Playmates Reveals First Wave Of 'Star Trek: Prodigy' Toys
| February 18, 2022 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 52 comments so far
After being away for over a decade, Playmates Toys is back in the Star Trek business, revealing their first wave of upcoming toys and figures last month. And today they revealed their first releases tied to Star Trek: Prodigy.
Prodigy characters coming in the fall
Each member of the main cast of characters will be getting a figure:
Dal R'El with Murf
Gwyn
Jankom Pog
Hologram Janeway
Rok-Tahk (coming early 2023)
The first group of Prodigy figures, available later in 2022.
We don't have an image of Hologram Janeway or Rok-Tahk yet, and there's no news (yet) about figures of the antagonists of Prodigy—The Diviner and Dreadnok.
More details from Playmates
The five-inch, 1:14 scale figures will feature 14 points of articulation and come packaged in a brand-new blister pack style designed exclusively for the Star Trek: Prodigy toy line.
"We are excited to be bringing Star Trek: Prodigy toys and accessories home to families for the first time. This new lineup we are unveiling is highly focused on playability—we want kids to take the toys out of the packaging and engage in imaginative play as if they were part of the Star Trek world themselves," said Karl Aaronian, senior vice president, Playmates Toys.
The action figures will be available at online retailers beginning in October 2022 and on store shelves in spring 2023. New Star Trek: Prodigy ships, vehicles, and role play toys will be available later in 2023.
Keep up with Star Trek merchandise news and reviews at TrekMovie.com.
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Does this tie-in to Prodigy release date on Nickelodeon? If so, then that would make sense why these toys are coming out much later than their release dates on Paramount +.
They do look pretty good so far, though.
It might coincide with the first 10 episodes coming to Nickelodeon, but it also should be around the time the second 10 episodes of season one start up on Paramount+
Blondie-Wan
Reply to Matt Wright
This is tangential to the action figures, but… around October for the back half of the season?! Bleah. I was hoping for July or so.
Ah, well, can't rush the good stuff, or it won't be as good. But blast it, I'm enjoying this show, and was hoping to get more of it sooner!
Reply to Blondie-Wan
Lower Decks season 3 is expected to debut in August. So in theory PRO should come back when that finishes. I agree, I'd like to see more sooner. It's a great show.
It hadn't even occurred to me that it might come back that late. I was kind of looking forward to having both shows simultaneously for a few weeks (as they've already shown they're willing to have seasons of some of the show's occasionally overlap a bit). But oh well; first-world problem, I know.
It is indeed a great show.
RockstarED
It's also become more common in recent years not to release major products at the launch of a new TV Series. Movies are one thing, but with an ongoing series it's less risky: you can wait to see if the show is a hit first.
Let's face it: Prodigy was no sure thing when it was announced and even when it started "airing." It's turned into a pleasant surprise, so now they can probably get more orders on wave 1 than if they'd try to sell it to stores beforehand.
I'd have thought Rok and Murf would be the obvious pairing for a two-pack. Dal and Murf together seems a bit odd.
Still, nice to see they're doing these! I hope they do well, and that some go to actual kids who'll enjoy them.
Bamasi
key word being "some"
Reply to Bamasi
Oh, no question; it's pretty much a given that a certain percentage of the sales of any sort of Trek merch, even toys aimed at kids, will go to adult fans. I just do hope some of these find their ways into kids' hands, and that those kids enjoy them.
Shadowknight1
Probably because Rok is going to take up a huge package on her own.
Narratively yes, but given Rok-Tok's size, that's a lot of product to put in one package, both in terms physical of size (and cost to package, ship, etc) and cost of raw materials.
Packaging it with one of the smaller figures makes a lot more sense from a production standpoint.
Reply to RockstarED
I mean, that's my point – Rok-Tahk is likely to be a fair bit larger than the others, while Murf is smaller. If the two are packaged together, the total product and its packaging could be about the same size and cost as any two of the other figures.
Also, don't discount that Dal is the "main" character and so perhaps they want to give him a bit extra. But yeah, size is probably an issue.
Ambassador Kollos
Hoot, hoot!
charles fredrick williamson
Will Zero induce madness if you open the packaging
Reply to charles fredrick williamson
Riker Googling
Masefield
I want my Protostar!!
Reply to Masefield
I second that demand!
Vantheman77
I plan to get these.
I hope you'll be getting the Protostar! And I'm an adult! :-D
Brandon Giles
I was pleasantly surprised to see these announced so soon. I have a really good feeling about these and I hope this Playmates line will run for as long as Kenner then Hasbro's Star Wars line. I think these are going to be the right mix of fun for kids and collectors. I'm still finding negative comments out there from so called "fans". I hope those responsible for bringing this back can tune out that negativity because everything I have seen so far is right inline with what many of us have been hoping to get back to all along. A lot of Playmates flip-flopping on scales was to give some of those same complainers what they supposedly wanted anyway. The 5 inch original scale and playsets was a winning combination right from the start and fortunately for us Playmates is running with it once again!
