Rumoured LEGO Star Wars 75347 TIE Bomber’s minifigure line-up just got complicated

The minifigure line-up for the rumoured LEGO 75347 TIE Bomber has just been complicated by a completely unexpected addition from the wider Star Wars universe.

When initial rumours of a new LEGO Star Wars TIE Bomber – the first in 20 years – surfaced last month, the set was said to include minifigures of Darth Vader and a TIE Pilot, alongside a GONK droid. Fresh reports now suggest all those characters will still be present in 75347 TIE Bomber when it lands on shelves in January, but a fourth minifigure will also be in the mix.

That’s apparently in the form of an Imperial Officer intended to represent Rae Sloane, a character who’s so far only appeared in books and graphic novels (such as Aftermath, Alphabet Squadron and A New Dawn). She was also mentioned in EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II, which is thought to be the basis for a new 501st Clone Trooper battle pack arriving in 2023, and appeared in spin-off game Star Wars: Squadrons.

While the majority of Sloane’s characterisation in the wider Star Wars universe takes place post-Return of the Jedi, she was originally introduced in the Rebels timeline in 2014’s A New Dawn novel. At the time, she was only an Imperial Officer, but gradually rose through the ranks to assume the role of Admiral, and then – after the defeat of the Empire at the Battle of Endor – Grand Admiral.

A set that includes both Rae Sloane and Darth Vader isn’t entirely out of the question, then, but it will largely hinge on the former’s design. If she is indeed a regular Imperial Officer, dressed in grey fatigues, then the timeline will at least make sense. If she’s decked out in her white Grand Admiral garb, though, her inclusion alongside Vader – famously absent after Return of the Jedi – will be a little more puzzling.

Beyond just her place in the Star Wars timeline, Sloane’s relationship with the TIE Bomber is less clear – but then the LEGO Group has never previously shied away from random minifigures in LEGO Star Wars sets (see Mace Windu in 7261 Clone Turbo Tank, or even Obi-Wan Kenobi in 7962 Anakin and Sebulba’s Podracers).

There’s also the potential for some wider synergy here, too, as the timeline could sync up with the new Ahsoka TV series. Not specifically surrounding the TIE Bomber – again, Vader nullifies that – but simply with Sloane, who could potentially appear in live action in that series for the first time, given it’s set a few years after Return of the Jedi.

Of course, as Promobricks points out, the minifigure may simply be referred to on 75347 TIE Bomber’s packaging as a generic Imperial Officer, and any resemblance to Rae Sloane could just be a coincidence. We won’t find out one way or the other until the LEGO Group officially reveals the Star Wars 2023 line-up – for now, consider the TIE Bomber (and its minifigures) as purely rumours.

Click here for the latest list of LEGO Star Wars sets rumoured for 2023, which also includes two new helmets and at least two new dioramas.

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Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

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