Mr. Potato Head Fans Rejoice!

After having stalled out on the three main-line releases, the Disney introduction of new taters seems to have brought a renewed interest. With the new interest comes a new spud!

In early 2005 Hasbro introduced Darth Tater, the first Star Wars spin-off into the Playskool line of Mr. Potato Head toys. Nowhere was the toy met with skepticism and Darth Tater enjoyed sales figures somewhere in between "respectable" and "booming".

Announced in time for Christmas, Spudtrooper was the second in the line of Star Wars taters.

With Spudtrooper still riding the tide of fad sales at retail, Artoo Potatoo was shown to the public. The third spud in approximately a years time, Artoo was well met in the media, but could not be found in stores. Speculation was that he was a hot item flying off to homes before being spotted by many. Other speculation was that production issues had delayed him. After an unusually long lag time, collectors reported him on the shelves in limited numbers. Then he was gone.

During online Hasbro Q&A sessions, Hasbro confirmed that the line was at an end, but that collectors should keep their eyes open as they expected others to 'turn up'.

Once a year in May or June, Disney Theme Parks have Walt Disney's Star Wars Weekends. Part of the event is the marketing of cross-over toys, usually with Disney licensed characters in Star Wars themed roles or costumes.

The summer of 2007 saw a set of five new Potato Heads dressed as never before seen Star Wars people...

2008 has seen a renewed interest in the Star Wars Mr. Potato Head releases along with all of the activity in the Clone Wars marketing. The first three releases under the Playskool brand have been re-released in new all-white packaging giving them a newed shelf life and a boost in sales by collectors who feel they must re-buy items in alternate packaging.

Without any official announcement from Hasbro (that we're aware of) some new high resolution photos of a brand new member of the Mr. Potato Head Star Wars family member have appeared online. The images are of the completed figure in market-ready packaging which would refute any ideas that it might be a prototype or cancellation from the previous line.

The images are at the Jedi Insider and you can see this new spud for yourself by clicking: HERE.