LEGO Star Wars Set Discussion 2025 - READ FIRST POST!!!

[BrickBob Studpants]

11 minutes ago, Renny The Spaceman said:

Wait, do they still just  have the 4 figures still or do they throw in like a droid or two like the 20 quid 501st one did

Both have 4 regular minifigs ^^

[Swordy]

A bit late, but like a purple-wielding maniac in an alternate, inverted galaxy far far away once said, “This party’s getting started.”

The M&G trailer looked cool. Like others said, it didn’t increase nor decrease my level of excitement for this movie—that said, I’m actually pretty excited for the film. I’ve enjoyed the movies I’ve seen of Jon Favreau, including Chapter 9 of Mando, and it does indeed look like he’s put his style through the SW lens. Story-wise, I don’t expect much, but the same is unfortunately true of every upcoming project besides the Maul Show, (I hope Ahsoka S2 can surprise me, but I just don’t know,) thus I don’t condemn this movie on that account.
Bottom line, though, is this is the first SW film done completely in iMAX and I’m beyond ecstatic.

 

Could we see a playset of the gladiator arena wherein we see that stinkin’ jacked Hutt? I know TLG never did a Geonosian arena, but there was a lot of other things from that act of Episode II to tackle instead.
Maybe that’s the $100 set instead? I’m thinking that AT-AT fight is what opens the movie, so I’m curious if we will see a playset of it after all; it’ll depend on whether that particular Hutt plays a large enough role (pun unintended) to warrant TLG investing in a new mold, or if that sequence too is likewise inconsequential. If the former, then I expect an arena; if the latter, then AT-AT.
(Still, $100 doesn’t feel like enough to do an AT-AT justice, particularly one with a lot of interior action more than exterior.)

[CloneCommando99]

• ‘Day #154 of lobbying for a Lego Tie Avenger.

3 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

 

I don't really understand how it would just be fan service for a story about a bounty-hunting mandalorian trying to bring a kid to the jedi to involve bounty hunters, mandalorains, and jedi.

Like, come on. We can go into how essential most of them are to the plot, and all the themes behind each of them: Boba and Bo challenging Mando's morality and what it means to be a mandalorian, for one thing, or Ahsoka's role in developing Grogu as a character, setting up the notion and conflict within Mando about letting go of Grogu, etc. Luke's the only one that's a cameo, and aside from being one of the best moments in disney-era star wars, it is the ultimate realization of a lot of season 2's themes: the necessity of Grogu's development as a Jedi, letting go, and what it means to be a mandalorian through Mando's decision to voluntarily remove his helmet to say goodbye. But at the end of the day- yeah, obviously a story about a mandalorian bringing a kid to the jedi is going to involve some of the famous mandalorians and jedi active at that time period. It'd be like if Andor never included any of the imperials or rebels in the OT.

You’ve Swordy’d me. My thoughts exactly.

6 hours ago, Swordy said:

Could we see a playset of the gladiator arena wherein we see that stinkin’ jacked Hutt? I know TLG never did a Geonosian arena, but there was a lot of other things from that act of Episode II to tackle instead.
Maybe that’s the $100 set instead? I’m thinking that AT-AT fight is what opens the movie, so I’m curious if we will see a playset of it after all; it’ll depend on whether that particular Hutt plays a large enough role (pun unintended) to warrant TLG investing in a new mold, or if that sequence too is likewise inconsequential. If the former, then I expect an arena; if the latter, then AT-AT.
(Still, $100 doesn’t feel like enough to do an AT-AT justice, particularly one with a lot of interior action more than exterior.)

I think the $150 April set will be a AT AT, the $120 April set will be a Razer Crest and the $75 April set will be a Y-Wing.

[BrickBob Studpants]

5 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I don't really understand how it would just be fan service for a story about a bounty-hunting mandalorian trying to bring a kid to the jedi to involve bounty hunters, mandalorains, and jedi.

THANK YOU. All of these characters make perfect sense to appear and have a clear impact on the story. Also, I don‘t get why people pretend that S1 was 100% stand-alone. Boba Fett was already teased in that season and Gideon having the darksaber was a huge reveal that made it obvious they were gonna tie the story to Bo-katan in some way. And the existence of Grogu was by itself something that clearly tied back to the prequels given his age (meaning he must’ve been an Order 66 survivor, and of course he was) and the fact he‘s the same hyper rare species as Yoda, and a contemporary at that 

1 hour ago, CloneCommando99 said:

I think the $150 April set will be a AT AT, the $120 April set will be a Razer Crest and the $75 April set will be a Y-Wing.

