If you’re looking for the ideal gift for the Star Wars fan in your life as the holiday season looms like the Death Star over Alderaan, you’ll find that the Force is strong in this guide.
This year has been relatively quiet for Star Wars, since The Rise of Skywalker brought the original storyline started by George Lucas in 1977 to a close last December. So there are no new movies, but we still got the glorious final season of The Clone Wars early in the year, and the second season of The Mandalorian will bring more Baby Yoda adventures to Disney Plus on Oct. 30.
There’s also the new video game Star Wars: Squadrons, which puts you in the cockpit of X-wings, TIE fighters and a bunch of the other fighters. If you’re not a gamer, you can also dive into the universe through dozens of books and comics.
If you’re looking for collectibles, there’s something for every price range — from detailed action figures to fancy replica lightsabers to fun Lego sets to cute Funko Pops — so you can surprise a Star Wars fan this holiday season.
EA; screenshot by Sean Keane/CNET
This PS4, Xbox One and PC game lets you suit up as a New Republic or Imperial pilot in a short single-player campaign and several multiplayer modes. It supports cross-play, so you can play with friends on other consoles. You can also play through the whole game in VR on PS4 and PC (spoiler alert: it’s awesome), and use a HOTAS (hands-on throttle-and-stick) for the complete piloting experience (if you can actually find any in stock).
If starfighters aren’t your thing, there’s always last year’s Jedi: Fallen Order or the multiplayer-centric Battlefront 2. Don’t spend more than $30-ish for the first two, and you can often score Battlefront for as little as $10 or less.
Disney Plus
The Mandalorian is one of the main draws of Disney Plus, the company’s streaming service, and the second season starts Oct. 30. The service, which costs $7 a month or $70 a year, also has all the Star Wars movies as well as the animated shows The Clone Wars, Rebels and Resistance, and it’ll get upcoming original shows like the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Cassian Andor programs sometime in the future. (There are also new Marvel shows on deck, too.)
Lego
Lego has been making epic Star Wars sets for years, and one of 2020’s coolest is the 1,023-piece Razor Crest from The Mandalorian. It comes with Mando himself, a tiny Baby Yoda, Greef Karga, IG-11 and a scout trooper.
If you’re looking for something bigger, there’s also the 3,187-piece Mos Eisley Cantina set. This wretched hive of scum and villainy is one of A New Hope’s iconic locations, and The Mandalorian visited it briefly, too.
Amazon
Just to be clear, not all Star Wars Lego sets cost north of $100. You can get plenty of more affordable sets, like this A-wing fighter that currently retails for under $25.
Mattel
This little guy captured hearts across the world when he debuted in The Mandalorian last year, and the plush version will make an excellent companion for any Star Wars fan.
Hasbro
Star Wars characters have been immortalized as posable action figures since 1977, and Hasbro’s Black Series 6-inch line has never been better. Some of this year’s coolest toys include its Empire Strikes Back 40th anniversary collection, its Baby Yoda and its seasonal Holiday Troopers.
Hasbro
An elegant collectible, for a more civilized collector. Hasbro’s Force FX lightsabers include realistic light and cool sounds, a metal hilt, removable blades, a display stand and enough weight to make you feel like you’re holding one of cinema’s most iconic weapons.
One of the most recent releases is the lightsaber belonging to Darth Revan, the Sith Lord from beloved video game Knights of the Old Republic, which changes from purple to red to mirror his shifting alignment. Also available is the green blade of Jedi Council member Kit Fisto, and Darth Sidious’ weapon is coming later this year.
Fantasy Flight Games
If you’re looking for a tabletop trip into the Star Wars galaxy for one to five players, this game lets you play as a hero of the Rebel Alliance or command squads of Imperial troops and AT-STs in the campaign game and the skirmish game. It even comes with little sculpted figures from both sides.
A game takes an hour or two, making it a fun way to spend an evening.
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