Blizzard Entertainment’s long running massive-multiplayer online role playing game ‘World of Warcraft’ has been running since 2004, and to this day over a decade later is still one of the single most popular online games on the market. Next year, Lendary Pictures is releasing the first live action film based on the franchise, which has been in development for several years already. The upcoming film is set to bring the game series to life in a way people have never seen it before, and stars quite a few genre favorites like Dominic Cooper (‘Captain America: The First Avenger‘) Clancy Brown (’Justice League Unlimited’), Toby Kebbell (‘Dawn of The Planet of The Apes‘), Ben Foster (’30 Days of Night‘), Ruth Negga (’Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘) Daniel Cudmore ( the ‘X-Men‘ franchise).
Now, Legendary has announced that JAKKS Pacific will be exclusively handling all of the toys for the upcoming film. JAKKS has been granted the ‘master toy license’ for the movie, so any and all toys being released to promote the film are going to be handled by them. JAKKS has been handling quite a few product lines based on favorite brands like ‘Godzilla’, ‘Nintendo’, and even expanded lines for ‘Power Rangers’ and ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’! The full press release from JAKKS Pacific regarding the ‘Warcraft’ master license is below-
Legendary will bring one of the most popular game series of all-time to the big screen with the live-action feature film, Warcraft. Leading U.S. toymaker JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (Nasdaq: JAKK) has secured the Master Toy license for the highly-anticipated release, which hits theatres in March of 2016. This comprehensive agreement grants JAKKS the rights to manufacture, distribute and market action figures in all scales, basic and feature plush, playsets, role-play items and Halloween costumes and accessories. Based on Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft universe, which includes the acclaimed multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft®, the film is directed by Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) and stars Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, and Toby Kebbell.
“We have a strong partnership with Legendary andwe are eager to build upon our relationship as Master Toy partner for this incredible film. Blizzard’s Warcraft series has been a favorite among gamers for years and we look forward to bringing a new generation of fans and collectors into the fold,” said Stephen Berman, Chief Executive Officer, JAKKS Pacific. “We will focus on creating detailed action figures and role-play items to give collectors exactly what they want – high quality, realistic characters and role play items from the film.”
“JAKKS Pacific is an industry leader and a valued partner. We saw what they were able to do in our reboot of the Godzilla franchise last year and are thrilled to tap into their expertise to bring Warcraft to life in the toy, and collector and action figure world,” said Emily Castel, CMO of Legendary. “This new line of Warcraft products will give fans and collectors the opportunity to bring home their favorite characters and interact with them on a whole new level.”
JAKKS plans to launch its Warcraft product line in early 2016 at retailers nationwide to coincide with the March 11, 2016, release of the feature film.
‘Warcraft’ is set to hit theaters in March of 2016!
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