If you’re reading this, you’ve made it! That’s right, you’re here just in time for an all new Toy News Tuesday! We’re the one weekly column right here on ScienceFiction.com where we seek out all of the awesome news you need to know about any announcements and cool happenings in the toy industry and put them all in one easy to find place for you! Now stop, take a breath, and relax! San Diego Comic Con has come and gone, and we have made it out in one piece! To top it all off, we’ve got a whole slew of amazing toy news for you this week! So much in fact, that this week’s post had to be cut in half! Be sure to tune in later this week for even more awesome stuff, but in the meantime scroll down to see Part One of the Toy News for the week of July 25th, 2016!
Goodnight, Sweet Mattey Collector… Hello Super7!
Well, it looks like Mattel has driven the final nail into the coffin and pulled the plug on their collectors specialty division, MatteyCollector.com. For those who aren’t in the know, MattyCollector.com has been heavily focused on making toys and collectibles that collectors really want that are available exclusively on their site (or at conventions on occasion). The site gave life to one of the most popular toy lines of the last decade, ‘Masters Of The Universe Classics’, and also gave us other fantastic exclusives like their 6″ scale ‘Ghostbusters’ line, the first ever produced comic book styled ‘The Watchmen’ line, and a ton of great exclusives for Mattel’s popular ‘DC Universe Classics’ line! Mattel has released a statement during SDCC this past week announcing that the site will officially be shutting down at the end of December 2016 and that they will be spending the coming months in between clearing out any remaining product.
The one bright spot to come out of all of this, is that while Mattel has decided to bring an end to MattyCollector, they have officially licensed out their iconic ‘Masters Of The Universe’ brand to fellow toy manufacturer Super7, who will be continuing to bring collectors the toys they want based on this hot property! Super7 is the team responsible for the recently released ‘The Curse Of Three Terrors’; which premiered at SDCC 2016 and is the first all-new episode of the original ‘MOTU’ animated series in over two decades- so it’s safe to say the line is in good hands!
Here’s full statements from Mattel and Super7:
Mattel
“To Our Loyal Collectors,
Thank you for being the world’s most dedicated fans and passionate supporters of MattyCollector.com over the years.
We want to let you know that we have been working on something new and different for you that measures up to your loyalty and devotion.
As of December 31, 2016, we will be shutting down the website as we transition to Super7 to manufacture and deliver the Masters of the Universe and adult collector lines. Subscriptions and orders for 2016 will remain unaffected, and the site will continue to operate through the end of the year. For the past two years, Super7 has proven to be a great partner, and we look forward to seeing them continue to grow the Masters of the Universe line. They will unveil the expanded line for 2017 at San Diego Comic-Con.
To help you complete your collections before the end of the year, we’ll be opening the Vault beginning Thursday, July 21 at 9 a.m. PT. All 2014 and 2015 items, and select 2016 items, will be available for sale at that time. They’ll remain in the shop until the end of the year or while supplies last, whichever comes first. For our U.S.-based collectors, any Vault products you buy during San Diego Comic-Con will arrive with free domestic ground shipping.*
We thank you for your dedication and support through the years.
Sincerely,
MattyCollector.com”
Super7
“Hello Matty Collectors!
This is Brian Flynn, owner of Super7, and I just wanted to say how excited we are to expand our relationship with Mattel and Masters of the Universe this year and beyond! We’re looking forward to creating a wonderful array of exciting and unexpected Masters of the Universe products in the years to come.
As some of you may know, we’ve been working with Mattel for a few years now, creating both the retro 3.75” MOTU figures, the M.U.S.C.L.E. MOTU figures, and last year’s SDCC 2015 Skeletor’s Lair special event. Since then, we’ve announced wave 2 of the 3.75” figures, and wave 2 of the M.U.S.C.L.E. figures, which will debut at SDCC 2016.
