The Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire series of toys was brought to the market by Hasbro through its Kenner division in 1996. It showcased various characters and vehicles originating from the Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire multimedia initiative. In addition, a Micro Machines Shadows toy line was also launched.
This small collection, consisting of 5 action figures, debuted alongside the Power of the Force range and was available for a single year. These figures drew their inspiration from the characters featured in the Shadows of the Empire novel, video game, and comic book series. Among them were Chewbacca disguised as a Snoova, Princess Leia disguised as Boushh, Dash Rendar, Luke Skywalker in a red Coruscant Guard disguise, and Prince Xizor.
The product line featured two-figure sets that paired classic characters with new ones, such as Xizor alongside Darth Vader. The figure designs were mainly based upon conceptual illustrations created by Mike Butkus. The swoop bikers from the project took inspiration from concept art developed for the enhanced CGI sequence of Mos Eisley within the Special Edition (which was under development at the same time). According to Tim Hall, Kenner chose to replace the "coneheads" (riders wearing conical helmets) with more intimidating armor and helmets.
The packaging artwork for this toy range differed from the usual red lightsaber glow seen in the Power of the Force line, instead displaying a purple lightsaber glow. Similar to the Power of the Force series, these action figures were also sold on hologram cards. After this line was discontinued, some of the figures and vehicles were incorporated into the main toy line. The collection also introduced Hasbro's first original vehicle design not based on a vintage Kenner mold: the Outrider, the spaceship of Dash Rendar. A second original vehicle, Xizor's Virago, was planned for release but ultimately never made it to production.
A Guri action figure, equipped with a large weapon, was designed but remained unproduced.