Reply to Brandon Giles
No way it will, Star Trek's never had the merchandising appeal of Star Wars, even less so now with nuTrek.
Reply to Lukas
I said I hope. That doesn't mean that I am saying it will. Star Trek has been around longer than Star Wars it may not move the same amount of merchandise but it's foolish to dismiss it altogether. I used to be more of a Star Wars fan but came to the realization that Star Trek is the thinking person's sci-fi playground. Star Wars didn't understand what a Parsec was. Sequel trilogy Star Wars has dummied it up even more by implying that hyperdrives apparently need to fuel up between jumps. I feel confident that more astronauts, engineers and rocket scientists were influenced by Star Trek than Star Wars and the real technology is what they are into now.
Locutus
I agree about the scale, although I am one of those that find some of the "re-issued" figures with new likenesses disappointments. Particularly Data, whose head looks like a doll, STII Spock whose face looks like a white-walker or Tales from the Crypt, and STII Kirk. Saru, Picard, and Khan's likenesses are great though and I might have to pick up those!
Reply to Locutus
I'll reserve judgment on likeness on the final figure. I found McFarlane missed the mark on his Picard figure. I'm not trying to say that these are perfect, but they do seem to be fun toys. A whole generation has missed out on having Star Trek toys. That's the thing I think people are missing. With Star Wars there are cheap build a saber sets and Mission Fleet for kids. Then there's the Black Series and Master Replicas for more discriminating adult collectors. I'm sure that just like back when I was younger there might be some kid that's thinking that Enterprise is a cool looking ship or Cerritos or Protostar. Eagle Moss, QMX or even DST isn't going to be something readily available for a child. That's why these need to be available in Walmart and Target again. Collectible Pizza Cutters aren't going to lead to new generations of collectors we need the ridiculous Spock helmets too. I hope Playmates will generate enough of a good buzz that we can get those higher end collectors figures. These different product types can coexist.
Wehmut
Won't work. Prodigy is that dark and brutal you can't watch it with children below age of 12. And the older ones won't get the toys. So…maybe some hardcore fans.
I really love the show, but its nothing for children. So sad.
Reply to Wehmut
This show is one you call dark and brutal? Star Trek: Prodigy, seriously?
Josiah Rowe
My 10- and 7-year-old daughters love the show. And their 3-year-old sister loves Murf, who she calls "Blobby."
Yes, there are some dark themes — but have you ever read a fairy tale? Children need some darkness in their stories.
"Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon." —G.K. Chesterton
Reply to Josiah Rowe
This might be true for fairy tales because the mind of the children are setting up the images in their mind with pictures they already had. So if there are no dark images there a child always will imagine even the darkest tale a bit (or more) milder to that degree that the children can handle it. With tv its different as the images come along with the tale and those images in Prodigy are very dark and frightining. I can only advise you not to watch that show with your little children because you will put images in his mind which will also make the tales you tell them more dark then before. Its dreams also.
LOL where do you live? Prodigy is a very tame show for kids, especially for today. It's rated Y-7 for a reason.
Eric Cheung
I'd be curious to hear examples of the excessively dark imagery in the show.
Fred Javelina
April 4, 2022 12:30 pm
There's nothing in Prodigy that's more frightening than any Disney animated movie or the creators' previous series, Trollhunters. In fact I'd say some Disney movies are *more* frightening!
To me, "very dark" means people die all the time, there is cruelty for cruelty's sake, and explicit onscreen violence.
I've watched the entire series and no-one has died, no-one has been cruel 'just because', and maybe the kids get bumps and bruises, but they always manage to escape danger. If it was a series aimed at adults, that wouldn't be the case.
The antagonist has a driving reason as to why he wants the Protostar, it's because he's trying to save his civilization, not conquer the universe. So he's doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. I'm pretty sure he will have some sort of redemption arc. That's hopeful, and a good message for kids.
There is nothing 'dark' about this show and it's definitely suitable for young kids. I have no idea what shows you watched as a kid, but I grew up on Transformers, G.I. Joe, He-Man etc. Those were violet and brutal shows at times and kids loved them.
Reply to Tiger2
Yeah, I remember the days when rock ballads used to open kids cartoons and those were usually much better than the drivel they put out as cartoons these days. Besides most of them had like a lesson or social message at the end of the episodes and those were actually important.