Speaking of SDCC 2016, our biggest announcement was that while all this was going on, we’ve been working secretly on the first new Masters of the Universe animation in the classic style since 1985 – “The Curse of the Three Terrors”! In trying to be as authentic to the original series as possible, this new animation features original voice actor Alan Oppenheimer reprising his signature role as Skeletor (as well as Mer-Man and Man At Arms) on a new adventure in Eternia. Additionally, we worked with The Power and Honor Foundation to use original backgrounds from the 1984-1985 series, so this new animation is as accurate as possible. We will premiere the “The Curse of the Three Terrors” at 10pm on Wednesday July 20th, at the corner of 8th Ave. and G in downtown San Diego, directly across the street from this year’s Skeletor’s Lair pop-up shop! Afterwards, “The Curse of the Three Terrors” will be available August 1st for download on iTunes and Google Play for $1.99.
As for new and exciting products, I wonder what other secrets we might have up our sleeves for all of you…?”
Super7 have already revealed our first look at some retro-styled figures for ‘Curse Of The Three Terrors’ that are made to look as though they were made back in the 1980’s and fit in with the original toyline flawlessly! If that wasn’t enough, Super7 and Four Horseman have officially announced that they plan to continue the popular ‘Masters Of The Universe Classics’ line that Mattel had spent the better part of the last decade producing! It looks like ‘Masters Of The Universe’ fans can rest easy knowing that the line is with a team that obviously has a passion for it. Unfortunately, Super7 is currently unable to confirm if the recently launched ‘MOTUC’ companion line ‘Thundercats Classics’ will also be able to continue under their banner. Only time will tell with that one.
From Four Horsemen:
Now we can say it…
YES! Four Horsemen Toy Design and Super 7 are going to be working together to continue Masters of the Universe Classics. You can all take a deep breath and relax now. Lol. It might take us a bit to get all of our ducks in a row, but we’re all working very hard to make this happen.
As for Thundercats? Four Horsemen and Super 7 are both VERY interested in working together to continue that as well, but those logistics are a little more complicated than MotU Classics. We’re pushing for it to happen, but that’s all we can really reveal for now. Please be patient and we’ll let you know as soon as we have something more solid to announce.
If you have any doubts about Super7, check out the full galleries over on ToyArk for a look at all of the amazing stuff they had on display at SDCC this year including retro styled ReAction figures of ‘Masters Of The Universe’, ‘Street Fighter II’, and ‘ALIENS’, and even some new ‘M.U.S.C.L.E.’ styled mini figures based on ‘MOTU’ and ‘ALIENS’! It looks like this is the start of something amazing.
The Multiverse Keeps Getting Bigger
Thankfully just because MattyCollector.com is going away, Mattel isn’t leaving collectors high and dry! They’ve still got the DC comics license to bring us a whole lot of awesome stuff, and this year at San Diego Comic-Con that’s exactly what they did! Mattel’s ‘DC Multiverse’ line has been off to a slow start but it looks as though things are really kicking off big in the next few months with several waves of new figures coming our way!
We can look forward to a few mixed waves containing both comic book styled figures and figures based on DCTV properties like ‘The Flash’! The first new wave announced is based on a fantastic looking King Shark Collect-And-Connect figure based on his appearance in The CW’s ‘The Flash’ television series! Each figure in the wave will include a piece of King Shark so you can build him yourself! Figures set to be included in this wave are Batman (Jim Gordon), Batgirl (Modern ‘Batgirl Of Burnside’), Hawkman (DCTV ‘Legends Of Tomorrow’), The Joker (“The Dark Knight Returns”), Zoom (DCTV ‘The Flash”), and Earth-2 Flash (DCTV “The Flash”).
The next wave we got a peek at is based around the GCPD Batbot as seen in DC’s ‘The New 52’ comics, usually piloted by Jim Gordon during his tenure as Batman. Figures confirmed for this wave include The Reaper (‘Batman: Year II’), Batman (‘DC Rebirth’), Batwing (‘New 52’), and Wonder Woman (‘New 52 Convergence’).
On top of these two waves, Mattel has announced plans for several retailer exclusive figures that we can look forward to hitting stores alongside these other figures! At Toys R Us you will find an exclusive Robin (‘New 52’ Damian Wayne) figure, and he is set to include an alternative King Shark Collect-And-Connect piece of a comic-styled King Shark head! Over at Walgreens, you can expect to find The Flash, based on his appearance in this year’s ‘The Dark Knight III’. Wal-Mart has got the juiciest reveal with a ‘Young Justice’ styled Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark, who is technically in her ‘Teen Titans Vol 3’ outfit) and Wonder Woman (‘Dark Knight III’)! There is also going to be an exclusive Collect-And-Connect figure of Dr. Psycho, so there’s a decent chance that more Wal-Mart exclusive figures for this wave have not yet been announced.
