Star Wars Prince Xizor with Red Energy Blade Shields Shadows of the Empire, 1996

Prince Xizor was originally designed with red energy blade shields, as shown with this paintmaster hardcopy in the 1996 Kenner Toy Fair catalog. Because Lucasfilm allowed Kenner creative freedom without requiring final paint approvals, the team could design the figure’s weapons as they wished.

However, Kenner’s marketing department felt the large red areas appeared too pink, so the shield color was changed to blue before final production.

Aside from the energy shield color change, the production figure also had a much more overall subdued paint scheme. The purple and gold accents are darker compared to the paintmaster.

Star Wars Unproduced Prince Xizor with Red Energy Shields Prototype Figure

Fun Fact:

The energy blade shields were not part of the comic canon at the time—they were created by a Kenner designer. Inspired by Xizor’s Asian-style wardrobe, the designer based the weapon concept on Kung Fu films where fighters use fans as weapons.