UPDATE:
Well after a great uproar in the community following the announcement of Hasbro losing the Jurassic license in 2017, we are now getting word that Mattel is picking up the pieces! An article popped up on Deadline stating the following:
“Mattel is roaring this morning about the latest win in its effort to secure rights to make toys and other merchandise tied to hit movies. It picked up the master license for Universal’s Jurassic World. The move from Hasbro takes effect in July 2017, in time for the next film in the franchise due in 2018.”
I mean, that was fast... right? Who knew we'd get a response this fast to our questions yesterday. I think we all have a great hope for better products in our future, and here's what Mattel had to say.
“Mattel CEO Chris Sinclair vows to develop “multiple new lines of innovative, engaging toys and products.” The subject likely will come up tomorrow when the company releases its Q2 earnings and speaks to analysts.”
So, do we have faith in Mattel? I'm excited to see what happens here. We most likely wont see anything for a while, as the deal between Hasbro and Universal doesn't expire until July 2017.
You can listen to a chat between myself and Jay Jurassick last night, after the original news story broke.
The original article is as follows:
Well folks, it might be bad times for the Jurassic World toy line. Hasbro's earnings have popped online today, marking a "sharp slowdown" in boys toys. According to The Wall Street Journal:
“But sales in its boys division rose just 4% in the period after posting a 24% gain in the first quarter. The weakness was caused by a 20% drop in Transformers and another “significant” drop in Jurassic World toys, which the company says will continue to weigh on results this year. Chief Executive Brian Goldner added that Hasbro will lose the Jurassic Park license at the end of 2017 because Hasbro couldn’t agree on renewal terms with the franchise’s owner, Universal Studios.”
So Universal Studios seems to be blocking the license renewal for future products. The announcement and realization of poor sales must be a huge disappointment for Universal, so maybe they are looking to take their property elsewhere. Does this mean we won't see the release of the aforementioned Dino Hybrid toy line?
It's a scary time right now for fans of Jurassic Park toys, but who knows - maybe things will end up in better hands. Jurassic World's time at Hasbro might be done - are you happy.... or is this bad news?
Head over to The Wall Street Journal for the full story.