Lego Star Wars The Dark Falcon (75389) review: "Everything a premium Lego Star Wars playset should be"

No large Lego Star Wars playset has been replicated as many times as the Millennium Falcon. So much so that The Dark Falcon (75389) is the seventh time the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs has been released in playset form. And that’s before you consider two midi-scale incarnations, including the current Lego Millennium Falcon (75375), a pair of Microfighters, a veritable plethora of polybags, and two legendary UCS sets.

Beyond the white-and-blue Kessel Run Millennium Falcon (75212), which was released in 2018 to help promote Solo: A Star Wars Story, this is a rare departure from the classic Falcon formula. The Dark Falcon is one of four sets (at the time of writing) themed around Disney+ miniseries Rebuild the Galaxy and its recent follow-up: Pieces of the Past.

This animated Lego adventure follows young nerf herder, Sig Greebling, who stumbles upon a Jedi Temple and inadvertently releases the Cornerstone, a powerful 1x1 plate that has the power to rebuild galaxies. This thrusts Sig into an alternate Star Wars universe where Darth Vader is a Jedi, Luke Skywalker is a podracing beach dude, and Jar Jar Binks is a Sith lord!

The result is a line-up of some of the most off-the-wall Lego sets of all time. But is the Dark Falcon a zany treat that deserves a place in your collection or a mismatched hunk of junk that’s a Millennium Falcon set too far?

Lego Star Wars The Dark Falcon (75389): Features

• 1,579 pieces
• 10+ age rating
• Six exclusive minifigures

The Dark Falcon is the most expensive non-UCS Lego Star Wars set available (at the time of writing). It comprises 1,579 pieces and retails for $179.99 / £159.99, sitting roughly around Lego’s price-per-piece average. Personally, I think this is a fair asking price, but I’ve also seen it going for some incredibly good prices on sale.

Value isn’t just about the number of pieces, this is a sizable ship; it feels like a premium Lego Star Wars playset. And that’s before you consider the roster of exclusive minifigures, some of which I can’t see being replicated any time soon. And let’s not forget that exclusive red printed canopy. I’ve built several Lego sets that haven’t quite lived up to their RRPs of late – the Dark Falcon isn’t one of them.

Lego Star Wars The Dark Falcon (75389): Build

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• Near five-hour build
• A challenge for youngsters
• 24 stickers

The Lego Star Wars The Dark Falcon (75389) is essentially the retired mainline Millennium Falcon (75257) that was released in 2019 with a dark-side twist. Gone is the classic muddled gray color scheme in favor of a striking red-and-black livery. But while many of the colors and details are different, the overarching build is almost identical. And that’s a good thing; the previous incarnation of the Falcon was the best playset version of the ship to date, and the Dark Falcon follows the same formula.

A vocal cohort of Lego fans has bemoaned the perceived ‘shrinkflation’ of Lego Star Wars sets for a number of years, but this came to a head in 2025 with the Battle of Felucia Separatist MTT (75435) and Republic Juggernaut (75413), both notably smaller than previous incarnations. That’s not the case with the Dark Falcon. This is a big 1,579-piece playset that can be compared only to the Imperial Star Destroyer (75394) in size (currently available playsets). Even then, I think the Dark Falcon feels bigger thanks to its circular presence and spacious interior.

This is great news for anyone looking for a meatier build experience. It took me four hours and 50 minutes to put this bucket of bolts together, and while there are no particularly challenging sections for a seasoned builder, padawans will need a helping hand. The size of this ship requires a substantial Technic chassis to keep it stable, and while this is a 10+ set, I’ve built plenty of 18+ sets that are simpler.

The 1,579 pieces are split across 17 bags. I was disappointed to find that my bags were all plastic. While I’ve built many sets with paper bags of late, this was disappointing, given Lego’s ambitious sustainability targets.

I built the Technic chassis first. This instantly hammers home just how big this set is, which really builds up the excitement for the finished article. After covering the chassis with large tiles, I moved onto some interior details including the hyperdrive and cockpit.

The engines and side panels are cleverly made up of multiple 6x3 sections, connected via clips, so they wrap neatly around the arched back portion of the Falcon. I then pieced together the central column, which houses the gun emplacement, as well as the Sith holding cell. The side airlocks and more interior details were next, before moving onto the landing gear and both the underside and top gun turrets.

