LEGO Star Wars minifigures have changed a lot over 25 years, but that's not to say that minifigures from 1999 are completely unrecognisable.
Just as LEGO minifigure design across every theme has evolved since the debut of the figures, the characters of LEGO Star Wars have adapted to the changing times, and the differences are stark once you plot a path through the theme's 25-year history.
LEGO minifigures have proven themselves to be a desirable, collectable and key part of the LEGO portfolio and no theme showcases their importance and how they have evolved quite as much as LEGO Star Wars
We're journeying through the past 25 years of LEGO Star Wars minifigures to see how the character designs have changed since 1999 and to see what major evolutions we can spot.
The classics
Starting in 1999, minifigures were immediately different in LEGO Star Wars compared to other themes thanks to the instant debut of characters such as Battle Droids, Darth Maul with his red and black face and Jar Jar Binks with a specialised head mould. Aside from these unique figures, LEGO Star Wars minifigures from the first year of the theme are notably different to those today for featuring yellow skin similar to non-licensed minifigures.
Add to that the beady eyes without pupils and it's easy to see that LEGO Star Wars minifigures once closely resembled standard minifigures and this remained a fact for quite a while. Even looking beyond the faces, the details on these original minifigures weren't nearly as much as the characters we're used to seeing today.
Printing was limited to torsos and heads and there weren't nearly as many specialised pieces as there are today for accessories including weapons. Still, these original LEGO Star Wars minifigures are undoubtedly charming for being the start of the path that leads to a 25-year-old LEGO theme.
These initial designs were even revisited for the 20th anniversary, but more on that point in the timeline later on.
Introducing specific moulds
In 2001, the LEGO Group started to embrace the idea of specialised moulds for species following the start of this trend with Jar Jar Binks and Battle Droids. Minifigures including Watto and Aldar Beedo in 7186 Watto's Junkyard. These odd minifigures wouldn't be the end of that trend though as in 2002, Yoda debuted as a minifigure.
7103 Jedi Duel is one of the best examples of the LEGO Group's initial approach to specialised minifigure parts for non-human species. Yoda's unique but approachable proportions and head shape make for an interesting LEGO minifigure head that is unlike anything else and back in the day, it didn't even have any printing.
The start of leg and arm printing
10123 Cloud City marks an important step in the evolution of minifigures in general as it started an overhaul that still affects Minifigures to this day.
Boba Fett's minifigure in the 2003 set is the first to feature arm printing and leg printing and it would remain one of the only LEGO Star Wars minifigure to feature one, the other or both for years to come. 22 years later, leg and arm printing is still a desired feature of LEGO Star Wars minifigures that we don't always see.
The start of flesh tones
As you might have spotted in 10123 Cloud City, flesh tones started to appear in LEGO Star Wars starting in 2003. Lando Calrissian's original minifigure is the first minifigure in the theme to explore flesh tones but yellow minifigures started to be phased out in 2004 as part of 4504 Millennium Falcon. This was a huge step for LEGO Star Wars minifigures as printing started to get more detailed too, adding texture and shading. Still, it wasn't the biggest step arguably.
From classic to modern
The biggest evolution for LEGO Star Wars minifigure design came in 2005's 7264 Imperial Inspection as a pair of Imperial Officers were the first in the theme to use the modern style of LEGO minifigure faces complete with eyes featuring white pupils (or light reflections, you decide).
These slowly started to be phased into LEGO Star Wars more and more until the transformation was complete in 2010. Notably, Emperor Palpatine's minifigures had always explored more detailed eyes but seeing it slowly start to appear in minifigures not afflicted by the dark side is a notable step in the evolution of LEGO Star Wars minifigure design
Light-up lightsabers
LEGO Star Wars minifigures saw an interesting experiment in 2005 as light-up lightsabers permanently held by select minifigures were trialled in 7257 Ultimate Lightsaber Duel, 7261 Clone Turbo Tank, 7260 Wookiee Catamaran and 7263 TIE Fighter.
These unique minifigures are unlikely any others ever seen in LEGO sets since as most minifigures have strayed away from integrated electronics. Still, it was a fun experiment and something that would be an interesting returning feature in the future. We can't imagine it's cheap to produce such minifigures though.
The Clone Wars' faces
Just as LEGO Star Wars minifigures were starting to move away from older standards of LEGO minifigure faces, The Clone Wars animated series arrived to drastically shake things up from 2008 to 2014. The start of the series following the film led to some of the most unique minifigures ever featured in LEGO sets, for better or for worse depending on your opinion.
