Kenner's Star Wars: The Power of the Force toy series, a vintage collection, was first released in 1985. This occurred two years following the 1983 premiere in theaters of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Although it followed Kenner's incredibly successful Star Wars trilogy line, it didn't manage to reignite commercial interest, as the Star Wars brand's popularity was waning. Kenner didn't create another line based on the original Star Wars characters until 1995, when they released the The Power of the Force collection, by then under the ownership of Hasbro.
After the 1983 cinematic debut of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi and the conclusion of the Star Wars original trilogy, Kenner faced a challenge: the Star Wars brand was losing its appeal, and no new films were planned. To attempt to revive fan interest in Star Wars toys, Kenner launched a fresh branding approach with its 1985 The Power of the Force line. This line included aluminum coins featuring character images, which were packaged alongside each action figure. The line re-released several figures that had previously been available through Kenner's initial three original trilogy product lines, many of which were released near the end of the Return of the Jedi product line, all with a newly designed packaging logo.
While Star Wars author Stephen J. Sansweet mentioned in his 1999 book Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive that Kenner's The Power of the Force series began in 1985, he later indicated in his 2012 book Star Wars: The Ultimate Action Figure Collection that it started in 1984. The initial five figures from The Power of the Force line were indeed stamped with a 1984 date, but their official release was in 1985. These toys were sold alongside the Droids and Ewoks toy lines, which were based on two animated series that premiered in the same year.
Similar to Kenner's prior toy lines, numerous action figures representing background characters from Return of the Jedi lacked official names. Consequently, Kenner utilized nicknames that were used during the film's production. Later, many of these characters received proper names within the works of the Expanded Universe, such as "Yak Face" (Saelt-Marae) and "Imperial Dignitary" (Sim Aloo). The Yak Face figure was never sold in the United States and is now considered a rare item.
Although the majority of the line consisted of toys based on the movies, some original items were also created. To cut down on the expensive of making large vehicles for the line, small Mini-Rigs vehicles that did not originate in the films had been created for previous toy lines. The Power of the Force even introduced smaller Body-Rigs vehicles. Vehicles based on two of these—the Imperial Sniper and the One-Man Sand Skimmer—were featured in the Star Wars: Droids animated series. The toys were released in the same year as the series, even though the cartoon had its own, separate toy line running concurrently.
The Power of the Force couldn't match the success of Kenner's original Star Wars line and wasn't continued with a second series. Kenner presented a proposed continuation of the line, known as The Epic Continues, but Lucasfilm rejected it. From 1977 to 1985, Kenner's classic Star Wars toy lines sold over 250 million action figures. However, with Star Wars fan interest reaching its lowest point by the late 1980s, Hasbro Inc. ultimately absorbed Kenner in 1991. After a decade-long break, Kenner, under Hasbro's ownership, launched a new The Power of the Force line in 1995, which played a role in revitalizing Star Wars' modern popularity.
The subsequent table presents data as it appeared on the cards that accompanied each action figure upon its initial release. Following an action figure's initial release, details such as packaging, the figure's design, and its name were subject to change. No single attribute (name, design, or product number) entirely defines the list; instead, a combination of all characteristics provides a comprehensive list.