention of selling it on the existing market?

When you put it that way, then I wouldn't risk much on Prequel based characters or designs.

I'd plan for a small assortment of figures (6-12 max), which would mostly be resculpts or rereleases of the main characters, along with an update/rerelease of 1 or 2 of the most memorable vehicles from the films, to commemorate the 3D release of each film in the year of it's release. Otherwise, I would confine new Prequel offerings to the Clone Wars line until CW comes to an end. After that, I would put new Prequel product on hiatus for a few years to allow demand to build back up.

It's lack of product and perceived scarcity that generates demand, not the other way around.

Realistic OT offerings would continue as they are now without interruption. The way I see it, the OT has proven itself time and again at retail over the last 3 decades.

The amount of 2013 Ep2 releases would be totally dependent on the reception of the 2012 Ep1 toys. In other words, if the Ep1 products don't sell through, then Ep2 would likely get one small wave of figures, or maybe a single multipack, along with 1 rereleased vehicle (most likely something with a proven track record that requires no tooling costs like the Jedi Starfighter). 2014 Ep3 releases would be predicated on the reception of the Ep2 toys.

After 2014, then no new Prequel toys outside of Clone Wars (assuming that line is still around by then), until we test the waters again with a small 20th anniversary line for Ep1 in 2019.

[Tycho]

I like BigBarada's idea to a degree.

They can continue to card the main characters vintage style (Do we have Dooku yet?) and put in some obscure collector ones.

They should lay off prequel troop builders (other than the obligatory Separatist Droid Army figures that need vintage cards).

Let Clone Wars offer the rest for now (clones for example).

Then return to them when Clone Wars is done.

Meanwhile - OT Troop Builders like the various Rebels and Imperials (which I'm glad to see they are getting to - B-Wing, A-Wing Pilots, Echo Base Troops, but maybe Torryn Farr, the next Bespin Guard, new variations on Luke et. all - like the Dagobah (Bespin jacket) one I suggested in another thread.

They could also do more OT EU this way - with the main characters in waves to move 'em - like Chief of State Organa-Solo, the older Han (use an improved Indy KOTCS head variation), and new Luke Jedi Master figures, along with Anakin Solo, new Yuuzhan Vong, Imp. Adm. Palleon, the Noghri, C'Boath, the Dark Empire "Jedi Executors" like Sedriss and Nysst, plus the Jedi Heroes like Kam Solasar and Kyp Durron, Tionne, more Jaina and Jacen Solo variations, etc. - Just stay away from the old Marvel. I don't think they still have a following because the comic 2-packs that dragged sales down were Marvel from my POV.

Then go back to the Prequels moreso, when CW is over.

Meanwhile, expand CW, so I can have an animated Bail Organa, Anaconda Farr, Senator Ttsuchi, Duchess Satine, Chancellor Palpatine, etc.

[JediTricks]

When you put it that way, then I wouldn't risk much on Prequel based characters or designs.

I'd plan for a small assortment of figures (6-12 max), which would mostly be resculpts or rereleases of the main characters, along with an update/rerelease of 1 or 2 of the most memorable vehicles from the films, to commemorate the 3D release of each film in the year of it's release. Otherwise, I would confine new Prequel offerings to the Clone Wars line until CW comes to an end. After that, I would put new Prequel product on hiatus for a few years to allow demand to build back up.

It's lack of product and perceived scarcity that generates demand, not the other way around.

Realistic OT offerings would continue as they are now without interruption. The way I see it, the OT has proven itself time and again at retail over the last 3 decades.

The amount of 2013 Ep2 releases would be totally dependent on the reception of the 2012 Ep1 toys. In other words, if the Ep1 products don't sell through, then Ep2 would likely get one small wave of figures, or maybe a single multipack, along with 1 rereleased vehicle (most likely something with a proven track record that requires no tooling costs like the Jedi Starfighter). 2014 Ep3 releases would be predicated on the reception of the Ep2 toys.

After 2014, then no new Prequel toys outside of Clone Wars (assuming that line is still around by then), until we test the waters again with a small 20th anniversary line for Ep1 in 2019.

Sounds like you're saying there's not a lot of marketability in the prequels.

I honestly don't think the 3D releases will continue after Ep 1, I think Lucas will perceive them as not living up to his level of expectation in either ticket sales or quality (or both) and let the idea die with TPM.

Which main prequel characters do you think the market would respond to in your idea? We're currently buried in Ep 2 and 3 Obi-Wan and Anakin, so I'd think they're out.

I like BigBarada's idea to a degree.

They can continue to card the main characters vintage style (Do we have Dooku yet?) and put in some obscure collector ones.

No Dooku on vintage card yet.

[Battle Droid]

Rogwa Wodrata (Separatist) (you have to pause the movie to see this alien)

Maybe, but she's one interesting looking alien (something like a hairy alligator), and she'd be a huge figure also.

I also think see's the only alien species in the Star Wars universe to be represented by only one character so far, rather it be in the films, or the EU.

[El Chuxter]

Nope.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Waru

Though I'll forgive you overlooking that... thing.

Not entirely sure about Krelman and Goormanda (or however you spell it).