Aren‘t all of them scheduled for May though? Either way, this makes more sense than the Razor Crest being the largest set. Sure, the flagship set not being the biggest is rare, but an $120 AT-AT would probably be pretty puny

[AD_Bricks]

13 hours ago, betaplayer said:

Speaking which, where are my Andor sets and figures? We deserve another Krennic and Mon Mothma at the very least. Don't get me started on B2-EMO, Bix, Maarva, Kino and our boy Brasso 😭

Krennic is coming in the Death Star releasing in a few days (not accessible but at least he exists), and B2-EMO is in the advent calendar! Two more down, several to go...

[Swordy]

20 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

It could be a fun mid-range playsest sort of like the Ragnorak arena set.

Also, that Hutt is 

  Reveal hidden contents

Rotta

and played by Jeremy Allen-White: the main character from the show The Bear, which might be the craziest casting choice star wars has ever made.

True. So maybe it’s the $75 set instead? ($20ish reserved for the Hutt, of course.)

Spoiler

I can’t believe you missed my pun about Stinky. Anyway, I know, right? At least it’s a vocal role if that, so Lucasfilm can always reuse him in another project, like Andy Sekris.

 

14 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Aren‘t all of them scheduled for May though? Either way, this makes more sense than the Razor Crest being the largest set. Sure, the flagship set not being the biggest is rare, but an $120 AT-AT would probably be pretty puny

Right, I got the prices and predictions flipped. I’d still argue that $150 in 2025 might be too small, but yes, it can be done at the expense of an interior. The last one was $160 in 2020, or $200 nowadays.  Ouch time.
The Razor Crest doesn’t have to be the largest set in the wave, true, but it will undoubtedly have a larger role than the AT-AT, so the larger set might be justified. It’d be like if—forgetting relative size for a moment—the Falcon and Kylo Ren’s shuttle swapped price points, or like what did happen with the Bad Batch shuttle and Justifier.

Edit: To be clear, I’m suggesting no AT-AT at all and a $150 Razor Crest. I realize there’s nothing we know so far that can be slotted into the $120 spot, but a $150 AT-AT with enough space in the interior to play out Mando versus snowtroopers plus an AT-RT doesn’t sound entirely right to me.

16 hours ago, CloneCommando99 said:

I think the $150 April set will be a AT AT, the $120 April set will be a Razer Crest and the $75 April set will be a Y-Wing.

Where did you see a Y-Wing in the trailer? The closest I’m seeing is a U-Wing (which I think will be piloted by Zeb, unless Filoni stated outright that Zeb can fly a Y-Wing only).

Nevertheless, I do like your prediction list a lot. I’m trying to think outside the box, is all.

16 hours ago, CloneCommando99 said:

• ‘Day #154 of lobbying for a Lego Tie Avenger.

I look at you all, see the clone sets there that's shelf-warming
While my wallet gently weeps
I look at Andor and I see it needs TIE Avenging
Still my wallet gently weeps…

Edited September 25 by Swordy

[Darth_Bane13]

15 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I don't really understand how it would just be fan service for a story about a bounty-hunting mandalorian trying to bring a kid to the jedi to involve bounty hunters, mandalorains, and jedi.

Like, come on. We can go into how essential most of them are to the plot, and all the themes behind each of them: Boba and Bo challenging Mando's morality and what it means to be a mandalorian, for one thing, or Ahsoka's role in developing Grogu as a character, setting up the notion and conflict within Mando about letting go of Grogu, etc. Luke's the only one that's a cameo, and aside from being one of the best moments in disney-era star wars, it is the ultimate realization of a lot of season 2's themes: the necessity of Grogu's development as a Jedi, letting go, and what it means to be a mandalorian through Mando's decision to voluntarily remove his helmet to say goodbye. But at the end of the day- yeah, obviously a story about a mandalorian bringing a kid to the jedi is going to involve some of the famous mandalorians and jedi active at that time period. It'd be like if Andor never included any of the imperials or rebels in the OT.

