Playmates losing TMNT license December 31, 2026

[sdp]

Originally Posted by KaraiLover09

I wonder if they're still doing 2026 to release a few more waves of Mutant Mayhem whenever they release the second movie? It would be weird if some other company took over for Mutant Mayhem figures for the sequel.

They have the license until the end of the year, it's clear they won't be making figures for the 2027 sequel. Whether they continue the MM line this year or not it's up to them and sales, as well as anything they do. I would think they'd try to do as many rereleases as they can since it's relatively cheap, and people would buy them, and of course they're going to release stuff they had already been working for a while the money is already spent. Unless sales are bad they'll try to maximize their last year in the market with the IP.

It happens plenty of times when a new company takes over for a sequel series or movie. Jurassic World was Hasbro (who had the license because they bought Kenner) and Jurassic World 2 was Mattel. Mattel actually did a great job better than Hasbro did for JW1. It just sucks rereleases are only "inspired by" and not the actual molds of the original toylines because it's a different company.

[ToTheNines]

People keep talking about the “master toy license”. Does this matter? Isn’t it possible that Skydance just wants to cut out the middleman and deal with NECA/Super7/Mezco/etc. directly?

That might be a win-win for everyone, us included. All the premium stuff can keep coming out and they can hire Mattel or Hasbro to put out dreck for the cartoons and baby movies.

I might be talking out of my ass but I think I’m on to something. It’s not like every random piece of licensed TMNT merch has to go through Playmates, why would toys be any different?

[Zachatello00]

Originally Posted by Otter

Pixel Dan just proposed a terrible thought, what if one of the big two outbid Playmates for the line?

After watching that video, I began wondering who the mystery bidder might be. I doubt it would be NECA. Their interests seem to lie more in adult collectibles than overall toylines for kids.

I could see Mattel doing it. They've flirted with the TMNT with their MOTU crossover toys. Might be fun to have a "grayskull-esque" Technodrome from those guys.

I could see it being Hasbro. They handled the MMPR/TMNT figures, which were fun, although I'm not sure how well they sold overall. But given the fact that Hasbro is already licensing Power Rangers to Playmates, this seems unlikely. Although, it'd be cool if they did take the license and allow Playmates to continue to release TMNT products alongside Rangers.

I could see it being Macfarlane, as they've started doing the IDW figures, and with them losing the DC license to Mattel, they need a firm "anchor". Spawn is awesome, but just doesn't have the household name that Batman or Superman, or even the TMNT have.

Personally, as much as I love Hasbro figures (Marvel Legends, Star Wars Black, Lightning Collection, etc.) somehow Macfarlane seems the most likely, and after seeing Leo today at Gamestop, I think I'd be okay with that.

[strawberryfields]

If playmates loses the license, will it be legal to release reissues of playmates designs? Does this mean the end of 80's and 90's reissues altogether?

[Prowler]

I haven't bought a TMNT toy in 13 years, so this will not affect me, but it is quite a change since Playmates has been making TMNT toys since 1988 already.

I've honestly thought they had already stopped many years ago since I remember when the 2012 toon was about to come out there was a strong rumour circulating the forums that Playmates might not be the toy company to make the Nick series toyline. So it was wither a baseless rumour or playmates and Nick reached an agreement eventually.

So... who will make TMNT action figures from now on? Mattel?

[DonnieLaForge]

Firstly didn't Hasbro announce they were trying to get out of kiddie toys and go harder into games? I wouldn't bet the farm on that timeline.

Secondly - the thing about Playmates was they could and did release lots of things like re-issues, classics, remasters, etc, based on prior TMNT incarnations, in parallel to the current TV media incarnation product.

Could another company do this? Yes. But not based on the Playmates OG designs, because I would bet hard those are copyright Playmates and since they departed significantly in most cases from the FW toon that won't carry over with the license.

Will another company bother to make cheap affordable kiddie product that reaches back into the past and not just the present? Perhaps - but it will be a bunch of "style guide" nonsense like all those Funrise offerings.

[sdp]

Lanard is the only company besides playmates that makes fun, cheap "kids toys"to actually play with. They're small and don't get any big licenses but they understand the kid market at least.

