The Epic Continues by no means made it previous this presentation level, nevertheless—conflicting tales say both Lucasfilm accredited the concept just for Kenner’s higher administration to wind down the Star Wars line anyway based mostly on market analysis exhibiting declining curiosity within the collection, or that Lucasfilm simply wasn’t fairly able to take steps in solidifying a brand new Star Wars continuation on the time. Both means, The Epic Continues was over earlier than it began, and with it, Kenner’s Star Wars toy line got here to an finish in 1985.
And but, its legacy did stay on in some methods. Simply years later within the ‘90s, the Expanded Universe started with Timothy Zahn’s Inheritor to the Empire, and with it, a brand new period of Star Wars storytelling that may pay homage to the idea work carried out for The Epic Continues in numerous methods, from West Finish Video games’ Star Wars tabletop roleplaying recreation, to illustrations made for Star Wars Galaxy journal. After all, Star Wars toys themselves would make a comeback too—a decade after The Epic Continues would’ve started, Kenner, now owned by Hasbro, restarted its Star Wars toy line with a revived Power of the Force wave of figures, paving the best way for a revival that may go into overdrive a couple of years later with the debut of the Phantom Menace toys. Alongside the best way, the aforementioned Imperial Sentinels that borrowed from the identical design roots Epic Continues’ Atha Prime did obtained made into motion figures by Kenner, a humorous coincidence!
However whereas a lot of The Epic Continues’ legacy is rooted in Star Wars’ previous, not all of its inspirations are fairly so previous. These bizarre Mongo Beefhead mashups? They made a blink-and-you’ll miss it cameo within the pages of 2021’s Darth Vader #18 as an unidentified alien species—lastly canonized after 35 years of ready within the shadows.
Trending Merchandise
