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Collectibles & Toys

Mattel Faces Calls to Explore Deal With Hasbro

Mattel Faces Calls to Explore Deal With Hasbro

by | May 22, 2026 | , , , ,

The massive success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is still rippling through the entertainment industry. In early June, Masters of the Universe will bring another toy franchise to the big screen. However, these films may be pushing the company behind the brands in an unexpected direction. Southeastern Asset Management, which owns more than 4% of Mattel’s common stock, reportedly believes the company is not fully capitalizing on its entertainment assets. The investment firm is reportedly pressuring Mattel to make a deal with Hasbro.

Hasbro Gets Toy Deal to Coincide with Henry Cavill ‘Voltron’ Movie

Hasbro Gets Toy Deal to Coincide with Henry Cavill ‘Voltron’ Movie

by | Feb 7, 2026 | , , , ,

A recent announcement from Hasbro has given Voltron fans hope that the Henry Cavill film will go to theaters. In a February 4 press release, the toymaker said it formed a licensing deal with Amazon MGM Studios to produce action figures, toys, and roleplay products for the live-action adaptation of the iconic cartoon. Major toy licensing programs are typically tied to wide-release franchise films, where theatrical marketing campaigns help drive merchandise sales.

Netflix and Asmodee Team Up to Produce a Catan Universe of Films, TV, and Video Games

Netflix and Asmodee Team Up to Produce a Catan Universe of Films, TV, and Video Games

by | Oct 29, 2025 | , , , , , , ,

Netflix announced on October 21st that it secured exclusive rights to adapt the iconic board game Catan into a broader entertainment franchise. The game was originally released as The Settlers of Catan in 1995. These projects will be the game’s first ever on-screen adaptations. This partnership with Asmodee, the game’s publisher, will include both scripted and unscripted projects.

From Barbie to Bots: Mattel Joins Forces with OpenAI to Reinvent Toymaking

From Barbie to Bots: Mattel Joins Forces with OpenAI to Reinvent Toymaking

by | Oct 13, 2025 | , ,

What is Mattel, a toy company, going to do with artificial intelligence? That’s the question toy fans have been asking since last Monday’s OpenAI Developers Conference. OpenAI—the company behind ChatGPT and the AI video-generation platform Sora 2—announced a new partnership with Mattel to explore how artificial intelligence can speed up the toy design process.

OPINION: Hasbro Keeps Losing the People Who Made it Great as Dungeons & Dragons Creative Director Resigns

OPINION: Hasbro Keeps Losing the People Who Made it Great as Dungeons & Dragons Creative Director Resigns

by | Apr 16, 2025 | , ,

I had previously written about Hasbro and its ability to kill golden gooses. No sooner had I finished that article than it looks like they’ve done so once more, this time to one of their most lucrative franchises – Dungeons & Dragons.

Per his own post on X, Chrisopher Perkins has announced that he will be retiring from his role as Creative Director at Wizards of the Coast, the subset of Hasbro Inc. that is responsible for the sprawling Dungeons & Dragons IP.

OPINION: What’s going on with Hasbro? It’s a Toy Company That Doesn’t Want to Make Toys

OPINION: What’s going on with Hasbro? It’s a Toy Company That Doesn’t Want to Make Toys

by | Apr 15, 2025 | , ,

Per Hasbro’s CEO Chris Cocks, they have announced that as of 2025 they will be moving away from physical toys while focusing more on digital play (i.e. video games). Since that time we’ve paradoxically seen one of the largest toymakers in the world begin to license out their properties to other toymakers to produce.

I’m not the CEO of a multi-million dollar company, so it may not be my place to say, but as a toy collector I feel that this is a mis-step on the part of Hasbro and its CEO. At the same time, unfortunately I can understand why they feel forced to go this route, and it has to do with both the mistakes they have made as well as those of their partners.