As if all of these new figures weren’t enough, Mattel has announced a Wal-Mart Exclusive 6″ scale Batcave playset! Yes, you read that right- we are getting a gigantic Batcave playset! The new Batcave is based on the one seen in this years ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice’, although it still looks pretty unique! It has a number of different levels to it and looks to stand several feet tall. Collectors are going to be pining after this one for quite some time until it releases next spring!
Be sure to check out the full Mattel DC Multiverse Galleries straight from the SDCC showroom floor over at Toy News International to actually see all of the figures mentioned above!
Mattel Is Welcomed To ‘Jurassic Park’
In a move that shocked collectors worldwide, Hasbro has lost the ‘Jurassic Park/Jurassic World’ master toy license after over two decades, and now it has been picked up by competitor Mattel! Hasbro has long held the ‘Jurassic Park’ toy license since the first film in the franchise was released way back in 1993 (although technically it was originally managed by Kenner, who Hasbro later absorbed). Here’s the full release from Mattel announcing their acquisition of the license:
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Building on an ever-expanding list of strategic collaborations with many of the world’s best-known entertainment companies, Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) today announced that it has been awarded worldwide master toy licensee for Jurassic World beginning in July 2017. Under the terms of the deal, Mattel will design, produce and bring to market a wide variety of toys and consumer products inspired by the franchise and its multiple feature films, including the highly-anticipated next film, set for release in 2018.
“We are honored that NBCUniversal chose Mattel to help bring the Jurassic World brand to life, and we look forward to developing multiple new lines of innovative, engaging toys and products,” said Chris Sinclair, Mattel’s Chairman and CEO. “Spanning three decades of sustained worldwide popularity, few entertainment properties have so successfully captured the collective imagination of millions of fans around the world, and we are delighted to be a part of this truly evergreen franchise.”
Mattel’s license rights include a wide variety of products, including (but not limited to) action figures, play-sets, vehicles, games, plush, role-play, preschool, and activity toys. Mattel and NBCUniversal will begin to design and develop new lines immediately, with initial products hitting shelves in early 2018.
“We are looking forward to collaborating with Mattel and broadening Jurassic World products worldwide. The appetite for the franchise globally is stronger than ever with consumers wanting more. Mattel’s global support, creativity and category approach to expand our franchise makes them the best choice to partner with for this brand, bringing innovation, technology and a host of new ways to play,” said Vince Klaseus, President, NBCUniversal Brand Development. “Jurassic World is more than awe-inspiring blockbuster films, it’s a brand that has been reaching consumers for more than twenty years on everything from video games, toys and apparel, to theme park attractions and live events. Our focus for the franchise is to continue to collaborate with best-in-class partners as we build and expand this iconic property into a mega-brand across our Universal platforms.”
Chronicle Brings ‘Jurassic Park’ To Life
While Mattel may have just obtained the ‘Jurassic Park’ master toy license, they are by no means the only people that will be making collectibles based on the hit franchise. The team at Chronicle Collectibles have revealed plenty of new products based on ‘Jurassic Park’ and a number of its sequels. On display this past week at SDCC were a number of new ‘Jurassic’ products, including but not limited to:
- Owen Grady with Raptor Statue
- T-Rex Diorama Statue
- Barbasol Can with Hidden Dinosaur DNA Prop Replica
- 1:1 Scale Compy Replica Statue
- Night Vision Goggles Prop Replica
- Stegosaurus Statue
- Owen Grady and Alan Grant 1:6th Scale Figures
- Male and Female Raptor Busts
- T-Rex Bust
These items are all due out over the course of the next year.
Diamond Select Toys SDCC Premieres
Our friends at Diamond Select Toys are always pumping out a veritable cornucopia of awesome new stuff for us to collect, so anytime there is a major convention we can rest assured they will have something new and cool up their sleeve to show off for the first time! This year was no exception, with a ton of great new items being announced or premiering at the convention! Check out some of the new items coming from DST below:
- Marvel Animated Minimates Series 3 (including our first ever Squirrel Girl Minimate!)
