Mattel has won back the rights to make Disney Princess toys.
Mattel had been making toys based on the Disney Princess line, including the popular Frozen franchise, for 20 years. The toy manufacturer, however, lost the Disney Princess license to its rival company Hasbro in 2016, causing a period of financial troubles at Mattel and multiple executive turnovers within the company.
But on Wednesday, Mattel president and chief operating officer Richard Dickson proudly announced that they have recouped the rights to make Disney Princess toys, with brand new items set to become available for purchase at the beginning of 2023. Mattel said that its Disney Princess business will be managed by the same group that oversees its Barbie franchise.
Mattel’s new Disney Princess licensing deal includes rights to toys from the live-action remakes of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, and Cinderella. It also expands the toymaker’s existing licensing relationship with Disney for Pixar Animation Studios’ Toy Story and Cars franchises, as well as the recently announced global licensing agreement for the Toy Story spinoff Lightyear, which is set to open in U.S. theaters on June 17th.
Though Hasbro lost the rights to Disney Princess toys, the company remains a Disney licensing partner. In fact, Hasbro separately announced on Wednesday that it has renewed its deal with Disney’s Lucasfilm studio to make toys based on the hugely popular Star Wars franchise.
Hasbro also revealed that it will again make toys based on Disney’s Indiana Jones franchise ― something that the toymaker hasn’t done since 2008. New Indiana Jones toys will hit shelves in 2023 to align with the theatrical release of the yet-to-be-titled fifth Indiana Jones movie, starring Harrison Ford.
Hasbro is also making toys based on several characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as part of a multi-year licensing deal with Disney’s Marvel Studios, which was extended in 2020.