By Gary Symons TLL Editor in Chief Talk about a rough week at the office. Toy giant Hasbro says it will no longer produce any toys featuring former Mandalorian star Gina Carano, who plays the part of the popular character Cara Dune. Carano was fired from her role in the hit Disney+ series after posting a series of controversial social media messages, she was dropped by her agents at United Talent Agency, and now licensed toy merchandise is also being discontinued. “The Star Wars Black Cara Dune figure was released in 2020 and sold out not long after the inventory was received,” a spokeswoman for BigBadToyStore told The Hollywood Reporter in a Monday email. “Hasbro planned for another production run and we were accepting preorders from that production run. Due to recent events,… . . . read more
NRG Survey Reveals Top 20 Entertainment Franchises
By Gary Symons Editor in Chief, The Licensing Letter If you’re in licensing, your job depends on picking the winning brands and franchises that people will want to see in their toys, clothing and various retail products. National Research Group just made that job easier, releasing their list of the most successful and popular franchises in the entertainment industry, according to an exclusive report from Variety. The massive survey saw NRG conducting more than 350,000 interviews about 700 different entertainment franchises to discover which were considered the “most bold, inspiring and thought provoking by US consumers.” When the dust settled, it came as little surprise that Disney and its Marvel subsidiary dominated the Top 20 results with no fewer than 70 per cent of the list. Netflix came in a… . . . read more