These highly stylised minifigures featured facial expressions that match the unique animation and visual style featured in The Clone Wars series. It remains unlike anything else we've seen in LEGO Star Wars since and it even brought us the debut of a new Yoda element that better matched his animated appearance. Given how different these minifigures are from the rest of the theme, it's surprising to think that they lasted until 2014 when the move from classic faces had finally been completed.
Embracing minifigure modernisation
Not that the classic smiling faces of minifigures aren't appealing, but in 2010, LEGO Star Wars finally moved to the modern minifigure design complete with light reflections in the eyes, but still with more generic expressions compared to The Clone Wars. Older elements were still in use too, including Luke Skywalker's original hair which admittedly looks dated over 10 years later.
Re-inventing the wheel
It's worth pointing out how Star Wars minifigures that appeared in the early days of the theme compared to the modern designs seen in 2010 and later, showcasing how the likes of Yoda and Boba Fett have evolved with the changes introduced to LEGO Star Wars minifigures.
Specifically for the latter character, the increased level of detail and evolved helmet design are the most notable features, as well as the addition of helmet and other accessories that add to the depiction's accuracy.
'Tis the season
Since 2011, LEGO Star Wars has become known for seasonal minifigures reimagining familiar characters with a festive twist and though these minifigures aren't necessarily groundbreaking, they're still worth pointing out as a major and overall fun milestone in 25 years of LEGO Star Wars minifigures.
The dawn of hyper-detailed minifigures
From 2012 to 2014, a few minifigures featured an uncanny level of detail that looked quite odd compared to other minifigures. For the most part, this hasn't continued but you need only look at the minifigures in 2014's 75059 Sandcrawler to see how these efforts affected standard minifigure design.
The end of odd faces
With 2014 came 75046 Coruscant Police Gunship and the last of the unique animated Clone Wars faces. They have not returned since and with the end of the series, there's no sign that they will be back anytime soon.
New helmet, new Darth
2015 saw a massive change to the familiar design of LEGO Darth Vader with a helmet made up of two pieces that continue to be used to this day. This is much more accurate to the helmet as seen in the films and other projects but it was hard to stray away from the relatively unchanged helmet design that we had the chance to get used to over the past 16 years.
Getting comfortable, almost
LEGO Star Wars had started to get comfortable with the current era of minifigure design as the sequel trilogy started, though this offered a chance for the LEGO Star Wars minifigure design team to explore more specific characters than ever before with some interesting designs that likely won't ever return.
Specifically, the likes of Crokind Shand, Bistan and Unkar Plutt probably won't be back as various projects dip in and out of LEGO Star Wars alongside the mainstays – the prequel and original trilogy.
Back to basics
LEGO Star Wars surprised everyone by going back to basics for the 20th anniversary. A line of yellow-skinned (aside from Lando) minifigures were featured in give sets and one polybag for the anniversary, even bringing back the original Darth Vader helmet one last time.
It was a great way to celebrate 20 years of LEGO Star Wars and it's interesting to compare them to the 25th anniversary, which is an entirely different collection looking towards the present and future rather than focusing on nostalgia.
Old dog, new tricks
75352 Emperor's Throne Room Diorama saw the debut of a new hairstyle specific to Luke Skywalker, but the theme hasn't moved to it fully quite yet. The 2023 element is one of the most recent developments in LEGO Star Wars minifigure design, offering a simple change as the theme explores more detailed droids and long-awaited species including Kaminoans.
Another eye evolution
From the Mythrol to Fifth Brother and even the latest Ezra Bridger minifigure based on Ahsoka, the LEGO Star Wars minifigure design team is starting to stray away from modern minifigure eyes for some characters, usually when a different eye colour is a distinct part of their character design.
The design of these eyes isn't quite like that of Lloyd from NINJAGO, still using a black or darker shade of outline around the eyes, but it's still something new and unusual for the theme that continues to this day.
Rebuilding the galaxy
The recent Rebuild the Galaxy sets don't offer any outstanding changes for LEGO minifigure design or even for LEGO Star Wars specifically, but it's worth pointing out that the minifigure designs have been allowed to get especially creative this year.
The remixed designs of characters featured in
Moulds vs. prints for non-humans
Rounding out the journey, it's worth looking at home some LEGO Star Wars minifigure species that have evolved over the years, moving from prints to specialised moulds. The difference is no more apparent than when you look at 75050 B-wing's Ten Nunb next to the new Nien Nunb from
While the newer element is more accurate, the print was satisfactory for 2014. Still, it shows how LEGO Star Wars minifigures are continuing the evolve and that no designs are ever necessarily good enough – there's always room for improvement.
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