Four possible reasons for the rumoured LEGO Star Wars AT-TE’s crazy price tag

The latest LEGO Star Wars rumours suggest this summer’s AT-TE will cost an eye-watering $140. Here’s a few possible reasons for that colossal price increase…

To date, we’ve had four minifigure-scale AT-TE walkers, three of which have been based on Attack of the Clones or The Clone Wars. Given this year marks the 20th anniversary of Episode II, it’s reasonably safe to assume any new AT-TE would take inspiration from the original Battle of Geonosis (and indeed, that’s what the rumour mill reckons, too).

That means 75157 Captain Rex’s AT-TE, which is adorned with the additional platforms and trappings of the vehicle from Star Wars Rebels, probably isn’t a useful point of comparison for the new set – leaving us with just 4482 AT-TE, 7675 AT-TE Walker and 75019 AT-TE to compare it to. And the purported price tag of 75337 AT-TE is said to come in far beyond all three of those sets, at an eye-watering $139.99.

The original AT-TE weighed in at $70 for 658 pieces in 2002, while the one and only Clone Wars variant followed six years later at $89.99 for 798 bricks. The most recent rendition of the Republic walker arrived in 2013, with 794 pieces for $89.99. The rumoured 2022 version therefore represents a $50 increase on those last two sets, which is roughly $40 more than inflation alone accounts for.

So, what could be responsible for that escalation in price, and what – in turn – could a $140 LEGO Star Wars AT-TE look like? Here are just four possibilities that might explain its hefty price tag…

4 – We’re getting additional side-builds

75337 AT-TE is said to include 1,082 pieces, which is 288 more than the last AT-TE. Assuming the walker itself will be roughly the same size as the 2013 set, and include roughly the same level of detail – it’s a design that still holds up very well nine years later, after all – it’s not unreasonable to think those extra parts might be poured into a side-build of some sort.

There’d be enough to include a revamped Hailfire Droid, for example, given the last version required just 163 parts in 2015. A full-sized Spider Droid might be too much to ask for – the last version weighed in at 310 pieces – but the mini droid included in 75142 Homing Spider Droid could also make the cut. With only two Episode II sets rumoured for 2022, any chance to beef out those builds would be welcome.

3 – There’s a metric tonne of minifigures

The LEGO Star Wars theme isn’t really known for giving us tonnes of minifigures (outside the Master Builder Series), with last year’s 75315 Imperial Light Cruiser delivering just six – one of which is a tiny Grogu minifigure – in a £139.99 / $159.99 / €159.99 set. But if the LEGO Group really is intending 75337 AT-TE to be a 20th-anniversary celebration of Attack of the Clones, it could feasibly flip the script on its minifigure policy.

With seemingly no new Republic Gunship in the works, this is effectively our only chance to get updated versions of Episode II Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala and Count Dooku – to name a few – while we’ll also surely need a few Clone Troopers, Clone Gunners, Battle Droids and (of course) Jedi Bob. It’s a lot to ask for, but then $140 is also a lot to ask of fans for an AT-TE…

2 – It’s much bigger than previous AT-TEs

While we’d love to see a couple of buildable droids alongside the main attraction, there’s always a chance that 75337 AT-TE’s rumoured 1,082 parts have all been poured into the walker itself, giving us the biggest and most detailed iteration of the vehicle to date.

That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, but 2013’s 75019 AT-TE already does such a great job of realising the walker at playset scale in just 794 pieces that it does seem a little superfluous. A true minifigure-scale version of the AT-TE would probably require far more than 1,082 pieces, so it’s tricky to imagine what benefit that slight increase could bring to the table. We definitely wouldn’t rule it out, though.

1 – It’s just really overpriced

This possibility essentially goes hand-in-hand with the previous one, which is to say that if 75337 AT-TE is just a 1,082-piece walker with no side builds and only four or five minifigures – as per previous sets – that $139.99 price tag is really going to sting. But LEGO Star Wars prices have only really been going in one direction for years, so this unfortunately feels like the most realistic option.

But hey, we’d love to be surprised…

Click here to check out the latest list of LEGO Star Wars sets confirmed and rumoured for the rest of 2022. Five new sets have just landed on shelves, including 75324 Dark Trooper Attack and 75328 The Mandalorian Helmet.

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