Jada toys makes some great figures that balance price/quality really well but they're too small to make an actual TMNT toyline. Those are really only the two companies that I'd like to see their own take, and even then I don't care too much since we have more than enough great TMNT figures now.

We've had so many types of turtles from so many companies the last 15 years it doesn't matter that much. We've already seen what most big companies have done with TMNT. I mean at this point it's easier to list which company hasn't made a TMNT figure a shot.

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

People keep talking about the “master toy license”. Does this matter? Isn’t it possible that Skydance just wants to cut out the middleman and deal with NECA/Super7/Mezco/etc. directly?

That might be a win-win for everyone, us included. All the premium stuff can keep coming out and they can hire Mattel or Hasbro to put out dreck for the cartoons and baby movies.

I might be talking out of my ass but I think I’m on to something. It’s not like every random piece of licensed TMNT merch has to go through Playmates, why would toys be any different?

Everyone is talking out of their ass since no one knows what the contract Playmates was really like. In my last job I got to talk to someone who worked in the toy industry for one of the big companies a couple of times. Most of what you see people discussing in forums from 'people who seem to know' is all BS. Basically master licenses as they existed stopped mattering in the 2010s and licensors just license differently since then. IP owners realized they could just sell the license to more people in different ways and make more money and stopped giving stranglehold on the IP for whoever had the license. There's a reason TMNT figures exploded in that decade, it's not "Playmates becoming benevolent and sharing for a cut of the profits".

Things will definitely change who knows if it'll be better or worse. The only thing for sure is we won't have re-issues of any previous molds again after 2026.

[teemu]

I hope Super7 can continue their Ultimates classic line. I still want

Traag
Pizza Face
Usagi
Scale Tail
Dirtbag
Groundchuck
Monty Moose
Killer Bee
Needle nose

[Dask]

Originally Posted by sdp

Lanard is the only company besides playmates that makes fun, cheap "kids toys"to actually play with. They're small and don't get any big licenses but they understand the kid market at least.

Jada toys makes some great figures that balance price/quality really well but they're too small to make an actual TMNT toyline. Those are really only the two companies that I'd like to see their own take, and even then I don't care too much since we have more than enough great TMNT figures now.

We've had so many types of turtles from so many companies the last 15 years it doesn't matter that much. We've already seen what most big companies have done with TMNT. I mean at this point it's easier to list which company hasn't made a TMNT figure a shot.




Everyone is talking out of their ass since no one knows what the contract Playmates was really like. In my last job I got to talk to someone who worked in the toy industry for one of the big companies a couple of times. Most of what you see people discussing in forums from 'people who seem to know' is all BS. Basically master licenses as they existed stopped mattering in the 2010s and licensors just license differently since then. IP owners realized they could just sell the license to more people in different ways and make more money and stopped giving stranglehold on the IP for whoever had the license. There's a reason TMNT figures exploded in that decade, it's not "Playmates becoming benevolent and sharing for a cut of the profits".

Things will definitely change who knows if it'll be better or worse. The only thing for sure is we won't have re-issues of any previous molds again after 2026.

Jada is overrated in my opinion. Like when I see the Street Fighter line from Storm Collectibles and Jada, I can instantly tell that they aren't up to snuff. But people love them probably because they can't afford the Storm Collectibles.

Jada TMNT would just look like JoyToys but missing half the details and at a larger scale. I don't know if this 'remixed' look would help with either vintage designs or even the show.

Aside from obvious 'proven' winners like NECA or Super7, Mcfarlane would likely be the best bet for the future of the TMNT license, as they no longer have their DC or Batman related stuff and need to fill that void.

The page puncher's TMNT line is not the best representation of what McFarlane can do, but I don't think toon or even toy fidelity would be their strong point. Their figures will likely have that remastered 'New Eternia' look, and all things considered they could probably nail the Mirage designs.

Now, if I had my way, the dream TMNT line would be completely toon based designs (e.g. FW, 2K3 etc.) by Mondo at 1/12 scale and priced reasonably (not something Mondo can do).

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Dask

Jada is overrated in my opinion. Like when I see the Street Fighter line from Storm Collectibles and Jada, I can instantly tell that they aren't up to snuff. But people love them probably because they can't afford the Storm Collectibles.

