Toyguru talks 2016...

[Mechanizor]

From Org's main page:

The He-Manorg 2016 MOTUC Character Selection Playoffs are over and the final results have been revealed, ranked from most popular at the top to least popular at the bottom. The fan poll results were forwarded off to Mattel for their consideration...which did not take very long! While the fans were discussing the results, Toyguru popped into the thread with some major news!

Just wanted to thank EVERYONE who voted and helped organize this poll!

While we won't just be "doing the top 12" figures from this list in 2016 (should we get to a 2016 line) polls like this are very helpful.

To manage expectations, we won't be doing any figs from the 1987 film (outside of the three from the vintage line, one of which, Blade, is out already!) and we won't be looking at any concept figures outside of those that appear in the 2009 Art Book.

Otherwise very excited to start looking at 2016 and beyond. I can tell you quite a few of the figures on this results list are in the works already and at least two will be shown at SDCC!

Thanks again all!

Scott

Here is a list of the He-Man.org 2016 MOTUC Character Selection Playoffs winners:

1. Evilseed (200x cartoon)
2. Lord Masque (Filmation)
3. Lizard Man (Filmation)
4. Calix (200x cartoon)
5. Skeletor's Robot Knights (Filmation)
6. Veena (200x cartoon)
7. Vultak (Filmation)
8. Granita (Filmation, MOTU 80s daily newspaper comic)
9. Despara (New 52 DC comic)
10. Dylamug (Filmation)
11. Hunga the Harpy (Filmation)
12. Prahvus (200x cartoon)
13. General Sunder (Filmation)
14. Tuskador / Insyzor (NA toy)
15. Horde Wraith (200x cartoon)
16. Crita (standard - Jetlag)
17. Miro (200x cartoon)
18. Lodar (vintage MOTU mini-comic)
19. Lizorr (NA toy)
20. Quakke (NA toy)

Will fans be seeing such long awaited characters such as 200X Evilseed or Lizard Man at SDCC this year? Or will Granita finally join Rokkon and Stonedar as figures in Classics?

So who do you think will be revealed from this list at SDCC?

[Novelty]

Lodar? He's easy to make

[Captain Atkin]

As a huge fan of the 1987 movie, I felt a need to comment on this one:

Originally Posted by Captain Atkin
Does this mean that we will never see other characters from the 1987 film made as MOTUC action-figures, should the line continue beyond 2016? Your post kind of reads that way. I think that would be a real shame if that ends up being the case. The actor who played Karg said in an interview last year that staff from Mattel came to the set to photograph him in costume, and that they told him the photographs were to be used for making a Karg action figure. The MOTU 87 movie has many fans, and it would be really cool to see some of those characters that didn't get toys in the 80s released as action figures in the future.

Two from the entire list. Not just the top 12.

And yeah, I'm bummer too but no Karg.

So, it sounds like they won't be going after the license for the movie figures. Hopefully they change their mind like they did with Filmation, and do get the license someday.

[D.M.]

Oh, and MOTUC versions of movie Skeletor, MAA, Teela, He-Man, Evil-Lyn, Beast-Man. All using same loophole that enabled them to make Filmation figures before getting the Filmation license.

Though... IF they have license for Star Comics MOTU... then they could make Kaarg too as he was in the comic book adaptation!

[Mechanizor]

At this point, we'll be lucky if we only finish the vintage faction, let alone the movie figures...

[Captain Atkin]

Karg appeared in the Marvel Star Comics, and in the official Masters of the Universe magazine comic. I'm sure they could make him, but they are afraid to approach the figure for the chance that they might get sued. I would be more than happy though with a Karg figure who looked like he did in the comics. My understanding is Warner Brothers has the rights, so I don't see why they can't work something out.

[Mechanizor]

I'm hoping that 200X Evilseed and Skeletor's Robot-Knights will be announced at SDCC as part of this year's line.

[Croc-O-Bite!]

