In the 1970s and ‘80s, no other manufacturer leveraged Star Wars quite like Kenner. From action figures of all sorts to playsets, vehicles, and even strange products like an AM radio headset and a projector, Kenner clearly left no stone unturned when it came to the toys and games market. As you already know, many of these toys have become collector’s items in the years since, with some going for thousands of dollars. Even old cardboard display ads for these toys are now considered to be valuable. The toy line was as popular when they were released as they are now, so it only made sense that the manufacturer made a brochure to keep track of all its products and entice fans into buying more. Kenner’s Star Wars: Return of The Jedi Collections brochure featured detailed lists and pictures of all its offerings. Oh, and you can bet that it is now worth a lot of money too.
Flipping through the booklet, you’ll find a detailed list of up to 50 action figures, collector cases, vehicles, and a bunch of other offerings by the manufacturer. However, a closer look at the pictures reveals that Luke Skywalker had been swapped in for Princess Leia in one of the movie’s most pivotal scenes at Jabba’s palace. While that’s usually not a big deal in a toy brochure, the context in which the character swap occurred makes it absolutely hilarious. One fan on Reddit gave us a look at one they had, which made me lock up my wallet to ensure I didn’t make any impulse purchases. The pictures showcase all the awesome toys, almost as if they were right in front of you. However, the character swap is something that would leave every Star Wars fan baffled. One of Leia’s most popular scenes has completely been taken over by Luke, for some reason.
Over on the sixth slide of the Reddit post, you’ll notice an image and descriptor for the Jabba The Hutt Action Playset. It features the Huttese crime boss on his throne while smoking a pipe, along with his jester Salacious B. Crumb, and a bunch of figures that aren’t included in the set and have to be bought separately. On his throne, you can see a leash, which as we know is how he kept Leia as his prisoner, in her iconic gold bikini. However, instead of Leia, it’s Luke Skywalker at the end of the leash. This may be confusing for fans, as Luke is actually the one who saves Leia from this fate. So, how did he end up on the leash instead of being the rescuer? Well, it’s pretty simple actually. Kenner never made a gold bikini version of Leia, probably because they figured parents wouldn’t buy it for their kids.
Princess Leia’s gold bikini is easily one of the most memorable costumes in the Star Wars universe. While it was definitely a product of its time, the toy manufacturer had the right idea of leaving it aside when it came to designing products for kids. It would most likely have landed them in hot water, or could have even become a legal matter at the time. This left a gap needing to be filled on Jabba’s leash, and Kenner decided to use the next best character from the scene. Unfortunately, that decision gave us this hilarious result. So, instead of just putting a regular Leia action figure in the picture, they decided to make Luke a bonded captive of Jabba. Now who’s going to rescue him? Of course, the Luke figure doesn’t come with the Jabba playset either, but it’s amusing that Kenner thought this was the best way to show it off.
