Last year, D23 wowed collectors with one of the coolest Star Wars toys we’d seen in a very long time: a massive, 3.75″-figure-scaled replica of the original ride vehicle from Star Tours, the StarSpeeder 3000, that could seat 25 figures and even included a video screen playing back parts of the iconic Disney ride. But if your memory of Star Tours leans a little towards its modern rejuvenation (itself nearly a decade-and-a-half old now!), then this weekend you’re going to be in luck.
io9 has got your exclusive first look at the return of the excellent Star Tours Starspeeder toy as part of the Disney Store’s Star Wars Day offerings for May 4 this year. Except, this time the electronically-enhanced vehicle has a brand new orange-hued paint job, reflecting it as a replica of the StarSpeeder 1000, the cosmetic update given to the ride vehicle when Star Tours evolved into The Adventures Continue in 2011, updating the ride experience to incorporate new footage inspired by locations from the prequel trilogy as well as the original saga.
Aside from the new paint job–and a matching new piece of box art inspired by The Adventures Continue–the toy remains largely the same as the one that debuted at D23 last year with some minor changes. The ship still features a display stand, as well as seats to hold up to 25 3.75″-scaled figures (complete with those all-important seatbelts!), and a suite of electronic enhancements, including opening doors that play the classic chime from the ride, lights in the display stand as well as the headlights, thrusters, and cannons on the ship itself, and a 4.75″ LCD screen housed at the front of the StarSpeeder’s interior that plays authentic Star Tours ride sequence footage (although as of writing, whether this has been updated to include Adventures Continue footage, compared to the classic Star Tours footage found in the StarSpeeder 3000 toy, remains to be seen).
One key difference is that while the StarSpeeder 3000 playset featured a suite of voice phrases from the beloved original Star Tours droid pilot, Captain Rex, the 1000 will further reflect Adventures Continue by featuring lines from C-3PO, who took over in the refresh as Star Tours’ latest unwitting pilot. This is also reflected in the included figures, which will feature an R2-D2 and C-3PO from the ‘Droid Factory’ 3.75″ figure line Disney sells in the parks, replacing the Captain Rex included in the D23 StarSpeeder 3000 release.
At least this time you won’t have to make the trek to an event like D23 to get your hands on the vehicle this time. The Star Tours: The Adventures Continue StarSpeeder 1000 play set will be available from direct from the Disney Store at this link starting from 11am ET/8am PT this Sunday, May 4.
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