LEGO Star Wars: The Dark Falcon Review: Reimagining a Sci-Fi Icon

The new set gives a fresh set of paint to the iconic starship.

By Patrick Cavanaugh - July 30, 2024 02:25 pm EDT

Ever since audiences first laid eyes on it in 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope, Han Solo's Millennium Falcon has been a seminal ship in sci-fi cinema, not only due to its importance in the galaxy far, far away, but also for its signature shape. Over the past 40+ years, young fans have done their best to approximate the ship in LEGO form, with LEGO also releasing a number of different builds in a variety of sizes to pay respects to the vessel. Later this year, however, the Disney+ animated special LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy is going to put a massive spin on everything audiences know about the franchise, which includes remixing the Millennium Falcon as The Dark Falcon.

In LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, the entire Star Wars Galaxy gets completely mixed up when an ordinary nerf-herder, Sig Greebling (Gaten Matarazzo), unearths a powerful artifact from a hidden Jedi temple. He finds himself thrust into adventure in a new, wondrously wild, and twisted version of the galaxy where good guys are bad, bad guys are good, and the fate of all depends on Sig becoming the hero who can put all the pieces back together.

To celebrate the release of the upcoming event, LEGO has released a The Dark Falcon set -- as well as an X-Wing and TIE Fighter mashup set -- that manages to offer a familiar experience to a Millennium Falcon set, though with plenty of twists.

(Photo:
LEGO Star Wars: The Dark Falcon's Darth Rey
- LEGO)

While some other LEGO sets can be constructed in a more modular fashion, moving from one clear-cut section to another and having multiple instructional guides for each section, The Dark Falcon's instructions are one thick book that will challenge any LEGO fan to find a natural point to take a break. It's both a blessing and a curse that once you start The Dark Falcon, you'll have a hard time stopping. Based on the look of the ship, it might seem like a given that there are a lot of black pieces, though it's worth offering the recommendation of building this set on a light-colored surface, as it's easy to lose sight of the black pieces on a darker surface.

The set comes in 17 bags containing the 1,579 pieces and takes roughly seven hours to build, with the first six bags crafting the recognizable footprint of the ship, as well as builds the familiar rear engines. It's not really until these first six bags are completed that the ship starts to resemble any version of the Falcon, and the first five bags are absent of any minifigs. If this is a family project, we'd recommend an adult getting a headstart on these sections, as the more playful elements start getting introduced in bag 6.

The first minifig you'll find in the set is Darth Vader, but with this being a Vader found in Rebuild the Galaxy, he's adorned in a stark white outfit as opposed to his ominous black. It really is quite shocking to see the villain as interpreted in a completely different color scheme, as the white not only makes him pop against the dark interiors of The Dark Falcon, but also because he has nearly five decades of history in black armor.

(Photo:
LEGO Star Wars: The Dark Falcon's Jedi Vader
- LEGO)

The look of the ship is understandably familiar, but it's in bags 7 through 9 that fans will really start to see unique details of The Dark Falcon that set it apart from the Millennium Falcon. With Rebuild the Galaxy not premiering on Disney+ until September, we have some time on our hands before we know the significance of these changes, but these details spark excitement about the special. One of the notable unique elements of the build is a small enclosure made up of translucent red pieces that is meant to contain the all-white Vader. It's merely conjecture, but we won't be surprised to learn that this is some type of prison cell for the figure, and seeing the contrast of the white Vader against the black interiors through translucent red pieces is quite eye-catching.

Bags 10 and 11 not only complete the exterior shape of The Dark Falcon and deliver more story details into the ship's interior, but they also bring out Darth Jar Jar and Bounty Hunter C-3PO. Longtime fans know that Darth Jar Jar is a theory that ignited in the wake of the prequel trilogy that teased a dark path for the Gungan, so seeing that figure manifested in the real world is a delight for fans. Additionally, with how rigid LEGO bricks are known to be, crafting the smoothness of the curves and how they come together with various static pieces showcases just how well the LEGO team has mastered their design skills, making the most impossible shapes come together in ways that seem effortless and obvious.

(Photo:
LEGO Star Wars: The Dark Falcon's Darth Jar Jar
- LEGO)

Bag 12 adds the legs and laser cannon turrets, with the legs both literally and figuratively elevating the set to give it a more stable footprint. The laser cannons both look screen-accurate to the original Millennium Falcon but also come with an impressive range of motion, making it easy to imagine that lasers can be fired in any direction and will excite younger LEGO fans who play with this version of the Falcon. Even though Star Wars fans have been perplexed by the physics of the cannons being found on the top and bottom of the ship and how they are operated, this set comes with a chamber that can be slid out of the ship to seat minifigs to get them into the appropriate battle stations.

(Photo:
LEGO Star Wars: The Dark Falcon's laser turret
- LEGO)

The remainder of the bags bring together the final stages of the ship's exterior, as well as construct the roof of the Falcon, which easily hinges open and closed to allow easy access to the more playful components of the interior. Much like the curves and hard angles of the shape of the Falcon, even if crafting the roof can feel somewhat repetitive, it's still quite satisfying to see how all these shapes come together, especially thanks to the bright red highlights of select features. Unlike some other Star Wars sets, The Dark Falcon is just as engaging as a complete vehicle and also as an environment with lots of features for the minifigs to interact with.

star-wars-lego-the-dark-falcon-beach-luke-video-games.jpg — (Photo:
LEGO Star Wars: The Dark Falcon's Beach Luke
- LEGO)

For longtime fans who might have already built a previous version of the Millennium Falcon, it's hard to say that this Dark Falcon is a necessary addition to your collection. While it might not be an exact replica of similar models, it's similar enough that the build might not be entirely enticing, nor will the alternate color scheme ignite interest. Once LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy debuts, however, it will explain and recontextualize everything about this The Dark Falcon set to make for a more thrilling build. Between the interior's additions of a video gaming system and minifigs honoring Jedi Vader, Beach Luke, and Darth Rey, we're more excited than ever to check out the new animated series. Still, even if this build is familiar, no one can ever get tired of any version of the Falcon, so if you don't already have the signature ship in your armada, The Dark Falcon is a unique spin on the seminal starship that is nearly as striking as the original iteration.

A review copy of LEGO's Star Wars: The Dark Falcon set was provided by the manufacturer. The set will be launch here at LEGO.com on August 1st priced at $179.99.

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