No matter how you feel about the current state of the Star Wars franchise, we can surely all agree that the property continues to excel in terms of merchandise. There really is something for everyone, whether you're an avid fan of Clone Troopers or simply want your own adorable Grogu.
Hot Toys' highly-detailed 1/6th scale action figures have faithfully recreated many Star Wars characters over the years, but as we first reported on SFFGazette.com, you'll soon be able to get your hands on The Mandalorian season 3's Imperial Praetorian Guards.
Clad in ornate crimson armor, the Imperial Praetorian Guards are elite warriors of the Shadow Council ready to meet any threat with a savage response. Their red armour was a deliberate echo of that worn by Emperor Palpatine’s royal protectors.
The collectable figure features a skillfully crafted helmet, body armour, and outfit, the character's unique chain whip and heavy blade weapons, and a figure display stand. Needless to say, Hot Toys will be banking on the fact you'll need to buy more than one to recreate the events of the finale!
In the penultimate episode of The Mandalorian, Paz Vizsla attempted to fend this lot off but sadly ended up falling in battle. As heartbreaking as that was, it established Supreme Leader Snoke's future protectors as a force to be reckoned with.
Ultimately, Din Djarin and Grogu were able to stop them, but only narrowly, and much of that was thanks to The Child's ability to wield the Force.
It's widely believed that Gideon's cloning experiments were key to Emperor Palpatine eventually creating Supreme Leader Snoke and the various other bodies that housed his consciousness. With that in mind, we can't help but wonder whether Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau will tackle that head-on in order to better connect this series to the sequel trilogy.
You can check out The Mandalorian's Imperial Praetorian Guards, along with a recently revealed Gideon figure, in the Instagram posts below.