1. So... slow question week?
--Let's say you

I've been doing this for a while, and usually there tends to be a flurry of activity here. There aren't always a ton of questions, but there's a new movie coming, a new TV show on right now, new toys hitting store shelves, but weirdly there doesn't seem to be a lot of new excitement. It's a little scary seeing fans slowly go from cranky to indifferent. Expectations for the new movie seem very mid, but the budget was also a lot lower.

With any luck, Actionverse will make kids who watch the show and see the movie happy. The Vintage Collection and The Black Series are in a weirdly slow period - pretty much all non-exclusive pre-orders have been delivered for the former, and we've got only one wave on deck for the latter. More reveals are coming, but it's kind of eerily slow for what was once the biggest licensed property in the business. I'm vaguely reminded of 2019 Triple Force Friday, which had a new kid line along with small waves from the new movie and a little support for a TV show and one video game figure.

That line-up didn't feel so good.

But we're starting to see the marketing kick in. Over the past week I've seen three of the bigger Walmarts roll out Masters of the Universe movie toys (I regret to inform you the kid stuff is amazing for $10 a pop) next to some cool stuff in big The Mandalorian and Grogu displays that seem to be rolling out early. More Blokees join a $48 popcorn bucket with free movie money. This is, of course, the opposite of free. The Mandalorian and Grogu display was only in one store, and it was a medium-sized affair.

Weirdly, The Mandalorian and Grogu merchandise faces stiff competition from itself - I'm seeing $5 masks and other discounted items from previous years at Ross and other places toys go to die. The abundance of "let's do Grogu again" products seem to be last-generation thinking. Is it good for shoppers in that store, that day, who wants to buy that item? Absolutely. But the millions of online shoppers have dozens of Funko Grogu figures on Amazon, many of which sell at a lower price.

Mercifully, the movie will probably succeed (or not) on its own merits. Maybe it'll drive new fans to buy toys - after all, this is now kind of an old series. The Mandalorian and Grogu started in 2019, and it's 2026. To compare that to the olden days, Star Wars came out in 1977 and seven years later would be 1984, when interest in Star Wars was really trending down. I hope this movie will keep people interested in these characters, mostly because there's no reason these stories have to end. You have a puppet and a suit of armor that can be recast for ages and keep pumping out adventures if you want, unlike a lot of other stories where you have to worry about someone getting old or otherwise outgrowing the role.

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2. What does the level of confidence feel like for the new movie?
--Nobody

It seems that the stuff is getting out there for the normies. Which may be the problem - I see kid clothing at Walmart near the toy aisle, as well as the popcorn buckets and classic Blokees and a smattering of odd choices in the collector figure brands. It feels like they're expecting a brief hit, and they want to be ready in case it's a hit. I don't know if there's a plan for any follow-through yet, and it seems many stores already sold out of a lot of Mando stuff. And are getting more in, sometimes. I went to a lot of stores over the past week.

We're not hearing any news of record-breaking ticket pre-sales, despite tickets having gone on sale. We're also seeing free tickets with popcorn buckets in stores, which I don't usually notice by the toy aisle - but I do remember getting free tickets with Blu-Rays for Toy Story and Aliens vs. Predator and some other franchises as they start to get a little creakier and need more support. It feels like we might be there here, because today's 5-year-old wasn't born when the series started and little kids ask for a lot of toys. They're going to need sheets and backpacks and school supplies, so with any luck the movie will make some kids want to play with this stuff. It feels like the program is the size of a mid-tier Marvel movie, though, so I guess we'll have to wait and see how this is going. We got a surprisingly good amount of stuff for The Acolyte a couple of years ago and apparently that's suddenly popular all of a sudden. While I love the team behind it, I found it kind of painful to watch in spots. (Singing is hard to get right.) People are watching the show. If they can make it to Ross there are some very affordable toys to be had.

I feel there's far more interest in the new Spider-Man movie right now, but maybe that's just because of the toy launch/reveal last week. It would seem unlikely that fans of a TV show would leap with excitement over - what is it, the 28th installment of their hero's adventures? I'm guaranteed to see this movie, but I can't exactly say I'm buzzing with anticipation because I also have 3 1/2 seasons of adventures I could watch right now if I wanted to. Hopefully everybody else is similarly interested, but just not bouncing off the walls because it's another installment in an ongoing series.

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FIN

We are out of questions for next week. We were for this week too. Send 'em if you got 'em!

Maul: Shadow Lord is ramping up! That's good. We're still seeing a lot of familiar faces, but (I'm not spoiling anything since there's a figure) Marrok showed up and is mixing things up a bit by being, well, exactly what you expect from an Inquisitor. Two new episodes are about to go live, so it is kind of a shame Hasbro no longer pushes things like a Maul in every wave to make sure he's on shelves for the newbies. Granted, there is a lot of literal whitespace in toy aisles right now across the board - all the stores seem to be continuing to be careful. The season ends during the first week of May, and then at the end of the May, we've got a movie. And we've got toys you can buy. This is a good thing.

One thing notably absent is a lot of vehicles - you might find some Micro Galaxy Squadron stuff, but I'm not seeing a lot of those die-cast metal ships we previously got from Hot Wheels or Titanium Series. Mattel isn't doing the Star Wars-wrapped cars like we got for most of the previous movies either - that's a shame, I like those. Other than a LEGO polybag and the blind box Micro Galaxy Squadron, there isn't much under ten bucks at all. It's a weird market for kids, unless you're shopping at Ross or the occasional comic shop. There are a lot of fun things you can buy on the cheap if you don't already have them, and I think any fan with $100 who hasn't been a completist could have a great time right now.

I hope you're having a great time looking at the new stuff hitting, and with May the 4th and a movie I just know there will be more things to check out. And I am hoping Target's The Retro Collection set will hit soon, I'm itching to buy some more Kenner guys.

--Adam Pawlus

Got questions? Email me with Q&A in the subject line now! I'll answer your questions as soon as time (or facts) permit.

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