Speaking to the press ahead of Brand Licensing Europe 2017 expo, Hasbro briefly explained their plans for the future of Transformers Cinematic Universe.
Katherine Buckland, Senior Director Of Consumer Products – Hasbro EMEA was happy to answer the questions. Since her tasks involve handling licence for Hasbro properties, her answers are also oriented towards the business aspect of the franchise.
Question: One of the bigger news stories coming out of the Hasbro stable is the big screen movie release of the Bumblebee movie in 2018. Tell us more about it.
Answer: Next December, Bumblebee will hit theaters from Academy Award nominated director Travis Knight and will star Academy Award nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena to offer fans a rich storyline surrounding fan favorite Autobot Bumblebee.
Question: Hasbro has really created a Transformers Cinematic Universe here. With each new film, what approach does the [Hasbro] team take?
Answer: Hasbro takes a pragmatic approach when developing product ranges for upcoming films. From the start, we pay specific attention to detail to ensure the characters and storylines fans see on the screen translate into products people see on the shelves. The product needs to deliver a level of innovation that’s more than meets the eye. Consumers and fans expect that from us. The robust Transformers entertainment offering – which spans television, gaming, and full length features – lends itself to products, and we’ve enjoyed finding like-minded partners to grow the brand and its consumer product portfolio.
Take a look at the rest of this small interview, after the jump. Visit TFW2005 tomorrow (10/05/2017) at 11:15am ET onwards for our coverage of New York Comic-Con 2017.
Question: Talk us through the next steps in the movie franchise for Transformers.
Answer: We still have several action-packed years coming up for the Transformers brand. Beginning this year, there will be a movie every year for the next three years, helping fans connect with the brand and its characters like never before. With Michael Bay at the helm, Transformers: The Last Knight – the fifth installment of the Transformers franchise – hit theaters in June 2017, and featured leading actors like Mark Wahlberg, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Isabela Moner and Josh Duhamel. For December 2018, Hasbro is working on a film centered on the never-before-heard story of Bumblebee, and in June 2019 Hasbro will unveil an entirely new exciting storyline for the beloved brand.
Question: Do Hasbro ever find themselves at a crossroads with brands such as Transformers? How do you ensure you are catering for all aspects of your fan base that spans such a wide range?
Answer: Legendary fashion house Moschino featured Transformers in a collection available globally now. Inspired by the original Transformers look from the 1980s, the line is kept up to date with a vibrant gender neutral pallette, action packed graphics and stylish silhouettes across men’s women’s and kids’ apparel and accessories.
Furthermore, we foundout that popular stationery manufacturing company Blue Sky will be developing products based on Bumblebee Movie in Q4 2018. The stationery and gift products will be ‘retro styled’.
The rest of the interview was focused on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and the new series Stretch Armstrong. Brand Licensing Europe 2017 will take place this October 10th at Olympia London, UK. Hasbro booth can be located at D-40.
GizmoTron
It is the first for this iteration of MLP, though, so technically saying so is not incorrect.
LegionMaximus
Wow, Hasbro described the 2017 MLP movie as "the first ever full-length animated film" for MLP . . . Did they seriously forget about the 1986 one? I mean, it wasn't a great movie but it existed and it was in theaters.
GizmoTron
And yet the stuff at the car junkyard was my favorite parts from this past movie. As soon as Cogman shows up and takes Cade to Europe, that's where this movie really started losing me.
I think it just shows that finding the perfect balance and making a great movie let alone a great Transformers one is actually quite difficult.
Windsweeper II
Or maybe a baby dinobot
Windsweeper II
I understand what you say and i agree somewhat, but it didn't bother me.
I had more problems with the amount of cheap jokes at the car junkyard. A few was ok, but they just kept going. The comedy in the other scenes were somehow much better.
Cal
Every time "Transformers Cinematic Universe" is brought up, a puppy dies.
Nevermore
Even if it might somehow make sense for some internal story-related reason, it still doesn't make for a good cinematic experience.
Windsweeper II
Meh. There are no good movies.
They're all packed with the same tropes,clichés and other devious malicious malware for the mind.
There are movies i like and movies i don't like.
But one thing i agree: TLK didn't have a pauze, it was a nonstop rollercoaster ride.
Apparently a lot of people took offence to that, but i found that unusual and enjoyable and it fit the whole basis of the movie, which is the fact that they gotta get the desendants of Arthur and Merlin to get the sword and staf and get them to save the world pronto.
Really it makes sense for there to be no pauze, because it's a race against the clock.
Nevermore
Basically, a good movie has a good balance between ebb and flow. You need the ebb for the flow to actually be a flow.
TLK was all flow, all the time. It's like a song that's all chorus right after the intro. No verses, no bridge.
SPLIT LIP
I think this is, above all else, TLK's greatest shortcoming.
The other TF movies have terrible dialogue, bad plot and awful pacing at times, but they have plenty of "normal" scenes of natural, if uninspired, dialogue with breathing room. It had so little time to breath if TLK were a person it would've passed out in the first twenty minutes.
stad
All the people commenting about yeah, it wasn't good, but they need to follow it up with more!
The term is called "glutton for punishment."
YoungPrime
………………I'm sorry you have exceeded the time limit. Thank you for calling Hasbro.
Goodbye!
Hanzkaz
Er, no. Finish the story, and then do a time-travel movie where they changed Transformers history, improved the Witwicky family tree (I'm Spike. I've never heard of this 'Sam'). And killed the twins before they ever existed.
And I like RID2.
APB
Reminds me of conversations from Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion.
All hope gone.
ErbFan28
It sounds like a robot answered these questions.
soundwavejordan
I honestly don\'t know how to interpret this article lol I really don\'t know what to expect in terms of what will be happening in the TFCU.
PredaconElder
Reboot and start over. Bayformers are an abomination like Armada and RID2.
GoldDeadEnd
I'd almost admire that level of inconsistency.
Crim
Considering the details they've ignored from the previous movies I can see the next one ignoring Unicron entirely.