If kids love a show or not is not a good measure as they also do love sweets and those are not healthy too. I also have grown up with show like tom and jerry where a lot of brutal things happen to it but the atmosphere always is bright. The atmosphere in Prodigy is very frightening sometimes and that you don't recognize that makes me worry. There is an ongoing brutalization in media in form of wording and atmosphere and Star Trek always had been the beacon in the dark. But right now we are nothing different as most of the other dark sci-fi-shows. I think the autors just don't know anymore how to write light, funny and smart. Or the showrunners are frightened they might lose audience if they don't glue it with some dark atmosphere.
We would have likely waited until our kids were 9 or so, but then we paid close attention to what they reacted to and knew what would be disturbing for them.
However, while there is dark content in there, Prodigy is not a graphically grim show. For some younger kids that makes a difference.
It was a sad day when Playmates got the license back, their figures and role play toys don't come anywhere close to AA/DST in terms of quality and accuracy.
While you are lamenting the loss of a line that has long since abandoned ship. There are plenty of us that are going to be buying up plenty of the Playmates stuff. Your loyalty to DST sure went far in getting us that Reliant and Enterprise C didn't it?
So youre willing to set a low bar and settle for toys made by folks stuck in the 80s. People that settle for garbage are the reason we get garbage. DST was for adults that enjoyed quality reproductions. Yes, they were slow but that doesnt mean you settle for a lower standard.
Reply to Don
Nobody's saying DST, McFarlane Toys, Super7, NECA or anyone else for that matter can't also license and create their own line. I like many other people who collected and enjoyed Playmates figures in the 90's and still proudly display these in my collection, welcome the chance to fill in all those holes with figures that match those I already have. If DST decides to finally give us that Mayweather bridge set or that lost Borg wave along with the Reliant and Enterprise C, I say bring it too. I'm not alone in liking retro style figures and by no means am I setting a low bar. I buy what I like and I don't hate on other collectors. The success or failure of any line of Star Trek product does determine what gets made so hopefully this kicks off good with kids. There are way more than enough Star Trek Pizza Cutters!
How accessible to kids were DST's offerings?
For years, unless you had a local comic shop and went to it frequently most people that were Star Trek fans had no idea that there was a line of Star Trek action figures. These were not in Walmart, Target or Toys R Us even until about the JJ Abrams movie and that really cruddy 2009 Playmates toy launch. I can't really blame people for being cautious this time around but I really think Playmates is going to be very careful not to repeat that failure. I would say if you have reservations to anything that's been shown contact Playmates Toys or Varner Studios and give courteous commentary about what your views are and what you want to see. The team representing Star Trek there are great about replying back to you promptly. I have contacted them frequently and they are really just fans too.
This, Quality over Quantity.
It is not reasonable to expect a nine-year-old to pay two hundred bucks for an action figure they'll play with and lose in the yard. For this show in particular, there has to be affordable merchandise that is aimed at kids who will actually play with it, not just high-end collectibles aimed at adult fans who'll treat figures purely as objet d'nerdery display pieces.
I don't understand the thought process behind not having the entire crew be part of the first wave. Wouldn't you want kids to be busting at the seams trying to get Santa to bring 'em an entire set for Christmas?
Yeah that makes no sense to me
I'm sure the pandemic probably had a hand in pushing back some of the production a little bit. Rok-Tahk is surely going to be a larger product and Hologram Janeway might require a different semi-translucent plastic. All of these issues no doubt go into the process.
I'm wondering if the maquette for Rok-tahk wasn't good enough to meet the (seemingly not high) standards of Paramount licensing.
If it was a choice between holding up the entire launch or waiting on a sufficiently acceptable Rok-tahk, I can see that Nickelodeon and Paramount+ would want to get something out before the 2022 holiday season.
Reply to TG47
It could be something as simple as having to find a way to secure the bubble to the card and reinforcing the peg holder. Rok-Tahk is going to be a significantly larger figure in five inch scale. Our little lady is built like a tank. That figure is going to be a sizable chunk of plastic!
If they're smart they'll make Janeway the "Build a Figure" (I still can't believe Toy Biz never patented or copyrighted that concept).
Force Trekkies to buy the whole series to get Janeway.
So, here is what I would like to see with Prodigy toys:
A stretchy Murph
Role play tricorder with button that releases the spring-loaded transparent screen up with lights and sounds and can record some voice.
Magnetic comm-badges
A Protostar ship that can "transform" into proto-warp mode and contain a small bridge for smaller figures
The Zero figure should light-up & have removable legs and clear flight stand
Jankom should be able to launch his cybernetic hand attached to a string
Just some thoughts. If it's a show directed towards kids, then the toys should have more playability than just standard articulated action figures.
Shouldn't Gwyn be somewhat taller than Dal? Or is that the way the figures are shot here?