The front forks that once sandwiched the escape pod boast some fantastic-looking greebling, but this was where the repetition began to creep in as I constructed the mirrored left and right portions. This repetition continued with the hinged plates that make up the top of the ship. Rather than just use standard 1x1 clips to hinge each plate, four of the five plates also incorporate a pair of 1x1 clips with rings (one attached to the plate and one attached to the ship).

A small bar was then threaded through both rings to allow for a more secure hold. I have to say, I found it a bit of a challenge to thread the bars through each pair of rings, so younger builders will definitely need help here. However, this makes the hinges much sturdier, preventing them from simply popping off during use and contributing to what is a surprisingly sturdy set given the size.

The fifth plate is attached by two 1x1 clips, but is smaller and therefore less prone to popping off. How the designers managed to create the awkward angle required to position this top plate accordingly is arguably the most impressive build technique in the entire set. The miniature build, which the plate clips onto, isn’t actually secured to the ship via any studs. Instead, it attaches to a hidden clip and is then angled diagonally until it slots snuggly between three red tiles, providing exactly the right angle in which to accommodate the top plate.

Lego Star Wars The Dark Falcon (75389): Design

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• Large presence
• Full interior
• Premium minifigures

I can’t talk about the Dark Falcon without mentioning its predecessor (75257). The Rise of Skywalker playset improved upon every Falcon playset since the last major redesign in 2004. These older sets split the top plates into thinner pizza slices, resulting in more sections and a larger number of unsightly gaps.

The 2019 design merged some of these pizza slices to create fewer and larger hinged sections, thus cutting down on the number of gaps and forming a more cohesive and faithful top-plate design. At the same time, it moved the ship’s front forks outwards so they protruded less than previous incarnations, resulting in a much more accurate-looking ship.

I own set 75257 and consider it to be Lego’s most faithful Millennium Falcon playset ever. It’s not surprising, then, that The Dark Falcon has done virtually nothing to mess with that winning formula. The exterior is so good, I find it hard to understand how Lego could improve upon it in the future. If I’m really picking holes, I’ve never been a huge fan of the way the cockpit canopy is attached. You have to remove the entire thing to access the cockpit, and it can be a little fiddly to reattach.

On the subject of the cockpit canopy, the Dark Falcon gets a lovely – exclusive – red-and-black color scheme which is carried on throughout the entirety of the ship. From the Inquisitor Transport Scythe (75336) to Kylo Ren's Shuttle (75256), black-and-red Lego spaceships always look awesome.

If all that wasn’t cool enough, the Falcon’s radar dish has been turned into a miniature Death Star laser. That said, I do think it’s a missed opportunity that Lego didn’t include a few green lightsaber blades to slot into the clips in order to represent a firing beam. Another nice touch is that the red flick-fire missiles found on the 2019 Falcon have been changed to represent green imperial lasers.

The ship’s interior is vastly different from The Rise of Skywalker incarnation. A red hyperdrive is at the rear of the ship, flanked by a games room, which itself is next to the Sith holding cell. In the front, you’ll find the sleeping quarters and an Imperial control panel in front of a throne-like captain’s chair. The gun-turret hatch on the top of the ship also opens to reveal removable seating. This is actually a very slight upgrade from the previous version, but it performs the same function.

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I think the games room is the coolest addition. In a neat nod to the canon Falcon’s Dejarik table, where C-3PO famously tells R2-D2 to “let the Wookie win” in A New Hope, a sticker is used to represent a game of Dejarik being played on the TV. You’ll also notice a video-game console that bears a striking resemblance to the PS5.

The Sith holding cell is a nice addition, too. However, there’s no hinged entrance, so you have to pull down one of the laser gates to place a figure inside, and it can be a bit fiddly to put it back into place.

Meanwhile, the red hyperdrive is pretty standard fare, although it’s a shame you don’t get the bendy piping that’s featured in The Rise of Skywalker Falcon; I find that to be a cool-looking addition.

What I really like is the throne/captain’s chair. Not only does it look suitably evil, but it’s built with enough room to accommodate Jar Jar’s ears, which is a neat touch. The sleeping quarters are as you’d expect, but I do like the red accents on the beds, as well as the provision for a spare flick-fire projectile. As for the cockpit interior, it’s almost identical to the previous iteration, with room for two minifigures, just.

I do think something could have been done with the room on the opposite side of the holding cell to the games room. Especially if it would have been possible to include the 2019 playset's hidden smuggler’s compartment, which on that set is placed where the Dark Falcon's holding cell is. But overall, this is just a fantastic playset.