 

7 hours ago, Renny The Spaceman said:

You can like or think it's justified all you want but objectively it is fan service having a hideous deepfake Luke show up slowly reveal his hood and give the audience an applause break. Boba Fett and Ahsoka are irrelevant to the story, they have nothing to do with the characters or main conflict with the empire wanting the marketable plush toy but are there to offer some very redundant "help" that wouldn't change at all if given to any other character. They're there to make fans point at the screen and recognise them, you can say it's done well but it is fan service, that's not a question.

Especially when to take it in context, Boba and Ahsoka are here to pitch their shows and everything Luuke is just immediately made irrelevant, very clearly they didn't want to split up the show's main duo, he's there to have an excuse for Luke to have a hallway scene.  Any argument you could make about Boba or Ahsoka challenging certain characters is irrelevant because the cult Mando started in is good and no-one needs to let go of anything. Like this discussion started with people talking about the frustrating impermanence of things in this show, so really any arc about letting go means nothing, that's fundamentally in conflict with the text of the show. I'd argue it's at conflict with the franchise as a whole as it's what popularised the resurrection of dead actors in franchise slop like the Flash and such. Fundamentally Star Wars is the most anti-letting go franchise possible because even death isn't enough to stop them digging up a character for nostalgia 

I will also add that having all these returning characters just makes the galaxy feel smaller. Ahsoka should've died in clone wars, I would've accepted her dying in rebels though. Also there are more Mandalorians than just Bo Karen and Boba fett, they could've created new characters to fill those rolls.

Come on Mandalorianknight you cannot compare Yularen and Mon Mothma showing up in Andor, to Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Luke Skywalker, three fan favorite characters showing up in Mando s2. The truth is without the fan favorite characters no one would like Mando s2 because it is boring and poorly written.

[MKJoshA]

@Renny The Spaceman @Mandalorianknight and anyone else involved in the Mando media discussion. Please take the conversation to This Topic. Please use this thread for talk about sets, not the media itself.

[Meaf]

Was it 100% confirmed that we're getting an AT-AT and Razor Crest for the movie, or is it just that those are the obvious options? It's been a while since people started talking about them so I don't remember anymore. 

[icm]

It's still speculation as far as I know, but it would be madness not to have a new playscale Razor Crest set to tie in with the movie.

[CloneCommando99]

12 hours ago, Swordy said:

Where did you see a Y-Wing in the trailer? The closest I’m seeing is a U-Wing (which I think will be piloted by Zeb, unless Filoni stated outright that Zeb can fly a Y-Wing only).

Nowhere. But there were like 3 parked up in the shot of Adelphi Base they had in the background of the M&G presentation at D23 last year.

22 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Aren‘t all of them scheduled for May though? Either way, this makes more sense than the Razor Crest being the largest set. Sure, the flagship set not being the biggest is rare, but an $120 AT-AT would probably be pretty puny

Oh no. My bad.

20 hours ago, AD_Bricks said:

Krennic is coming in the Death Star releasing in a few days (not accessible but at least he exists), and B2-EMO is in the advent calendar! Two more down, several to go...

Day #155 of Tie Avenger lobbying

12 hours ago, Swordy said:

I look at you all, see the clone sets there that's shelf-warming
While my wallet gently weeps
I look at Andor and I see it needs TIE Avenging
Still my wallet gently weeps…

Beautiful poetry 

Edited September 26 by CloneCommando99

[BrickBob Studpants]

Can‘t wait to hear more about the M&G sets! Definitely my most-anticipated SW sets next year  I wonder if they‘ll keep up the tradition of revealing new movie and show characters through set leaks  Of course this wasn’t the case for every single new movie or show, but it happened enough times, like with ROTS, TCW, Rebels, TFA, TLJ, Solo, and TROS ^^

[Kaijumeister]

1 hour ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Can‘t wait to hear more about the M&G sets! Definitely my most-anticipated SW sets next year  I wonder if they‘ll keep up the tradition of revealing new movie and show characters through set leaks  Of course this wasn’t the case for every single new movie or show, but it happened enough times, like with ROTS, TCW, Rebels, TFA, TLJ, Solo, and TROS ^^

Not that budget has seemed to be an issue in terms of new minifigures and stuff for Star Wars recently (most of the time…), but I wonder if these TMaG sets will get a movie-level budget. 

