The first Star Wars action figures from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace were released in 1998 by Hasbro, about half a year before the full Phantom Menace toyline was released. The first two figures from The Phantom Menace were the mail-away Mace Windu action figure and the Battle Droid with STAP vehicle set. The offical toy launch for The Phantom Menace was held at Toys'R'Us stores across the United States on May 3rd, 1999. The most sought after Star Wars action figure at the time was Darth Maul.