Early in 2021, Playmates announced that it had entered into an agreement with Paramount Consumer Products to produce new toys based on the Star Trek Universe, including classic shows, movies, and new series streaming on YouTube. Paramount +. Playmates previously produced Star Trek games during the height of the franchise’s popularity in the 1990s, including games based on Star Trek: The Next GenerationAnd the Star Trek: Deep Space NineAnd the Star Trek: Voyager. While the new line may be a wave of nostalgia for old fans, especially with characters celebrating an anniversary next generation And the Star Trek II: The Wrath of KhanPlaymates also released their first action figures based on the Star Trek: Discovery And the he have Star Trek: Miracle On the road that is sure to entice new and young fans.
ComicBook.com had the opportunity to email Playmates VP of Marketing John Stelmzer some questions about what’s to come from the Playmates’ continued foray back into the Star Trek franchise. Here’s what he had to say, along with some images of samples of the first wave of Star Trek toys, which our Playmates sent us to check out:
I’m sure all decisions about your business are business decisions in the end, but is there something sentimental about Playmates making Star Trek games again? Something special given the company’s history with the drug?
First, Star Trek is an enduring entertainment franchise and Playmates Toys are always honored to be a part of. We’re all Star Trek fans here at Playmates. There’s so much in the Star Trek Universe, both classic and new, this is the time to re-introduce fans to what fellows can bring from our unique history with Star Trek and commitment to detail, while still offering the best value.
Star Trek has a wealth of iconic characters and moments from its classic shows and movies to draw from, plus plenty of new shows and new characters currently on Paramount+. The first wave of numbers contains a mixture of the two. What is your approach/strategy/philosophy when it comes to balancing the company’s focus between the old and the new?
One of the greatest things about Star Trek is the depth of the fantastic characters. There is nothing off the table in terms of numbers that we might do in the future. We’re excited to start exploring all the great new entertainment content, but we also want to re-introduce some of the all-time classic characters from TV shows and movies. This year is the 40th anniversary of Khan’s anger And the 35th anniversary of next generation So it was important to deliver those numbers right out of the gate. We also have two numbers from the new hit show Discovery. For future waves, we hope to continue to build on a good mix of the classic and the new.
I love the attention to detail in the shapes, especially the accessory choices. The book that comes with Michael Burnham is a particularly nice touch. Can you tell us anything about the process of selecting/designing/selecting shape accessories, and what are the big picture goals that guide those choices?
For classic looks, we’re recreating the accessories we used in the ’90s. We had to re-carve these old accessories since none of the old tools were present. Our goal with Classic was to keep everything looking so retro, save for the improved details in figure sculpting, articulation, and deco. For figures based on the new shows, we of course wanted to have the standard Starfleet edition accessories but we wanted each to have a very important personal accessory for who these characters are.
What are the company’s plans when it comes to the 1701 line from the good old days? Are limited editions, or even just convention exclusives, on the table?
This time we will not be offering any limited editions outside of some potential conventions or comic exclusives.
Obviously action figures based on the character would feel like the backbone of the line, however project The model is very cool, and my two children and I really enjoyed playing with the phaser. How important are ship models and role-playing toys to the larger Star Trek line? Do we expect models from project-D and Voyager or even deep space 9 underline?
Ships and other vehicles will be a huge part of the Star Trek offerings. It’s also important that we not only get the model right, but also incorporate the original lights and sounds. We’re looking at other classic and new ships, including other versions of the project And other ships we’re adding to our line as we speak. In the Star Trek Universe, ships are so important that they are really like other characters, so they will always be important to us and the fans.
For role playing, there are main iconic weapons and other accessories that we plan to develop. Phasers, Communicators, Tricorders, etc.
With your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line, we’ve seen a lot of crossovers with other properties, such as Cobra KaiAnd the Street FighterAnd the Weird things. Is there potential for a Star Trek crossover? Could we see something like the old TMNT x Star Trek games either remade or updated?
We don’t plan on collaborating right now, but you never know where both franchises could take us in the future.
Finally, we’ve already seen previews of Star Trek: Miracle Kids Games. Any update on when we can expect to see those in stores? And can you say anything about the offerings that will be presented in the next batch of releases?
The Miracle Action Figures arrive this spring just in time for Easter. The first 4 characters will be Dal w/ Murf, Gwyn, Jankom Pog, and Zero. It will be available on all e-retail websites in March just to get started.
The first wave of new Star Trek toys from Playmates are now on sale. Could you You find many of them here at Entertainment Earth.
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