Thoughts On Hasbro and Disney License Renewal

 Hasbro recently announced they will continue making Star Wars toys. They will also be making Indiana Jones toys again, although I doubt this time they will do 3.75 inch toys for Indy again. They did in 2008, and well, I liked them well enough. Or maybe it will be like when Hasbro also had the Star Trek license. Yes, they had the Trek license and did nothing with it. So, is this a good thing for Star Wars? My answer may surprise you.


First the good: the 3.75 inch Vintage Collection is highly popular once again. Hasbro has done wonderful here the last couple years, with 2021 being one of the best years for VC toys. Hasbro is one of the only companies who make good figures in this scale. It's not just Star Wars either, Hasbro is also making the best ever Transformers toys, plus are rocking it with Marvel Legends. With the potential of future Indiana Jones toys, likely in the 6 inch scale, Hasbro has a bright future ahead toy wise. Mission Fleet has succeeded in putting out vehicles, and has excited kids and collectors alike.

The bad: not much. Hasbro has done a good job, but there are frustrating things they do. Like using code names. Aside from Funko, Hot Toys, Sideshow Toys, Bandai and Mafex there aren't many companies making Star Wars toys. I'd like to know if a Book of Boba Fett Boba Fett is coming to the VC or Black Series. Or better yet. Aayla Secura coming to the VC or Black Series for the 20th anniversary of Attack of the Clones. The secrecy shtick is a bit too much.

But honestly, it's a good thing Hasbro keeps the Star Wars license. While I would not mind seeing Jazwares or Spin Masters take over Star Wars (check out Jazwares Fortnite figures and Spin Masters DC 4 inch line, great figures!), I doubt they would be as good quality wise what Hasbro makes. It would also be a tough one for collectors to stomach as well. Imagine a company not associated with Kenner making Star Wars toys?! That would be like Super7 when it made Masters of the Universe figures, although Mattel gave them a special allowance. Now, it is conceivable that Masters of the Universe toys could one day not be made by Mattel as Universal owns the MOTU brand name. We always think the grass is greener on the other side until we actually step over there to find that isn't true.

So Hasbro keeping the license and promising to do stuff for Indiana Jones is welcome news! While Hasbro isn't perfect, they know they provide good quality products (for the most part, quality control is improving). Now if only the full details would be released so we know just how much the upcharge really is on Star Wars merchandise....

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