Luke Y. Thompson has interviewed Hasbro's John Warden for Forbes, and Warden had some interesting things to say and hints to drop about what 2017 has in store for Transformers. The Last Knight, of course -- but is Titans Return going to stop for the films, or run concurrently? And what about how the toymaker is looking at the renewed interest in their other `80s properties from the film and comic worlds? Keep reading to see!
With no movies or cartoon since Age of Extinction came two years ago, the property has relied heavily on Combiner Wars and its sequel Titans Return, a cross-media storyline that includes IDW’s popular comics and a just-released animated miniseries. The Combiner figures allow five robots to join together into one larger one, and most have universal connecting joints so you can mix and match to create your own hybrids (the Titans are simply as big as Combiners already). The next movie may even follow suit, as Michael Bay just announced the inclusion of Onslaught, who in most continuities (and Transformers has many, all of which “count”) leads the military-themed combiner group called the Combaticons.
Meanwhile, the IDW comics are also crossing over with other Hasbro properties like M.A.S.K. and the Micronauts. Can we expect tie-in toys? “You’ll have to stay tuned for that,” says Warden. “I think there’s definitely exciting news on the horizon.”
Generations, the larger branding umbrella under which all versions of canon can be mined, isn’t going anywhere. “If there’s anything we’ve learned,” says Warden, “it’s that fans love Generations, loud and clear. We’re dedicated to continuing the Prime Wars universe, and we’ve got some great stuff planned for 2017 – more Titans Return product, and it’s just exciting to see how much Generations have grown. Not just with fans, but with kids and fans of all ages.”
Because even if you don’t know or care who characters like Starscream and Predaking are, “you also have lots of younger fans, teenage fans, that just appreciate cool stuff, like a crocodile turning into a robot,” opines Warden. “I think it’s universally cool.”
Now, whether this means that Titans Return will continue independent of The Last Knight or that there will be TLK-themed Generations toys as with Age of Extinction, it's too early to say. But it sounds promising, to be sure!
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