Jon Favreau’s recent rise as a Star Wars visionary is the realization of an unlikely industry story. After all, pop culture first knew him as an actor who graduated from ’90s roles as feckless frat boys to becoming unforgettable sidekicks to Marvel superheroes, first as Foggy Nelson opposite Ben Affleck’s eponymous blind hero in 2003’s Daredevil, then as Tony Stark’s pal Happy Hogan in 2008’s Iron Man and subsequent MCU movies. Yet, Favreau quietly climbed the ladder of producers, eventually leading to his surprising creator status on the 2019-debuted Disney+ series The Mandalorian, and he’s been a celebrated small screen Star Wars mainstay ever since. Now, a crucial honor will soon see him join the upper echelon of behind-the-scenes personnel: his own Star Wars action figure!
Amongst the array of collectibles (this one revealed via IGN) set to be unleashed by Hasbro for Star Wars Celebration 2022 is a Star Wars The Black Series 6” scale Jon Favreau figure. Mind you, no words are being minced here—the official name of the figure is actually “Jon Favreau.” However, while the figure utilizes modern photo-real printing technology to perfectly recreate Favreau’s mug, the overall item takes shape as an amalgam of sorts that references The Mandalorian creator’s status as a voice actor for recurring character Paz Vizsla, as the body and accessories (consisting of a heavy rifle and jetpack) clearly demonstrate. Thus, Favreau’s name is accompanied parenthetically by Vizsla’s. However, the character does have previous Black Series releases, first with a 2019 deluxe edition that was identified simply as “Heavy Infantry Mandalorian” since a canonical name had yet to be revealed.
As you can see in the provided photos, the Favreau/Vizsla figure utilizes the same body and accessories as the 2019 Black Series release, except with the obvious added bonus of the helmet being removable this time around, revealing the Favreau head. Yet, the figure comes across as a curiosity since putting a Favreau head on Paz Vizsla isn’t truly canonical, and—unlike the recently offered Black Series figure of pilot Trapper Wolf for Favreau’s creative cohort, Dave Filoni—he never actually played the character onscreen. Indeed, armed with the mythology’s version of a heavy machine gun, the hulking warrior has been physically portrayed behind the helmet on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett by actor Tait Fletcher (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, John Wick), with Favreau’s voice performance conveying the character’s obstinate, judgmental, but ultimately honorable attributes. Interestingly, this is the second Favreau figure recently released under the Hasbro umbrella. The other one hails from the 6″ Marvel Legends line as a Target-exclusive Iron Man 3-inspired two-pack featuring Happy Hogan and Iron Man Mark 21.
Yet, such a collectibles concept is actually par for the course with Star Wars tribute figures of this type, especially considering the (non-onscreen-character) treatments given over the past few decades to franchise godfather George Lucas, who has seen his own head anachronistically placed on different bodies. For example, the traditional 3 ¾” line has produced limited releases such as a 2002 convention-exclusive Rebel Pilot figure playfully named “Jorg Sacul,” and a subsequent 2006 mail-away release put the maker’s head on a stormtrooper’s body and includes a helmet to hide the secret; a concept that, coincidentally, the Black Series is imminently reproducing, this time up-sized in 6” scale.
Vizsla, the helmet-covered, blue-armored warrior, is a stalwart of the heavily ascetic cult of genocide-surviving Mandalorians called Children of the Watch, led by the Armorer (Emily Swallow). He’s had several scraps with Din Djarin/The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), who he considers to be an apostate who plays too loosely with their austere creed despite a staunch declaration of still adhering to “the way.” He’s not entirely wrong since Djarin’s emotional attachment to Baby Yoda/Grogu over the course of the series facilitated a gradual softening of said “way” and a clear ideological alienation from hardliners like Vizsla. Ironically enough, Vizsla’s voice actor and imminent action figure face, Favreau, conceived the very idea of bringing the enchanting and adorable Baby Yoda to The Mandalorian with a tightly kept secret concept that was considered an audacious gamble behind the scenes at Disney/Lucasfilm, especially due to the show’s initial marketing, which depicted a seedier, scum-and-villainy type of story. However, Favreau convinced incredulous suits to keep his concept, which obviously ended up paying substantially rejuvenating dividends (both financial and emotional) for the overall Star Wars franchise in the pop culture landscape.
Interestingly enough, while Hasbro’s Star Wars The Black Series Jon Favreau (Paz Vizsla) figure was unveiled to complement Star Wars Celebration 2022 (to be held from May 26-29), those physically in attendance at California’s Anaheim Convention Center will have to forgo instant gratification since, at best, it won’t be released until sometime in the fall. Thus, attendees will need to go to Booth #2404, where they will be provided with a one-time code that grants special access to order the figure online (for the inflation-addled deluxe price of $39.99) on Hasbro Pulse. However, there’s a sliver of hope for non-attendees since limited quantities will be available to preorder for the general public sometime after the convention concludes.