- ‘The Iron Giant’ Minimates (Iron Giant w/ Hogarth Hughs 2-Pack)
- Jessica Jones ‘Jewel’ PVC Figure
- Marvel Select Doctor Strange Movie Figure
- ‘Muppets’ Select Series 2 and 3
- ‘Nightmare before Christmas’ Select Series 3
- ‘Muppets’ Minimates Series 3
- ‘X-Files’ Flukeman Vinyl Bank
- A whole mess of Minimates (which all look phenomenal, including Iron Giant and Beetlejuice!)
- ‘Ghostbusters’ Slimer Cookie Jar
Dark Horse Returns To Westeros
The team at Dark Horse Deluxe has announced the newest addition to their fan-favorite line of 8″ scale statuesque ‘Game Of Thrones’ figures with their new ‘Sons Of The Harpy’ figure! This one is a little bit different than most of the figures in this collection, considering it is a generic character that could be one of many, rather than a distinct individual like most others in this series. This figure is scheduled to release this October with a suggested retail price of $24.99.
“It’s Morphin Time!”
The Power Rangers are back and bigger than ever this year, and with good reason too! We’ve been getting a ton of great new classic ‘Mighty Power Rangers’ collectibles to celebrate the long-running series and it’s upcoming live-action film franchise reboot! The team at Bandai look to have pulled out all of the stops with the reveal of their new ‘Power Rangers Legacy’ action figure line, which gives us many of our favorite classic Power Rangers team members in 6.5″ scale featuring all new sculpts and over 22 points of articulation! That means we are getting the ‘Marvel Legends’ equivalent of Power Rangers, and this is fantastic news! Figures announced so far include:
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Red, Pink, Black, Blue, Yellow, Green, White
- Power Rangers In Space: Red, Pink, Yellow, Black, Blue
- Power Rangers Ninja Storm: Red, Blue, Yellow
- Build-A-Figures Of the Mighty Morphin, Storm, and Astro Megazords
Be sure to check out the massive gallery over at ToyArk to see all of these new upcoming Power Rangers figures
This weekend we also got our first look at some of the toys from the upcoming ‘Power Rangers’ movie reboot thanks to Toku Nation (who has a full gallery up here) and wow do they look different! These new figures appear to be using the same general structure and designs as the ‘Legacy’ figures mentioned above, but these new costumes add a whole new level of detail! These are due out when the film releases next year.
The Loyal Subjects Call In The Zords
While we’re on the topic of awesome new ‘Power Rangers’ merchandise, the team at The Loyal Subjects have finally announced plans for new waves of ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ products! They previously released a series of ‘MMPR’ blind boxed mini-figures (and then released several variant waves of the same figures that collectors have pined over ever since). Now they’ve revealed a whole new wave of blind boxed figures and something else that’s a little bit different, but somehow possibly even cooler! The new wave of blind boxed figures coming our way this time is based on the 1995 “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie”, which means they’re going to look a bit more armored than the last time around, and a few rangers are going to have slightly different head sculpts underneath those helmets! Also announced was a wave of new figures based on the Power Rangers Zords! It hasn’t been clarified if these are going to be blind boxed as well, but as it stands The Loyal Subjects have announced figures of the original five Dinozords. Each Zord includes a miniature figure of their respective Power Ranger as well. Check out full galleries for both over at Toku Nation!
Funko ‘Gears’ Up
The team at Funko have announced plans for a new series of POP! Vinyls based on the hit video game franchise ‘Gears Of War’. This new wave of vinyls is based on the latest game in the series, ‘Gears Of War 4’, which comes out later this year! This series is due to hit stores in October alongside the game.
And with that, we bring Part One of this special edition of Toy News Tuesday to a close! What do you think about the new items announced this week? Do you plan on picking up anything we mentioned in this week’s column? Are there any lines or brands you’d like to see more coverage of? Let us know in the comments section below! Don’t forget to stay tuned for part two of this week’s Toy News Tuesday later today!
Jordan is a Toy Columnist & Staff Writer here at ScienceFiction! Journalist, Musician, Toy Collector, and Overall Awesome Guy! For more on Jordan’s thoughts, toys, and wacky adventures, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
