Interview: Hasbro Talks Marvel Legends Line, Plans for 2019

Hasbro's Marvel Legends line is undoubtedly one of the most popular toy lines on the market today. For over a decade now, Hasbro has been producing these six-inch figures, which are assuredly a mainstay in nearly every collector's display. 

2019 will see Marvel celebrating it's 80th year of publishing and the release of three huge films for Marvel Studios. Ryan Ting (Global Brand Manager for Hasbro) talked to PREVIEWSworld ToyChestto let us know how they plan to honor the occasion. 

This interview is published in the February PREVIEWS catalog. Take a look at all the Marvel Legends figures you can pick up at your local comic shop.

Marvel Legends is obviously one of the most popular toy lines on the market… But, in your own words, what makes this line unique and/or special?

Marvel Legends has an amazing legacy and helped to establish the highly articulated and detailed 6-inch figure scale back in 2002. Hasbro has been producing Marvel Legends 6-inch figures for over a decade, and the dedicated fans and collectors who are passionate about the line are what make it so special. We are continuously looking for ways to elevate our products and have expanded our Marvel Legends line to include premium role play, 6-inch scale vehicles, and PhotoReal technology which provides a new way to capture actor likenesses in our 6-inch figures. With each wave of movie-based or comic-inspired figures, the continued excitement from fans who rally around this line is truly one-of-a-kind.

Could you give us some insight into the design process? How does a figure go from an idea to the product we see in the packaging?

Thanks to Hasbro’s new PhotoReal technology and our close partnership with Disney and Marvel Studios, we’re able to get incredible studio reference in order to capture the intricacies of each actor’s likeness for our 6-inch movie figures. The process starts with a 3D sculpt of the head and face as we do with most figures. Using digital photo reference provided to us by the Studio teams to capture the intricacies of each actor’s likeness, we’re able to use this technique to apply those intricate details to the faces of the figures through a digital inkjet printing technique.

Obviously, there are tons of characters represented in the Marvel Legends lineup. But how is the decision made which characters to portray?

Hasbro strives to create new Marvel Legends figures that reflect the amazing variety of heroes and villains seen in Marvel films, comics, and animated series. Typically, the Marvel characters featured in current movies and animated series tend to be the most popular, but there are thousands of characters in the comic universe that die-hard fans want to collect as well. Across design, engineering, marketing and packaging, the Marvel Legends development team members are all passionate fans of Marvel, so we try to keep the diverse interests of all fans in mind when deciding which figures to create. The Marvel Legends global fan community is so enthusiastic, and we take that feedback into consideration as well.

Has the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel’s Netflix shows helped influence which characters you decide to portray?

As the Marvel Universe continues to expand, we’re excited to introduce new characters to the Marvel Legends line to support upcoming entertainment releases for both the big and small screen. In 2018 Marvel Legends celebrated Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years and released several first-time Legends figures for fan favorite characters. We continue to look for opportunities to help fans fill the gaps in their cinematic collections. Hasbro is dedicated to creating products that we think fans will be excited about, and we look forward to revealing new waves of comic and movie figures in 2019.

Hasbro has now produced the line for over a decade… What changes/improvements have been made over these 10+ years?

Hasbro is constantly striving to improve our products for fans and collectors. Over the last 10+ years, we have expanded the Marvel Legends line to include various scales of comic and movie figures and have made large design strides to create the highly detailed and articulated figures that collectors desire. We also introduced PhotoReal digital printing technology in 2017 and have received positive feedback to this new approach for movie-based figures. The Marvel Legends premium role play line now offers fans 1:1 adult-sized items with electronic features inspired by live action entertainment such as the 2018 Avengers Infinity Gauntlet and Black Panther helmet. 

The big excitement for Marvel is obviously the release of Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame in the coming months… Can you talk about what Hasbro has in store to celebrate these films?

We just released a new wave of Marvel Legends 6-inch movie figures in celebration of Captain Marvel featuring characters such as Captain Marvel, Talos, Nick Fury, and Yon-Rogg. We’ve been working hard to craft some really great figures to support the impressive slate of Marvel entertainment this year, and fans can stay tuned for exciting new additions to the Marvel Legends line throughout 2019. For the latest news on upcoming Marvel Legends products, check out Hasbro Pulse.