I feel like the Mandalorian minifigure is as good as it gets, although getting a new dual-moulded Mandalorian helmet would be awesome provided it isn’t comically oversized, along with a side-cape to go with the jetpack (rather than just one or the other). An updated Grogu figure is also sorely needed. 

Plus we’ll be getting the Ahsoka Season 2 sets next year. Given what we know of the season already the set potential should be good - I would love to get a T-6 at the £140 pricepoint with a proper interior.

Edited September 26 by Kaijumeister

[BrickBob Studpants]

1 minute ago, Kaijumeister said:

[…] but I wonder if these TMaG sets will get a movie-level budget. 

There‘s no reason they shouldn‘t. Also, is there really that much of a difference between new show and movie sets? The Ahsoka sets had a bunch of new pieces, as did previous Mando waves, and the TBOBF and Kenobi sets too. Andor only got two sets, sure, but even then they brought back K2’s torso and introduced a new piece for Dedra‘s hat.

In absolute numbers, the ST, RO and Solo of course introduced more new pieces and prints, but they also had A LOT more sets than most of the shows

It of course also depends on how many new pieces are even needed in the first place. M&G can reuse quite a lot from previous Mando sets, which was not the case with the ST or spin-offs.

And regarding a new Grogu: I think we‘ll know pretty soon. I can‘t imagine them reusing the 2020 one in January and replacing it in May. If there are new pieces for him, they‘ll likely introduce them in January already ^^ Otherwise, that‘s as if they had used the darksaber piece in the Spider Tank set but not in the TIE Interceptor set released shortly before.

 

[Mandalorianknight]

13 hours ago, Meaf said:

Was it 100% confirmed that we're getting an AT-AT and Razor Crest for the movie, or is it just that those are the obvious options? It's been a while since people started talking about them so I don't remember anymore. 

I believe there was a rumor for it at some point, but I don't concretely remember or have any indication on how reliable it was. Looking back I can't actually find anything, so maybe we all just assumed it based on the movie and price points.

5 hours ago, Kaijumeister said:

Not that budget has seemed to be an issue in terms of new minifigures and stuff for Star Wars recently (most of the time…), but I wonder if these TMaG sets will get a movie-level budget. 

I feel like the Mandalorian minifigure is as good as it gets, although getting a new dual-moulded Mandalorian helmet would be awesome provided it isn’t comically oversized, along with a side-cape to go with the jetpack (rather than just one or the other). An updated Grogu figure is also sorely needed. 

Plus we’ll be getting the Ahsoka Season 2 sets next year. Given what we know of the season already the set potential should be good - I would love to get a T-6 at the £140 pricepoint with a proper interior.

Side cape with the jetpack would be the best update for me, maybe alongside a gunmetal or DBG body- the dark brown is fine, but it generally reads as a greyish undersuit to me, and after 8 billion dark brown mandos it'd be nice to at least see what he looks like if we use the grey interpretation

Extremely excited for the Ahsoka season 2 sets- that concept art looks movie-level. I hope we get a New Republic battle pack out of it.

[BrickBob Studpants]

54 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Extremely excited for the Ahsoka season 2 sets […]

I forgot for a second that those are also coming out next year! If they’re as good as the S1 offerings, we’re in for a treat! Between the M&G and Ahsoka S2 sets plus the Cobb Vanth set in January, I‘m gonna eat well next year  Now give me a TIE Avenger as the cherry on top!!

[Meaf]

11 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I believe there was a rumor for it at some point, but I don't concretely remember or have any indication on how reliable it was. Looking back I can't actually find anything, so maybe we all just assumed it based on the movie and price points.

Alright that's what I thought but I couldn't remember since we'd been talking about it for so long haha.

On 9/25/2025 at 10:39 PM, icm said:

It's still speculation as far as I know, but it would be madness not to have a new playscale Razor Crest set to tie in with the movie.

Yeah I feel like a Razor Crest is inevitable, I cannot imagine we don't get one. The AT-AT is more what I'm wondering about because while it does make a lot of sense and evidently is important enough to feature on the poster, it doesn't necessarily feel 100% guaranteed (imo anyway). I think a new AT-AT is definitely on the horizon but if anything one could argue that it might make more sense to have it be based on ESB and save that M&G slot that we thought might be an AT-AT for something more specific to the movie, especially since the M&G AT-AT doesn't look much different from the classic one (not sure that it's different at all). 

