Is Hasbro Studios The Next Marvel Studios?

Hasbro isn’t exactly the first company that comes to mind when you think of movies. However, only a few years ago, Marvel wasn’t the first name that came to mind when you thought of movies, either.

Now that’s all changing. The success of Marvel Studios over the last few years has been nothing short of phenomenal. With films and their sequels like Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, and tentpole movies like the Avengers, and now Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Studios has placed an ironclad stamp on worldwide cinema.

But Hasbro Studios has been doing the same thing, albeit with far less fanfare. That may be changing as well.

According to Deadline, Josh Feldman of Genre Films has joined the entertainment division of Hasbro Studios. The toy company’s cinematic division even created a new position for the incoming Feldman; Head of Development. Feldman’s job will be to oversee the film division of Hasbro Studios with respect to both animated and live-action entertainment. Feldman will also closely monitor and coordinate with Hasbro’s television division.

Stephen Davis, Hasbro’s president, spoke of Josh Feldman’s interaction with the television department:

“He will work closely with the studio’s TV development, brand, design, digital and licensing teams to deliver full storytelling integration across our brand blueprint.”

Even if Hasbro wanted to remain blissfully ignorant of the effect its toys have had on two to three generations of kids, and even if Hasbro wanted to just license out the characters to filmmakers and collect the money on the back end, the recent success of films like Transformers: Age of Extinction make that very difficult. The fourth Transformers film has made almost a quarter of a billion dollars domestically to date according to Box Office Mojo. The film has cleared a billion bucks worldwide.

The money is there for the taking. Why not take control and get as involved as Marvel Studios has been in their own films?

Hasbro Studios is currently developing a number of its properties based on Hasbro toys and games. Those projects include G.I. Joe 3 and Transformers Universe at Paramount. Candy Land at Sony and Ouija and Jem and the Holograms at Universal.

G.I. Joe and Transformers are both titles that could endure just as many reboots down the road as Batman or Spider-Man. Imagine a script for a Transformers film that was actually good and concentrated more on the actual Transformers than comic relief in the form of Shia LeBeouf’s mom accidentally eating pot brownies or getting a glimpse of Megan Fox’s midriff.

Here’s hoping that Feldman is just as much of a fanboy when it comes to Hasbro as Kevin Feige is when it comes to Marvel.

images via spinoff.comicbookresources.com, Hasbro and Marvel