I'm hoping Prahvus is shown. I just think he'd make a great looking figure.


..... or maybe Neitlich will switch everything over in 2016 to all 12" MOTU babies.....

[barrasco]

Nothing the guy says can be taken for granted, let's just wait and see...

[D.M.]

For love of sanity - KEEP NEO-DC TRASH AWAY FROM MOTUC!
Seriously, to hell with Despara. To hell with every single bit from that piece of s**t!

[Mechanizor]

Screw all that, we need more 12" MOTU diaper babies, YAY...

[JimPansen]

If he will really gonna allaign the sub 2016 after that poll, where only about 500 people voted, he can keep it. Not gonna buy it.
Where are the Masks of Power Demons and Alcala He-Man?

[STU-bot82]

A shame we still won't be getting any of the movie characters that should have been on toy shelves 27 years ago. Mattel paid for that movie, yet failed to integrate the movie characters into the the toyline they were trying to save. I hope Warner Brothers sell the movie rights to some other toy company. Mattel would probably take legal action even though the movie rights issue is a disaster that they oversaw in the first place.

[MegaGearMax]

How big is the fanbase for the 1987 movie? TG might have gone after Filmation rights because the fanbase was sizeable enough.

[Captain Atkin]

The fan base is large enough to warrant getting the 87 rights. There are many fans out there who love the movie but were not into the Filmation cartoons. The issue is the deals that were made behind the scenes. The artists who worked on the designs may need to be paid too, and not just Warner Brothers, based on the deals that were worked out for the classic line that gave us Blade, Saurod and Gwildor. My understanding is that William Stout would also have to be paid.

[D.M.]

Yeah, but how many people wanted Photog? Especially Spector, Laserlot...

[GREP-A-TOR]

If I do not get Saurod I am going to be pissed.

[Captain Atkin]

We will definitely get Saurod and Gwildor, as they had toys in the 80s, and Mattel still has the rights to produce toys of them. It is characters like Movie He-Man, Movie Skeletor, Karg, Dark Troopers, and the other cool characters from the movie who will not get made (if Mattel doesn't pay up or bargain to get the rights.) I think it is shameful that have no issue with purchasing the rights to make toys of Batman and Superman from Warner Brothers/DC, but they won't purchase the rights to make the 87 characters. To me it is short sighted of them. The saddest part of all is that Mattel didn't make toys of all the movie characters back in the 80s. If they had, none of this would have been an issue right now.

[Jdubya88788]

How big is the fanbase for the 1987 movie? TG might have gone after Filmation rights because the fanbase was sizeable enough.

This is deliberate by Scott - he's more interested in making figures he likes than what the fans want.

[Mechanizor]

This is deliberate by Scott - he's more interested in making figures he likes than what the fans want.

The second part of your statement has some truth to it, but Filmation certainly has a lot more louder voices among the online fans.

[Captain Atkin]

I think the easiest way to guage this sort of thing is too see how fast Saurod and Gwildor sell out. If they both sell out as fast as Blade did, that will show that there is a demand for more movie figures.

Filmation may be louder on the fan forums, but I think there is an untapped audience there for movie figures. I have friends over at the '87 Facebook page who have no interest in MOTUC, but would be down for buying a Dolph He-Man and Langella Skeletor. One thing to remember is that the MOTU '87 is a cult film that still receives screenings all around the world. The same can't be said for Filmation's "The Secret of the Sword". There is an audience out there for MOTU movie toys and collectables. Mattel needs to suck it up and purchase those rights.

[Mechanizor]

Wow, they still screening the 1987 movie, that's amazing! I never realized that MOTU has become like Godzilla and such!... Well I wish all the movie enthusiasts a good luck, it may take a long while until you see it happening, when especially a guy like Neitlich is still in charge of the MOTU brand!

[Captain Atkin]

It still gets shown in major cities during special screenings (usually midnight screenings). Just off the top of my head, I know the film was shown in London, Los Angeles, and Austin last year.

