It's certainly possible. But, let's be fair, it's also possible that the Star Wars team -likes- doing the new stuff and is generally tired of making the fifteenth Luke Skywalker or finding a new way to make it exciting that they sculpted more hair on Chewbacca's feet this time, or whatever. I'm sure there's a give-and-take and a balance to it. I doubt they want to do OT all the time. I also doubt they get extra excited to make figures of characters they don't know anything about and therefore don't really care about, but also aren't allowed any deviation on the design of.
That's my thinking as well. Yeah, I give them plenty of crap, but I also realize their hands are tied in many regards. They're given their budget for the year and have to play within that, and have to look to LucasFilm & Disney for approval on a lot of things (which isn't unique to them, granted, but I've heard rumors before that one/both of them aren't the easiest to work with at times). They're always going to want to make figures of the hot new property, whether that's because Lucasfilm and Disney are forcing them to, or because it's a smart business decision to strike while the iron is hot. The downside to a property like Star Wars is, if you want to do certain characters, it's going to require certain parts you may not use again for a while, if ever, and if you do, it might be for a super obscure character that no one but the hardcore fans care about. Star Wars fans also, like any dedicated fanbase (arguably even moreso than comic book fans), have their favorite look for a character or a favorite background character and won't be happy until they're made (which, let's face it, most won't be). Heck, even if they
are made, a lot of fans will complain.
Especially with rising costs, both for manufacturer and consumer, they're able to take risks less and less. There was a time when collectors would buy any cool obscure alien, whether they appeared prominently or not, but times have changed. There was a time when Constable Zuvio would've sold no matter if he actually made it to screen or not. Even the ones that
do appear prominently like Lando often sit on shelves. Collectors are being more and more picky with their money, which they have every right to be, but we also have to realize that that often means Hasbro having to cut back on taking big swings too. I have no doubts that concept art is withheld from them or they're told not to do certain characters/looks or plans change and a character they thought was going to be big is barely featured, but I do generally think they do the best they can with what they're given. They obviously do listen to fans to an extent, or else we wouldn't have gotten a bunch of the things we have; It's a fine line, and a real give-and-take, and even though I give them plenty of crap, I'll still happily take most of what they put out.