Jada TMNT would just look like JoyToys but missing half the details and at a larger scale. I don't know if this 'remixed' look would help with either vintage designs or even the show.

Aside from obvious 'proven' winners like NECA or Super7, Mcfarlane would likely be the best bet for the future of the TMNT license, as they no longer have their DC or Batman related stuff and need to fill that void.

The page puncher's TMNT line is not the best representation of what McFarlane can do, but I don't think toon or even toy fidelity would be their strong point. Their figures will likely have that remastered 'New Eternia' look, and all things considered they could probably nail the Mirage designs.

Now, if I had my way, the dream TMNT line would be completely toon based designs (e.g. FW, 2K3 etc.) by Mondo at 1/12 scale and priced reasonably (not something Mondo can do).

Really?
Wow...

Honestly I love the Jada SFII stuff. It's just as good as Marvel Legends, but with better joints. Honestly I'd put the Jada SFII stuff inbetween Hasbro and Mattel. Mattel figures always feel like quality but Hasbro innovates more.

[Dask]

Originally Posted by IMJ

Really?
Wow...

Honestly I love the Jada SFII stuff. It's just as good as Marvel Legends, but with better joints. Honestly I'd put the Jada SFII stuff inbetween Hasbro and Mattel. Mattel figures always feel like quality but Hasbro innovates more.

Yeah, it's better than ReSaurus Street Fighter, which is what I used to have, but compared to the budget Street Fighter Alpha line from Storm Collectibles, it's a bit lacking.

I do agree with your placement, between Hasbro and Mattel, but I don't think they can pull off TMNT without hitting the vague in-between area. It won't look as cheap as BST AXN though.

[darthsmozers]

Originally Posted by strawberryfields

If playmates loses the license, will it be legal to release reissues of playmates designs? Does this mean the end of 80's and 90's reissues altogether?

This is my worry. Because I’ll shamelessly by every reissue, no matter the paint job

[Wes]

Originally Posted by Dask

The page puncher's TMNT line is not the best representation of what McFarlane can do

FMI -- what do you think is the best representation of what McFarlane can do? His 5" Avatar the Last Airbender line was cute (despite the lacking articulation), and I admittedly kinda liked the MK11 line, but I can't call anything coming out of McFarlane these days *good*. He explicitly hates articulation and thinks it makes figures suck, so he has no incentive to really try to make it work -- he's basically making preposed figures and articulating them in the laziest of ways and then going "See??" when the articulation does indeed make the figures worse. Those hideous joints and his whole approach need to go.

(I also thought the BST AXN joints looked horrible, but at least they didn't feel like they were doing it out of spite.)

I'm very sad Playmates is losing the license, because all but the very worst Playmates figures are still kinda fun to mess with. I opened High School Raph alongside a few NECA figures, and guess which one I ended up playing with most (and which one I was least afraid of breaking).

[Dask]

Originally Posted by Wes

FMI -- what do you think is the best representation of what McFarlane can do? His 5" Avatar the Last Airbender line was cute (despite the lacking articulation), and I admittedly kinda liked the MK11 line, but I can't call anything coming out of McFarlane these days *good*. He explicitly hates articulation and thinks it makes figures suck, so he has no incentive to really try to make it work -- he's basically making preposed figures and articulating them in the laziest of ways and then going "See??" when the articulation does indeed make the figures worse. Those hideous joints and his whole approach need to go.

(I also thought the BST AXN joints looked horrible, but at least they didn't feel like they were doing it out of spite.)

I'm very sad Playmates is losing the license, because all but the very worst Playmates figures are still kinda fun to mess with. I opened High School Raph alongside a few NECA figures, and guess which one I ended up playing with most (and which one I was least afraid of breaking).

As far as McFarlane is concerned, I don't think he has a premier line as he scatters his properties far and wide. Likely the "Movie Maniacs" one which inspired NECA to make their own version, and then diluted spinoffs like "Toony Terrors".

MK11 is pretty decent but not consistent, I have their Kotal Kahn.

I would say his Avatar line is pretty solid, not the Airbender one, the other Avatar...the blue aliens one with the blacklit accents.

His DC and Batman properties are solid (his Batman Returns figures are getting high praise and while not Mafex level, still unmatched for the price), but you have to realize that he pumps out 150 figures every year from that line alone, so there are some obvious hit or misses, or sculpts that lack likeness here and there.

