Star Wars was the surprise hit movie of 1977, and its action figures were the surprise hit toys of 1978. Naturally, other film studios and toymakers wanted to follow the leader. Here are some of the TV shows, movies, and tie-in toylines that came out of the Star Wars craze!
A ton of these classic sci-fi toys come to auction in our November 23rd session! Check it out on GoBackToThePast.HiBid.com and follow us on social media @b2pcollect to keep an eye out for all the great collections that pass through our doors.
Battlestar Galactica
The first TV series to follow in Star Wars footsteps was Battlestar Galactica. Originally intended as a trilogy of TV movies, the feature length pilot episode aired on September 17, 1978. It featured special effects from John Dykstra, who had previously worked on Star Wars, and a budget of $8 million dollars. The film was a hit, though the show’s high budget would do it in after just one season. To help recoup those high budgets, the film was released in theaters a month after the show was cancelled – and was a hit again!
Battlestar Galactica was accompanied by a toyline from Kenner’s rival toymaker, Mattel. It consisted of child-sized roleplay weapons, 3.75” action figures, and smaller scale vehicles. The vehicles came with their own smaller figures, but their real selling point was action features: spring-loaded missiles, expanding wings, and various other moving parts that most of the larger Star Wars toys didn’t have. Unfortunately, the missiles would be discontinued after being deemed dangerous to children. Spring loaded weapons would be rare on American toys for many years afterward, allegedly including the removal of a rocket-firing feature form the original Boba Fett action figure.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
An amusing truth about follow-ups to Star Wars is that most of them were actually based on its inspirations. Buck Rogers originally debuted in 1928 and essentially created modern space opera adventure stories, a direct ancestor to what George Lucas was doing with A New Hope. It's only fitting that it was one of the more successful attempts by film studios and toy companies to follow Lucas' lead.
Produced as a feature length TV pilot, the movie Buck Rogers in the 25th Century debuted in American movies theaters on March 30, 1979. It was a modest hit, and the TV series would follow in September. Mego licensed the toy rights to the series, producing a series of 3.75” figures and vehicles in Star Wars style, as well as a 12” line in their traditional house style. The line only ran a year, but that was more due to the show’s troubled production than the toys’ popularity.
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon
Fun Fact: George Lucas originally wanted to make a Flash Gordon movie but found the film rights tied up. He did Star Wars instead, but its success led directly to Flash Gordon getting off the ground again. The first project to hit the public was The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, a 1979 animated series from Filmation.
It was accompanied by a toyline from Mattel! Consisting of eight 3.75” scale figures and two vehicles, it was as much an adaptation of the long-running comic strip as it was to the cartoon. Neither the show nor the toys lasted very long, but the toys’ timeless quality make them highly prized among Flash Gordon fans of all kinds.
The Sci-Fi Boom
And that isn’t all! The Flash Gordon movie, Alien, the revival of Star Trek, a whole bunch of sci-fi got made off the success of the original Star Wars. Not all of it was adapted into plastic, but the toys that were made remain prized among collectors to this day. They can be tough to find in any condition, and specimens with their original boxes are truly rare things.
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