Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Cal Kestis

Release Date: October 2019

RRP: $19.99/£19.99

As we further explore the period of time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Star Wars fans are discovering more and more Jedi managed to survive Order 66 and have their own stories to tell. One such character is Cal Kestis, former Padawan and star of the 2019 video game Jedi: Fallen Order. Hunted by the Imperial Inquisitor Second Sister, Cal embarks on a mission that sees him travel across the galaxy to unlock the secrets of a Jedi Holocon. The Black Series Cal Kestis figure was released as part of 2019’s Triple Force Friday celebration - marking the release of Fallen Order, The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker with a slew of new merchandise.

Jumping back to a time before that fancy new Black Series packaging, Cal Kestis comes in the standard black and red boxes that these figures called home for several years. It’s only been gone a few months but already feels nostalgic, although technically it lives on in both the Gaming Greats and Galaxy’s Edge ranges. In some ways this could even be seen as a precursor to the Gaming Greats range, given how prominent the Jedi: Fallen Order logo is on the box. The front of the box features that distinct monochrome artwork of both Cal and BD-1, however the release itself is only referred to as “Cal Kestis” (and not “Cal Kestis and BD-1” like the recent Cad Bane & TODO 360 release). The box’s spine marks this as the 93rd mainline release in this packaging type, while the back of the box features a short bio of Cal alongside that artwork once more (no BD-1 this time though). Inside the figure and accessories are neatly laid out on a moulded plastic tray.

Cal Kestis might be a video game character but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some element of photo-realism the figure has to adhere to, since Cal’s design is directly based on that of his voice actor Cameron Monaghan (known for his role as Jerome/Jeremiah/the Joker in Gotham). Hasbro have done an excellent job on the head sculpt here, both in terms of facial detailing and the design and colouring of the hair. The costume is based on Cal’s default look in Fallen Order, which is customisable very quickly into the game and thus very easy to forget how it looks (Cal without a poncho just looks odd to me). Again Hasbro have done a great job on the likeness here, particularly with the leathery colouring on his torso, glove and pouches. The belt is fully sculpted with all the tools Cal used whilst hiding out as a scrapper on planet Bracca, with some of the hanging pieces made of softer plastic to avoid any breakage. You can tell Hasbro really went all out on this one as even the tiniest mechanical details are fully painted, which is something you wouldn’t usually expect to see on a figure at this price point.

Reviewing multiple figures from the same toy line you begin to think you’ll know exactly what you’re going to get even before the you open the package, but every so often one will come along and throw in a few curveballs just to surprise you. Altogether Cal Kestis has the following;

- Ball jointed head, neck and torso

- Swivel hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists and ankles

- Butterfly joint shoulders/pecs

- Double hinge knees

- Thigh swivels

While a ball jointed head and neck construction has become more frequent in the Black Series, the big surprise here are those butterfly shoulders! This is something that’s extremely common in all of Hasbro’s other lines, but usually strangely absent from their Star Wars stuff. Presumably they’ve been added to offset some of the limitations Cal’s outfit might bring about, which has also had an effect on the elbow articulation as well. Cal uses the same swivel hinge joints usually seen on female body figures rather than the more standard double hinge, which is more than certainly due to the rolled-up sleeve look he’s rocking on his right arm. A double joint might have looked a little strange on a flesh elbow, but then the obvious joint cut Cal has in its place isn’t exactly pretty either. Although the torso joint on the figure is excellent (that strap coming up from his back isn’t actually connected to anything, so moves freely with the joint), but a torso swivel would have been great just to get that little bit of extra movement. Compared to the things going on with the upper body the legs are much more standard Black Series fare, giving a decent range of movement as well as some excellent ankle rotation for action poses.

Cal comes with two accessories, the first of which is of course his lightsaber. The hilt is based upon its earliest appearance in the game where the bottom half is damaged, disguising the fact that it’s in fact a double-bladed saber. The blade is standard blue it is in the game, and like the rest of the Black Series is removable (though I found it to be far tougher to pull out here than on any other figure). The hilt is cast entirely in gunmetal grey plastic without any paint apps, but the details are fairly close to how they are in the game itself. It’s an accurate representation of how the saber is at the beginning of the game, but it’s unfortunate that the figure had to be timed with its release because it could have been so much cooler. There could have been an additional slot at the bottom for an extra blade (allowing the figure to have both fighting styles from the game) or even the possibility of different colour blades. Sure the former point is a bit of a spoiler and the latter is simply an aesthetic choice, but it definitely would have made it feel far more representative as the whole. As it’s unlikely that Cal will get another figure (until any potential Fallen Order 2 that is, and even then it’ll surely look different), these little extras will likely go unexplored.

The second and far more significant accessory though is BD-1 - the unsung hero of Jedi: Fallen Order. Whether it’s scanning your surroundings, unlocking chests, fixing electronics or just throwing you a stim when you need it most, this little BD unit helps you through some of the toughest moments of the game. Looking like what can only be described as a pair of binoculars with legs, the BD-1 figure features a ball socket head and legs as well as poseable knees. There’s some really nice panelling detailing on the figure too, even if some of it is lost in amongst that off-white plastic. It’s a fun little toy which makes the package all that more special, and I will happily admit I would have had much less interest in picking up Cal if BD-1 hadn’t been included as well. While BD-1 spends a lot of the game riding up on Cal’s back, unfortunately there isn’t any way to properly do this on the toys without fixing him on with tack or tape. Definitely another missed opportunity by Hasbro as all it would have taken was a little peg hole somewhere.

Black Series Cal Kestis is a pretty interesting figure, doing a few things you don’t usually see in the line but at the same time just falling short of how much potential the figure could have based on his development through the game. As previously stated, it’s just a shame that the figure had to come out when it did and thus couldn’t be too spoiler-heavy. Nevertheless it’s hard not to be impressed with Hasbro’s overall execution of the figure, and both Cal and the game itself make a fine addition to any Star Wars collection.