His "Page Punchers" line/subline is considered budget and it is unfortunate McFarlane started the turtles on that.

Mcfarlane has never been good with articulation, just a half notch better than NECA which is mostly inspired by them. McFarlane and Super7 management both have this anti-articulation stance which is not based on rationality or aesthetics but likely simply cost-based factors. and What McFarlane does really well, is budget vehicles. So if they ever released a TMNT Party Wagon, it would not cost $250 (like Neca) or $450 (like Super7) but closer to the $80-$120 range, with lesser vehicles being $20-30 (cheap skates, motor cycles etc.)

Aside from some of the core IDW figures/Comic Con variants (Turtles, Jennika, Shredder etc), most of the BST AXN stuff looks cheap and flimsy, including the rest of the IDW stuff too (e.g. Rat King etc.)

[Zachatello00]

After reading through the exact wording of the original press release, it appears to me that what will expire is the "current license agreement". Am I right in thinking that just means that Playmates will no longer be the "master licensee"? And if so, as others have pointed out that that means so much less today than it did 40 years ago when Playmates got started, could that mean some sort of deal could still be reached between Viacom and Playmates (assuming the interest were still there) allowing them to become just one of the many who make TMNT products? I mean, as it is, you can walk into Walmart or Target right now and buy TMNT figures from a variety of different brands. It's strange to think that Playmates couldn't get in on that action. Could they truly be the only ones not able to make TMNT figures going forward?

[darthsmozers]

Originally Posted by Zachatello00

After reading through the exact wording of the original press release, it appears to me that what will expire is the "current license agreement". Am I right in thinking that just means that Playmates will no longer be the "master licensee"? And if so, as others have pointed out that that means so much less today than it did 40 years ago when Playmates got started, could that mean some sort of deal could still be reached between Viacom and Playmates (assuming the interest were still there) allowing them to become just one of the many who make TMNT products? I mean, as it is, you can walk into Walmart or Target right now and buy TMNT figures from a variety of different brands. It's strange to think that Playmates couldn't get in on that action. Could they truly be the only ones not able to make TMNT figures going forward?

Right! Like keep pumping out classic rereleases

[Zachatello00]

I mean, honestly that’s about all I’m truly interested in. I have to admit I haven’t picked up anything “new” from Playmates in years. But whereas companies like Super7 and NECA have been more focused on adult collectibles, I would argue that Playmates doing the rereleases is right up that alley. Sure they’re cheaper kids toys, but they’re kids toys for adults. I don’t see the kiddos grabbing the rereleases off the shelves. Even if this is all Playmates did, I’d be 100% okay with that.

[darthsmozers]

Originally Posted by Zachatello00

I mean, honestly that’s about all I’m truly interested in. I have to admit I haven’t picked up anything “new” from Playmates in years. But whereas companies like Super7 and NECA have been more focused on adult collectibles, I would argue that Playmates doing the rereleases is right up that alley. Sure they’re cheaper kids toys, but they’re kids toys for adults. I don’t see the kiddos grabbing the rereleases off the shelves. Even if this is all Playmates did, I’d be 100% okay with that.

Same! Shamelessly 100% agree.

[TigerClaw]

While NECA is about the collectables, They are releasing figures that Playmates never thought of putting out over the years.

NECA has those figures from other versions of TMNT, and Playmates never bother to do that stuff. So there is a huge demand for figures of characters from other TMNT incarnations.

After Playmates, Whose its going to be? Some company out there is gonna jump at the chance at producing new TMNT figures in the coming years. Especially with a sequel to Mutant Mayhem. and new live action TMNT movies in the future. Somebody has to step in.

[jestergoblin]

Last night's GeekDadLife had Blake Wright on to talk about TMNT.



At the 20 minute mark:

I will give you the quote from my Playmates insider, because I emailed somebody right away when I saw this. What I got back was this, when I said could there be a pitch thing happening here? The quote I got back was:

"Unfortunately, we're past that whole process and we're out. Time to move onto better things. You never know what the future may hold."

Also, I'd bet money on Mattel getting the license. Paramount's new president of global products and experiences is Mattel's old CFO, Josh Silverman.