Hasbro Snags The Ghostbusters Master Toy License Back

Card back of Kenner's 1986 Real Ghostbusters toy line before Hasbro purchased the Cincinnati toy company; featuring the 4 main heroes: Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, & Winston Zeddemore

The prodigal child of Hasbro has come home, in a way, but more on that later. The hot topic on everyone's toy radar is the signed agreement between Hasbro & Sony Pictures for the Master License of the Ghostbusters toys which will come out in time for the movie sequel set for release on July 10, 2020. Following the events from the 80s, the film stars Paul Rudd and Stranger Things actor, Finn Wolfhard. Although it has been suggested, we have yet to confirm if Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, who played Peter & Ray respectively in the original films, will be reprising their roles alongside Sigourney Weaver. We might be able to find out once the initial preview of the Hasbro toys comes out late this year or early 2020. As you know toy companies have had a long history of blockbuster spoilers, so who knows!

However fresh, this license didn't come as a surprise to Hasbro fans who saw the release of the Transformers Generations Collaborative: Ghostbusters Mash-Up Ecto-1 Ectotron which came out February of this year. You can't just legally release a toy line, or any merchandise for that matter after all, from a major film franchise without at least proper licensing in the works. 

Hasbro Pulse's Ecto-1 Ectotron

But this isn't all new. For many of us, the 80s was one of the, if not the greatest decade for toys. One of the most popular lines that came out then were toys from Kenner, the company that brought us other notable collections such as M.A.S.K. and the original Star Wars action figures and playsets. By 1991, then already under Tonka, the toy giant was purchased by none-other than Hasbro, right at the cusp of the last line of Real Ghostbusters toys. So in a way, though contestable, mothership has arrived ready to pick up where it left off 28 years ago. 

This of course wasn't the last we saw these guys. In 1997 Extreme Ghostbusters hit the small screen, and for a short time, Trendmasters Toys had the rights to the merchandise. It wasn't until 2009, however, that we saw definitive Ghostbusters movie toys from Mattel's Matty Collector exclusive lines which catered mostly to the then grown-up kids of the 80s, us.  

Trendmasters Toys Extreme Ghostbusters Toy Catalogue

Matty Collector Fab-Four featuring Egon, Peter, Ray & Winston

So how do we feel about the new line coming up? We are in a way excited to see what Hasbro has to offer. They certainly did a swell job with the Marvel Legends series which they took over after Toy Biz went out of business in the early 2000s. They'll deliver in the 6" market for sure. The question though is, will they succeed in the other size categories as well? This has a chance to compete with Playmates' TMNT if done right for the younger market. Our confidence in this has yet to be strengthened. We are still reeling in from the disaster that they did with Jurassic World, which Mattel is currently doing a swell job with. Although it would be unfair to compare, they aren't apples to apples, but it's hard not to. 2020 just can't come soon enough for us to see.