[CloneCommando99]

As per @BrickPrick’s request:

Day #156 of the Tie Avenger movement.

 

14 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

I forgot for a second that those are also coming out next year! If they’re as good as the S1 offerings, we’re in for a treat! Between the M&G and Ahsoka S2 sets plus the Cobb Vanth set in January, I‘m gonna eat well next year  Now give me a TIE Avenger as the cherry on top!!

According to Bricktap sources there are still 8 SW set numbers left for other waves next year. And that wouldn’t count a holiday set.

If we assume that one is the big UCS, 1-2 are Ahsoka sets, one is a Microfighter, one is the AC and one is a RTG S3 set?…

That leaves 2 set slots for either Buildable characters, Clone Slop, Rogue One 10th Anniversary, 18+ gimmicks and Tie Avenger/ Andor sets.

MEGABLUCK!!!! 
 

We can only hope now.

4 hours ago, Meaf said:

I think a new AT-AT is definitely on the horizon but if anything one could argue that it might make more sense to have it be based on ESB and save that M&G slot that we thought might be an AT-AT for something more specific to the movie, especially since the M&G AT-AT doesn't look much different from the classic one (not sure that it's different at all). 

No. They have different cockpit designs and the AT AT is highly prevalent in the movie’s marketing. 

[BrickBob Studpants]

5 hours ago, CloneCommando99 said:

No. They have different cockpit designs and the AT AT is highly prevalent in the movie’s marketing. 

Exactly! I‘m really glad they decided to use the prototype model from Rebels instead of the TESB version. Less redundant  It even makes sense in-universe since the Imperial remnants have to use what they can get their hands on.

[Meaf]

6 hours ago, CloneCommando99 said:

According to Bricktap sources there are still 8 SW set numbers left for other waves next year. And that wouldn’t count a holiday set.

If we assume that one is the big UCS, 1-2 are Ahsoka sets, one is a Microfighter, one is the AC and one is a RTG S3 set?…

That leaves 2 set slots for either Buildable characters, Clone Slop, Rogue One 10th Anniversary, 18+ gimmicks and Tie Avenger/ Andor sets.

Yeesh that's rough, especially since I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if both of those are buildable figures.

6 hours ago, CloneCommando99 said:

No. They have different cockpit designs and the AT AT is highly prevalent in the movie’s marketing. 

Oh okay I didn't realize they were that different, that does change the calculus a bit. I still don't think it's a guarantee and I guess it could always show up later (instead of being one of the ones we know about) but I guess we've just got to play the waiting game atp.

(Also unrelated but great edit as always)

[BrickBob Studpants]

3 hours ago, Meaf said:

Oh okay I didn't realize they were that different, that does change the calculus a bit. I still don't think it's a guarantee and I guess it could always show up later (instead of being one of the ones we know about) but I guess we've just got to play the waiting game atp.

An AT-AT is not guaranteed, true, but it‘s extremely likely. That sequence has been featured in every single teaser and trailer so far, the last system-scale AT-AT was released in 2020, and I can‘t think of anything else that would fit the price point 

In general, the initial waves for new movies tend to feature material showcased in the marketing, with more spoilery stuff being saved for later. Gonna be interesting with the follow-up wave already coming out in June

[Llewop]

1 hour ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

An AT-AT is not guaranteed, true, but it‘s extremely likely. That sequence has been featured in every single teaser and trailer so far, the last system-scale AT-AT was released in 2020, and I can‘t think of anything else that would fit the price point 

In general, the initial waves for new movies tend to feature material showcased in the marketing, with more spoilery stuff being saved for later. Gonna be interesting with the follow-up wave already coming out in June

I agree BUT the last time a particular vehicle was featured so prominently in trailers and released materials and posters, Lego forgot to make the set. Hoping 2026/7 they’ll remember to make that TIE Avenger! 

[Mandalorianknight]

On 9/26/2025 at 12:37 PM, BrickBob Studpants said:

I forgot for a second that those are also coming out next year! If they’re as good as the S1 offerings, we’re in for a treat!