[Y2Greg]

I guess the question is are characters like Karg going to make Mattel enough money to justify paying for the rights? I am just not sure. I suppose if you put them in the sub, no problem, as it's guaranteed sales. But if the line gets weaker, this could be a risk.

[Captain Atkin]

A MOTU 87 movie sub would make news on all the geek sites, as well as movie sites like Aint-it-Cool-News. There are also a few TV shows like InnerSPACE that would most likely give it a mention. Probably the best justification to get the license would be to have a movie subscription. It would put MOTUC in the main stream news again in a way that proposed figures like Calix and Evilseed never could.

[Y2Greg]

I do agree, now that I think about it, it would make more news than a Calix or Evilseed. They'd have to make a Dolph Lundgren He-Man figure in that case if they're trying to get attention. A Dolph SDCC figure would really make sense, and be a great celebrity tie in. As much as I love Stan Lee, Standor made no sense.

What would be the six-seven '87 movie figures you'd suggest?

[Captain Atkin]

My suggestion would be:

Year 1:
He-Man, Skeletor, Man-at-Arms, Teela, Karg, Pigboy, Julie
sub exclusive: Eternian Soldier
2-pack: Dark Troopers

Year 2: Sorceress, Lubic, Evil-Lyn, Air Centurion, Comtech, Beastman, Kevin
sub exclusive: Warlord Trooper
2-pack: God Skeletor and Gold Armor He-Man

[Grayskull's Lost Son]

I'm very excited for SDCC. It's no surprise that figures from the top 20 are in the works right now because there are a lot of "A-listers" and fan favourites on this list that qualify for the 2-year wrap-up.
I just hope there will be no more stupid decisions like UNO...

[Guest]

Don't worry, if Scott is on MOTUC for another 2 years, he'll surely try to weasel in his little turd babies, and excuse any mistakes and flop releases with whatever BS lines his little sycophant fans are willing to lap up.

Expect to see Skeleteen, lazy repaints, and a unwanted Scott inspired concept or two along the way. There is no way in Hell he'll allow for 24 well executed 'fan demanded' releases.

The only 'fan demand' he hears is from the community of nerds in his head.

[Mechanizor]

I'm very excited for SDCC. It's no surprise that figures from the top 20 are in the works right now because there are a lot of "A-listers" and fan favourites on this list that qualify for the 2-year wrap-up.
I just hope there will be no more stupid decisions like UNO...

I personally don't think there are many "A" listers left, if any! We already got most/all of them, and Scott Neitlich likes to that term freely just to sell subs and figures. The remaining Vintage and POP probably pass as "C" and "D" characters regardless of their popularity among the online fans.

[Grayskull's Lost Son]

Yes, what I meant was of the remaining figures, which all are D or Z listers, the ones that are in the top 20 qualify for their two-year wrap-up road map just fine. Because they are kind of the "A"-listers of the remaining characters.

[Mechanizor]

Thanks for explaining your ranking, it makes more sense now.

[Grayskull's Lost Son]

You're welcome I worded it badly in my initial reply

[Dark Angel]

If the absolute reliance on subscriptions is as necessary as we've been told, 2015 is as about as far from a sure thing as you can get - to even discuss 2016 is asinine.

On the other hand, if we haven't been told the whole truth (CLUTCH THE PEARLS!!!) about how the line is financed and planned, I suppose only the current brand manager knows whether 2016 is worth discussing or not...

[Novelty]

I say, just enjoy it while it lasts. When it's over, I'm prolly done with MotU toys. I don't foresee going into another line - movie,superhyperanime, 4" or whatever and out myself through being abused by Mattel again.

[GREP-A-TOR]

WORD. I have to say, as a company, they are crap. Made me realized how much I appreciate Hasblow.

[He-man121]

Agreed,i gotta say that unless big changes were made to Brand Manager,DR,the way Mattycollector site is run,interference with finished products,then i wouldn't be collecting any size motu line.