Star Wars Black Series Rey (Jakku) & BB-8

Presenting the Jedi (?) Rey as she appears on the planet Jakku and the droid BB-8 from the Star Wars Black Series Toyline.

Not much is known about the mysterious female protagonist from Star Wars Episode VII. All we know is that she's a scavenger on the planet Jakku (where she drives a Magnum ice-cream bar), and, if we're to believe a spoiler thanks to a game card, she's a Jedi (Or will be one).

So Star Wars Episode VII will feature a gender (Female) and a skin color (Black) that Star Wars, in general, has been criticized for not including that much of, as the two primary protagonists.

No Asians? Sigh.

We don't know much about BB-8 other than he was criticized heavily early on for his design - although we're sure that his critics have recently been silenced with the release of an actual toy that can do what BB-8 does in the films.


BB-8 does have big shoes to fill though because R2-D2 is still in this film. In the Star Wars universe R2 units would definitely be considered museum pieces, so it would be interesting how everyone's favorite droid competes against the younger BB-8.

The Star Wars Black Series Rey (Jakku) & BB-8's blister card reads: "Rey is a resilient survivor, a scavenger toughened by a lifetime of dealing with the cutthroats of the harsh dessert world of Jakku. BB-8 is the spherical, loyal Astromech Droid of the Resistance pilot  Poe Dameron."

So we're not sure why BB-8 is with Rey and not with Poe Dameron. Perhaps it has something to do with Disney's fear that female characters don't sell - or that all we want to do is molest them.

What's to like about the Star Wars Black Series Rey (Jakku) & BB-8 action figures?

FIRST: Well nothing much. We can't really be excited about Rey because we haven't seen the movie and don't know much about her.

She may be dressed like a dessert Jedi but that's not confirmed and the Black Series Rey does not come with a lightsaber.

We'd like to say articulation, but the Black Series Rey's articulation is not that nice. A lot of her leg's articulation is hobbled by those hard plastic robes. Rey also does not come with wrist articulation allows for vertical movement along the forearm, but not for horizontal movement.

But we do like her weapon - simply because we don't know what it is. It looks like something that is part vibro-lance, part force-pike. Given the location of the hand-wraps, it is most likely used like a bo-staff.

But then it could also be a rifle. It would have been nice if Disney said what it was.

BB-8 is a bit nicer. But then he's just a sphere isn't he? He has a bit of ballast that keeps him upright and you can turn his head, but that's about it. And the ballast isn't enough to always keep him upright.

What's NOT to like about the Star Wars Black Series Rey (Jakku) & BB-8 action figures?

FIRST: The loss of articulation in such a large figure because of the use of hard plastic really bothers us. This is a Black Series figure! The sheer size calls for higher articulation. The Black Series Kylo Ren has a fun skirt and he can kneel. We don't really understand why Rey cannot.


SECOND: The Star Wars Black Series Rey action figure comes with quite a deadpan face. Rey definitely came from the same company that gave us Captain America and Gamora.

THIRD: We've seen that the side-panels of BB-8 open up in some pre-movie animation. It would have been nice if BB-8 did do something other than sit there. I mean R2-D2 had accessories, add-ons and opening compartments. What does BB-8 do?

This particular Star Wars Black Series REy (Jakku) & BB-8 was taken as a part of a barter agreement, but retails locally (good luck, he's somewhat of a chase figure here in the Philippines) for PhP 1,499.75 (Roughly US$ 32). They're already available on Amazon for US$ 21.98 (Roughly PhP 1,033 plus shipping).