Since its release in January 2011, the first series of Vinylmation figures featuring Star Wars characters has become the most popular Vinylmation series of all time. Created by Disney Design Group artist Mike Sullivan, the first series celebrated the 30th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. For series two, the Vinylmation team turned their attention to the original 1977 classic film, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. This allowed the team to regroup and plan a strategy for future releases, as explained by Thomas Scott, one of the lead Vinylmation artists.