Honestly I think they'll be better. The S1 sets were good, but relying on a relatively limited amount of material for a story about a chase/hunt, where Lucasfilm assumably told lego to delay the peridea stuff. With S2, just from that concept reel, we see Thrawn's ascendancy and that it's chock-full of set material given the open warfare between the Empire's heir and the New Republic (NR troopers, Chopper laying down suppressing fire behind a huge repeating cannon, and plenty of vehicles), as well as some good set material for the presumably more esoteric journey Ahsoka/Sabine/Baylan/Shin find themselves on, with these big, ancient, rusting droids that would make excellent sets. Not to mention some of the nightmare-inducing creatures Filoni's been drawing up and posting.

1 hour ago, Llewop said:

I agree BUT the last time a particular vehicle was featured so prominently in trailers and released materials and posters, Lego forgot to make the set. Hoping 2026/7 they’ll remember to make that TIE Avenger! 

Funny, but let's be clear, a totally different situation. It's a miracle Andor S2 got a set at all after in S1 lego saw just how mature the show was, and clear that they wanted the vehicle with appearances outside the show, so the potential market was bigger than just andor fans.  With the Mando Movie, lego's assumably going to go in a lot more on it than they did for andor. And if for some reason they're worried about how popular the movie would be, the AT-AT would actually make MORE sense as a set, since like the U-wing, it has appeal outside of the mandoverse.

Edited September 27 by Mandalorianknight

[Swordy]

8 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Exactly! I‘m really glad they decided to use the prototype model from Rebels instead of the TESB version. Less redundant  It even makes sense in-universe since the Imperial remnants have to use what they can get their hands on.

It bugs me that somehow Palpatine returned, no, the earlier model of AT-AT outlasted the later one. Is it canon that Galen Erso was consulted on the “updated” design of the AT-ATs we see in Empire?

 

3 hours ago, Llewop said:

I agree BUT the last time a particular vehicle was featured so prominently in trailers and released materials and posters, Lego forgot to make the set. Hoping 2026/7 they’ll remember to make that TIE Avenger! 

According to our Andoralogist, @CloneCommando99, the TIE Avenger was one of the last bits of production for Andor, and very late in its development, despite being part of the first episode. So, it’s very likely the TLG simply didn’t have an early enough heads-up before planning out their sets this year.

1 hour ago, Mandalorianknight said:

It's a miracle Andor S2 got a set at all after in S1 lego saw just how mature the show was, and clear that they wanted the vehicle with appearances outside the show, so the potential market was bigger than just andor fans.  With the Mando Movie, lego's assumably going to go in a lot more on it than they did for andor. And if for some reason they're worried about how popular the movie would be, the AT-AT would actually make MORE sense as a set, since like the U-wing, it has appeal outside of the mandoverse.

Here’s my two cents on LEGO Andor: TLG has standards, yes, but ultimately they’re trying to make a buck. I think their rule of thumb is strictly whether the show/movie is R/TV-MA or not. After that, it’s about the numbers as well as if the show has toyetic value.
Andor at least has critical appeal, and while it’s numbers were nowhere near Mando’s, Andor is certainly more watched than Acolyte. Even then, Skeleton Crew got a set simply for being a, quote, “kid’s show—no wait, a show about kids but not for kids—I mean, a family show.” Of course, I don’t think anyone expected SC to do so poorly, but TLG usually plays their bets well in that regard.
Like you said, the U-Wing has broader appeal than, say, Maarva’s Funeral™ Diorama, but it’s also one of the few marketable ships from Andor that isn’t Justifer-sized (as much as I still yearn for a playset Fondor…). The TIE Avenger was the other one of them. Should the U-Wing do well enough (which I do believe it is) then I believe we’ll see the Avenger as soon as possible.
Like I said last year (I think it was last year—time flies [like a bee]), if Twilight could get a LEGO set, then all bets are off—so long as the media isn’t adult-rated.

[BrickBob Studpants]

26 minutes ago, Swordy said:

It bugs me that somehow Palpatine returned, no, the earlier model of AT-AT outlasted the later one. Is it canon that Galen Erso was consulted on the “updated” design of the AT-ATs we see in Empire?

In my eyes, this doesn't imply that the older model outlasted the later one, but more that the Imperial remnants have to work with whatever they can find, including older equipment  I doubt they'll address it directly in the movie, but there could be a story reason too (like the AT-ATs seen in M&G coming from a previously abandoned base or something).

Either way, regarding the set potential, I'm glad it's a variant and not the same old AT-AT