Toy Guru made it clear when he kicked off their Mattypalooza presentation with a Masters of the Universe Classics video with the message that all toy lines must end (an homage to the Game of Thrones marketing campaign for the past season). I suppose that’s Mattel’s way to drive subscriptions for Club Eternia for 2015, now billed as the last year for MOTUC and Four Horseman figures.
And they certainly loaded up the sub with extra goodness in the first quarter of 2015, in case there are people still on the fence to subscribe. It’s fan favorite Lizard Man from the Filmation series, Ninjor from the vintage line, and Huntara from last year’s SDCC fan vote. The Club Eternia exclusive is Oo-larr, the He-Man from the original mini-comic – and to make this extra tempting, the exclusive will include an extra He-Man head sculpt in the vintage style.
You can see all this and more in our SDCC 2014 Masters of the Universe Classics album.
Beyond Club Eternia for 2015, it’s very unclear what Mattel will do to sustain Masters and the rest of the Mattycollector business. On the MOTU front, one clarification is that “all toy lines must end” means the end of the current Classics branding and style, but very little indication of what it may be moving forward.
They did announce a giant-sized MOTU line in the vintage style, emulating what Gentle Giant has done with Star Wars. This line will include the spring-loaded waist (updated with modern tech to make it more durable) but at the $70 price range, I think it may fall into the trap that befell their Epic Creations props – customers have a hard time accepting Mattel as a premium brand.
When we’re back home with more reliable internet, I’ll get our video of the Mattypalooza panel loaded – that will include all the details of the remainder of the 2014 year (very Princess of Power heavy) and all the reveals for 2015. Stay tuned!
To clarify the clarification, 2015 is the last year of the Classics name and packaging, not necessarily the style or 4H involvement,.