Yesterday we posted an update from a member of TheFwoosh.com, who attended a Marvel action figure panel with Jesse Falcon (VP of Licensing at Marvel) at Wizard World Philadelphia. The update described what representatives from Hasbro and Marvel presented about their future plans for Marvel Legends. Today, I heard from the Hasbro Marvel brand team with some more details and clarification of what’s to come. Here’s the brass tacks:
Hasbro will launch a “Fan’s Choice Pick 3” poll for Marvel Legends at San Diego Comic-Con:
- They will be displaying between 16 to 18 never-produced figures at their booth in San Diego Comic-Con. These will be mostly new figures, but some fans may have seen a couple of them before.
- These figures will be options for the “Fan’s Choice Pick 3” poll. The poll will kick off on the first day of Comic-Con, and the top 3 vote getters will make it into the next wave of two packs. The next wave of two packs is slotted for 2010, with the exact timing still to be determined.
- The Hasbro Marvel team will choose 3 other figures from the same 16 to 18 figures on display. They will be paired up with the Fan’s Choice winners in that wave.
- So, to summarize, the next wave of two packs will feature six characters – 3 chosen by fans, and 3 chosen by the Hasbro Marvel team.
One point of clarification – our report yesterday indicated that there would be no more retailer exclusive waves for Marvel Legends. This was something that struck me as odd, since big box retailers wouldn’t normally have their 2010 plans until after Fall Toy Fair in October. And, it turns out to be inaccurate:
Actually, when asked about exclusives (someone mentioned that they had a hard time finding some of them and that they would prefer that exclusives didn’t continue), Jesse underscored the fact that exclusives were an important part of the business and would certainly continue.
Expect updates as we hear more – official pics are coming soon. I am still psyched to hear Marvel Legends plans, with the line currently on hiatus.
This year’s remaining Marvel Legends two packs, featuring Nick Fury, Hand Ninja, classic Iron Man, etc., are expected to retail shelves by mid to late August via Toys R Us and Diamond Comics.