The rumor that the game may be based on Darth Vader just won’t die. It’s made a resurgence lately on Pinside, so I figured that I’d dig into the Knapp Arcade archives and share this article that I wrote back on May 9th of this year:
“Next up is the Stern Pinball rumor mill. I've heard from more people than I can count that the next Stern Pinball machine(s) are designed by John Borg.
I still strongly believe that we are getting a Walking Dead Remastered pin from Stern, most likely this fall. Though a Tron Remastered remains a dark horse in the race. There's rumblings that a new Tron pin is already basically done and the new movie in the series "Tron: Ares" is scheduled to hit theatres in October. If a TRON game really is ready and Stern doesn't release it then, then what are they doing?
The third cornerstone game of 2025 from Stern, after Dungeons & Dragons and King Kong, is also going to be a Borg-designed game. I've been saying for over a year that it's based on something Star Wars-related. Initially I was leaning towards it being based on the recent Disney+ series Skeleton Crew, but I really don't think that's the theme any more.
I wrote several times in 2024, including as early as in September, that another possible candidate for Stern's 2025 Star Wars cornerstone game is Episodes 1, 2 and 3.
"The other possible theme that I have heard for this upcoming Stern Star Wars pinball machine is… a Star Wars Episode 1, 2 and 3 trilogy game.
Star Wars Episode 1 already was the theme for a 1999 Williams Pinball 2000 game. A title that I actually owned for a while years ago. I liked it, plus the NYC bar that I bought it from never emptied the quarters from it when Fast Eddy went in to pick it up for me. It was loaded :).
2024 marks the 25th Anniversary of the first film in the prequel series, Episode 1. Again, this rumor says that the Prequel Trilogy pin is a John Borg-designed game.
So there you have it, you heard it here first…a Star Wars game is in development at Stern Pinball and it’s either Skeleton Crew or SW EP 1, 2, 3. Of course the peril of being first is that I haven’t gathered enough intelligence on this yet, hence the two themes."
So in my mind, Skeleton Crew is out as a theme. Episodes 1 through 3 are still a strong possibility. I want to throw another possible theme into the mix - Darth Vader. There's been some murmurs that Stern is making a Darth Vader-themed game. I kind of doubt that Disney would let Stern make up it's own story for a Darth Vader pin, like it has for Jurassic Park, Dungeons & Dragons and King Kong. However, Marvel already has a ton of Darth Vader comics that could easily serve as the basis for a Stern game.
There is a precedent for a Vader pinball machine. Back in 2004 a company called Funrise Toys made a cheap tabletop Darth Vader pinball machine. Zen Pinball also has a Vader-themed virtual pin for its Pinball FX game.
If I'm handicapping the race for the Stern Cornerstone game, to me it's still Star Wars Episode 1-3 in the lead with Darth Vader entering the mix. Of course, remember that these are just rumors and even if they are right companies sometimes change their plans.”
Since I wrote this in the Spring, the rumor that the game is based on the original Star Wars trilogy, episodes 4-6, has also popped up. Handicapping the race for the game’s theme today, I’d say that it’s a dead heat between Vader, Episodes 1-3 and Episodes 4-6. It’s going to be exciting to see what it ends up being!