I personally love Lego Star Wars playsets with extensive interiors, and no Lego Star Wars ship playset has ever provided such a large inside space as the various Falcons. As such, kids will have an absolute blast playing with the Dark Falcon. And because of that extensive Technic chassis, it’s really stable when closed up and ‘flown’ around the room, too, providing endless hours of play.

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I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a Lego Star Wars minifigure line-up. The set includes Darth Jar Jar, Darth Rey, Bounty Hunter C-3PO, Jedi Vader, Beach Luke, and Darth Dev. Each figure is exclusive to this set (at the time of writing), and while exclusive figures can sometimes look extremely similar to existing 'figs, with just a slightly different face, for example, this line-up really is unique.

Darth Jar Jar and Darth Rey are the simplest figures; neither has leg, hip, or arm printing, which does remain true to their appearance in Rebuild the Galaxy. Darth Jar Jar is a figure I didn’t think I’d ever see, so it’s great that he’s included. His torso and back printing is decent, and his printed, moulded head and ears look fantastic.

Darth Rey has two face prints. I’m a particular fan of her pupilless eyes, which make her look really evil. She comes with a hood and a small cape, but it’s a shame she doesn't come with a hairpiece to swap in/out. What she does have is a neat double-bladed lightsaber – kudos to the designer’s ingenuity for recycling the existing binoculars piece for the hilt.

Bounty Hunter C-3PO is a lovely figure with exquisite printing all over: arms, legs, feet, torso (front and back), and hips. What really sets him apart is a single black arm and evil, red eyes. It’s a shame Lego didn’t go with the dual-moulded silver leg, because had they done so, this would have been my favorite 3PO Minifigure ever.

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Jedi Vader came close to being my pick of the bunch. He’s the same fantastic Darth Vader minifigure we’ve come to know and love, with a two-piece helmet and printing (minus feet) throughout. He obviously differs in that his cape and armor are white, while removing the helmet reveals a single, smiling face print.

Beach Luke, who’s giving me The Big Lebowski vibes, is another premium addition. I love the extremely fine printing on his beach vest, and eagle-eyed fans will notice that he is wearing the ‘japor-snippet’ necklace that young Anakin gives Padme in Episode 1. He’s got printed legs, feet, hips, torso (front and back), two head prints, and a neat hairpiece. His arms are bare, so he doesn’t require arm printing.

Darth Dev is an original character from Rebuild the Galaxy who’s also available in the newer, Force Burner Snowspeeder (75414). However, this incarnation is notably different, coming with a cape and almost entirely different printing throughout. The fact that he stands out, despite being an original character, makes him my pick of the bunch. He reminds me very much of the various Inquisitors that came with the Inquisitor Transport Scythe (75336) from the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series. He’s got two face prints, printing on one arm, as well as torso (front and back), hip, leg, and foot printing.

Should you buy the Lego Star Wars The Dark Falcon (75389)?

The Millennium Falcon (75257) that was released to promote The Rise of Skywalker was my favorite Falcon playset of all time, but the Lego Star Wars The Dark Falcon (75389) has just eclipsed it. It’s virtually the same faithful build that brought the Falcon playset in line with Lego’s latest build techniques, but with a far superior roster of minifigures.

There’s no getting around the Sith aesthetic if it’s not your thing, but if you dig Beach Luke and co, like me, it’s hard to resist the lure of the dark side. And for kids, I think this is the best Lego Star Wars playset since the Lego Ghost & Phantom II (75257). It’s big, it’s got a full interior, and it’s just asking to be played with. And yet, it’s good-looking enough to occupy a space on an adult collector’s shelf. This isn’t just the best playset in the current Lego Star Wars line-up, it’s one of the best Lego Star Wars sets. Period.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Lego Star Wars The Dark Falcon (75389)

I built the Lego Star Wars The Dark Falcon (75389) in two sittings. It took me nearly five hours to build. Once finished, it sat in my study for a few weeks, so I could get used to the final product.

The photo shoot allowed me to test the playset’s durability by moving the ship around, operating any playability features, and posing the minifigures.

I’ve been a serious Lego collector since the early ‘90s, so rest assured, I know my studs. I also own the 2019 Millennium Falcon (75257) that the Dark Falcon is based on, so I was in a prime position to compare the two.

For more information on our procedure, take a look at how we test products.

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