Next year is going to be big for classic movie lovers with the reboot of Ghostbusters, a Jumanji remake and more. Sony Pictures will be making a lot of toys for the movies and has shared details about them with ToyNews.
Mattel will be the global master toy licensee for the Ghostbusters reboot. The movie is set to hit the cinemas in July 2016 with a new, all-female team. Mark Caplan, Sony Pictures’ new senior vice president of global consumer products, has said Mattel has developed a really broad line of products.
Mattel will be doing bling bag figures for collectors. Each figure pack will feature an additional separate piece. A total of four pieces allow the collector to build a separate ghost. There will also be a board game about the movie and a line of six-inch figures that will feature characters from the new movie, but also from the classics.
“The firm is developing a new Eco-1 and the collectable characters can fit into the car. Mattel is also creating the Proton Pack”, Caplan says. “Alongside Mattel, we have LEGO on board, Funko doing Pop! Vinyl and Rubie’s is making costumes. It’s expansive. We have something for everyone, whether you’re a collector or an everyday toy buyer”, he adds.
But that is just a small part of Sony’s big movie plans for next year. The classic Jumanji will be getting a remake and there will be special toys for it too. There will also be a board game about the movie, developed by Hasbro as was the original. There will even be a mobile game about Jumanji. “Maybe there is something we can do where the mobile game interacts with the board game. It’s early days for that but I think it’s a natural fit”, Caplan adds.
Next year Sony will put on an emphasis on the toys about Hotel Transylvania 2. There will be more content as the company is pleased with the performance of the movie. The toy partnership is still in the negotiation phase so there are not much details.
But there are some details about Get Smurfy which will see the return of the Smurfs who were beloved by many years ago. Jakks Pacific will be making the majority of toys about the movie with the goal to bring the success and popularity of the little Smurf figurines from back in the day which are now coming back.
“There’s a lot of different play patterns that we’ll be tapping into with The Smurfs, from role play to construction and even ‘create your own’ products. It’s early stages but it’s an evergreen brand and in toys, there’s an endless amount of product we can make”, Caplan says.
It is shaping up to be an interesting year. We are hoping for a few stuffed smurfs, too. Ideal for hugging.
