Funko: 3 more licenses that should get Pop!-ified
Funko has made a slew of announcements of new collections of Pop!s for the New York Toy Fair, but these three properties deserve lines of their own.
Keeping up with all the announcements coming out of the New York Toy Fair has been exhausting, even if you just follow Funko. Yes, the makers of the ubiquitous Pop!s have expanded their range yet again, with new lines for Smallville, Ready Player One, Atomic Blonde … the list seriously goes on and on.
But even with all of those announcements, that doesn’t mean that Funko has covered every inch of the pop culture world with cute, stylized toys, and that’s a problem. (Well, okay, it’s probably not a problem if you’re trying to resist buying one and starting off a domino effect. It’s real. This writer’s been there.)
That being said, we’ve gone with one obvious and two less-obvious options that deserve to get Pop!ped.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Everyone knows that Solo: A Star Wars Story will get a line of Pop! figures. Star Wars is a pretty lucrative franchise, and Funko has had a lot of fun in the past few years making figures spanning all eras. However, we’re a long way from the early days of Funko. More recent Pop! figures have been more detailed than ever before, and also simply look better in terms of construction.
What we’re saying is that Funko can definitely do better with the Donald Glover version of Lando Calrissian than the older, relatively pricey Pop! based on Billy Dee Williams’ version of the character. Whether or not the company can capture all of Glover’s charm remains to be seen, but we think it’ll be close enough.
Additionally, new characters like Qi’ra need some representation, too. Her multiple hairstyles and outfits as seen in LEGO leaks and the teaser above prove that she’s an easy choice for chase or exclusive variants.
Nintendo
With the news that Nintendo is working on a movie for the Super Mario franchise, that means that merchandising is about to skyrocket. Funko has made Pop! lines for Illumination properties before like Despicable Me and The Secret Life of Pets. While Nintendo would have to also grant the license, it’s another way of advertising.
Let’s face it, if there were The Legend of Zelda Pop! figures also available, or Metroid, or other properties, it’d be a new revenue stream for people who haven’t been tempted by amiibo. Pop!s are usually also easier to find and don’t usually sell out immediately. Besides, just the different Links from Zelda alone could constitute their own lines, and that’s before you get into Majora’s Mask and its 24 distinct masks. (Hey, the Giant’s Mask could result in a Super-Sized Pop!)
GLOW
The eye-popping costumes of Netflix’s GLOW would absolutely lend themselves well to miniaturized versions, and since season 2 is arriving later this year on Netflix, it’s a perfect time to get them in the works.
Sure, it might not be a cultural phenomenon on the level of Stranger Things, but, to be fair, very few things are. Additionally, if Bright of all movies can get a collection of Pop!s, then the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling can certainly do the same.
Who wouldn’t want Zoya the Destroya on their desk, looking both adorable and reminding them that there’s always new opportunity out there, even if it means you have to go by a moniker like Zoya the Destroya?
Next: 3 guesses for Netflix's The Innocents
What do you want Funko to make a Pop! line of, or are you just satisfied collecting the hundreds that are already out there?