A wave of new LEGO Star Wars sets for 2027 has surfaced online, headlined by long-awaited Luke Starkiller collectibles alongside minifigures of characters like Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and many more. The year 2027 marks 50 years since the original Star Wars premiered in 1977, and LEGO is celebrating the milestone in grand style with a wave of sets and posters running from January through October. The sets focus heavily on the original trilogy, but the collectible poster tiles span all nine Skywalker Saga films.The most exciting detail about the wave is that its minifigures are based on Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie's original art for the trilogy's characters. McQuarrie's role in Star Wars history cannot be overstated. George Lucas hired him in 1975 to illustrate scenes from his script, and those paintings helped convince 20th Century Fox to back the film. McQuarrie designed the looks of Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO, and the Stormtroopers, and many shots in the finished film recreated his paintings almost exactly. These new figures pay tribute to that original vision, before the designs were finalized for the screen. McQuarrie's vision also included a radically different hero in Luke Starkiller, a name Star Wars fans know all too well. Seeing that design headline a LEGO wave is enough to make any original trilogy aficionado giddy at the prospect of the 2027 minifigures and posters. Read full article on The Direct.