A few years back, fans were blown away by Bandai’s Tamashii Nations’ amazingly detailed series of Star Wars-inspired samurai figurines. These intricate figures–which mashed up historical samurai armor with characters from the galaxy far, far away–included the likes of Darth Vader, Boba Fett, the Imperial Stormtroopers and even the Emperor’s Royal Guard. They were the brain child of model maker Takayuki Takeya, and became highly sought by fans. Now, thanks to the folks at Sora News, we’ve learned of a new addition to the Star Wars samurai line, and it’s maybe the least likely character from the saga you’d expect to see in any kind of combat gear — everyone’s favorite worry wart protocol droid, C-3PO.
The new Threepio samurai figure comes complete with several accurate period costume details evoking feudal Japan, and his face has been given a new expression, a little more “hardened warrior” and a little less “eternally startled.” The Samurai C-3PO figure stands at 7.3 inches in height, and is currently available to purchase online. This one will set you back 9,504 yen, which is approximately $86 U.S. dollars. You can check out images of Samurai Threepio down below in our gallery.
Bringing together the aesthetics of ancient Japanese culture with that of the Star Wars galaxy is very much a no-brainer, as the history of ancient Japan is very much in Star Wars’ DNA. When George Lucas was creating the saga over forty years ago, he based the Jedi Knights in part on the Knights Templar of European history, but also leaned heavily into the samurai culture of feudal Japan. Most famously, the Japanese samurai film The Hidden Fortress was an enormous influence when Lucas was creating A New Hope back in the day. So it’s no wonder this particular mashup feels like such a good fit!
Images: Tamashii Nations, Lucasfilm
