Imperial Stormtroopers have mostly just been Rebel fodder during the entire Star Wars saga, but their sick jetpacks might make them a bit more deadly in Rogue One.
Hasbro has been unloading new images of the toys theyre releasing for this year’s Force Friday toy celebration, except this time it’s been rechristened Rogue Friday for Rogue One.
One of the new toys will be the “12 Inch InteracTech Imperial Stormtrooper.” It may seem like a regular old Joe schmo Stormtrooper that will inevitably show up on every kid’s holiday wish list, but the photos released by Hasbro include an intriguing new accessory for the Empire’s most expendable soldiers: a Jetpack.
Does this might mean we’ll see the Imperial forces in Rogue One take flight in their counter-mission to stop Jyn Erso and the Rebel Alliance from stealing the plans to the Death Star? If so, where can we expect to see these dudes in the new movie?
Have a look at the action figure below:
What a lovely jetpack you have.
The “InteracTech” part of the action figure means they’re outfitted to say some nifty phrases like, “There’s one: set for stun,” or “Let’s take this fight to the sky!” But the third phrase is telling. The figure will allegedly say, “Head for the canyon.”
Jetpack, on.
Considering that Scarif, one of the new planets in Rogue One, is a flat tropical beach environment swarming with Shoretroopers, it’s safe to say that we’ll most likely see the jetpack-wearing Stormtroopers in the craggy confines of Jedha, another planet that will be introduced in the film. The canyons they’re referring to could also be Rogue One’s mystery planet, Eadu.
Jango unchained.
Design-wise, Star Wars fans will notice the similarities between the Stormtrooper’s jetpack and similar ones worn by Mandalorian bounty hunters Jango and Boba Fett. The connection makes perfect sense. The first wave of the Army of the Republic, which soon became the Empire, were created using Jango clones, and some straggler clones could still be fighting for the Empire when A New Hope picks up nearly two decades after Revenge of the Sith.
Retconning the saga for merchandising purposes is sometimes tricky, but we’ll allow this one. Still, where did the jetpacks go after Rogue One? Is it possible the Empire was just kind of strapped for cash and decided to discard this kind of pricey tech to save up some extra credits to build their Second Death Star?
We’ll find out when Rogue One hits theaters on December 16.
