According to a report by Bloomberg, this license agreement signals the end of Mattel’s master toy license. Spin Master will be taking over the majority of the DC Comics licensing, with Mattel retaining just some of their previous categories. Mattel’s license will include “preschool and girls’ toys”, while Spin Master’s boy’s action toy category will likely include traditional action figures. On Monday, Mattel’s stocks, which were already at an 18-year low, had another drop of 4.5% on the news. The report also states that Mattel will aggressively be seeking new licensing partners, noting that both of Hasbro’s Marvel and Star Wars licenses will be up in 2020 (unless renewed prior to then).
So, where does that leave collectors? DC Collectibles is likely to be unaffected by the change in hands. You will still see higher end collector figures from lines like S.H. Figuarts, MAFEX, Hot Toys, One:12 Collective, and Revoltech. If Spin Master is taking over the production of mass retail action figures from Mattel, chances are that 2019 will be the last year for the DC Multiverse line. Mattel’s DC Multiverse line seemed to finally get on track recently, with some impressive 6″ scale figure releases of late, especially with the Aquaman movie assortments. Like all DC action figure fans, we’ll be watching and waiting for Spin Master to reveal what they have planned, as well as what’s next for Mattel.
