Written by Youtuber and Toy Reviewer Pixel Dan was at TOY FAIR 2026 this weekend and was able to ask Mattel what so many collectors have been wondering about… the future of Masterverse and Origins action figure lines.
MASTERVERSE:
Starting with Masterverse, if you recall, Mattel made the following statement to HE-MANIA.COM about the future of Masterverse on January 30th (the full report can be found HERE):
MATTEL TO HE-MANIA.COM on Jan 30 2026: "While there are still Masterverse action figures in the pipeline for 2026, we will be transitioning our core offering to Chronicles later this year. We will, however, also have a number of special releases planned within the Masterverse Vintage Collection. Stay tuned for more!"
MATTEL TO HE-MANIA.COM in regards to MASTERVERSE FIGURES IN 2027: "I can’t provide any more information at this time. You will receive information and updates as details are confirmed to be announced."
Well, this weekend, Pixel Dan was able to inquire about Masterverse with Mattel’s show rep Gus Farwell (Gus is not an actual employee of Mattel) and this is what Gus said:
DAN: Chronicles is replacing Masterverse right?
MATTEL REP: Not replacing.
DAN: Well Masterverse is over though, right?
MATTEL REP: Masterverse is taking a pause, let's just say that. I'm not saying it's over and done with but this (Chronicles) is definitely where MOTU is headed in the future.
Origins:
Dan was able to inquire about the future of Origins as well and there will fortunately be no pause:
DAN: Okay and then MOTU Origins is definitely still continuing.
MATTEL REP: 100%
Now we must caveat that apparently there will be a pause with Origins “mash-ups”, but when it comes to strictly Masters of the Universe: Origins figures, collectors shouldn’t experience a stoppage.
Be sure to check out Pixel Dan’s full video HERE.
We’ll see you next time!
Update: Article was corrected to reflect Gus was not an actual employee of Mattel.
I got no skin in the game though Dan is coming off that he wants Masterverse to be dead.
Normally I wouldn’t believe this pause shit but if Mattel is saying more is in the pipeline I can believe it. They want everything to be about the movie right now.
So from I think the logic Mattel is going with it “Masterverse is a collector line that covers almost the entire MOTU franchise. Chronicles only covers the new movie. The new movie will bring in a lot of new fans, thus we want to pour all our resources into making collector oriented movies figures both new and old fans will enjoy before very likely resuming on Masterverse."
Anyone else think that makes sense?
I’ve collected 21 Masterverse figures, DEFINITELY nowhere near as much as Origins, but if their gonna break on MV I think it’s good for those who still want to collect it and maybe wanna catch up per say on newer releases.
But maybe in the meantime it would be great if they could REISSUE some figures.
Seriously I used to think modern MOTU figures online scalping of figures over $60 was just about non-existent especially compared to Transformers, but no. New Eternia Trap Jaw costs around $70-110 on eBay and NE Mer Man can go up at the most averagely $180!
Do you guys think if they’re gonna break, they should reissue the more desired harder to get figures?
I would be surprised if Mattel reissued anything Masterverse. Releasing the same characters through a new line like the vintage collection is probably the closest they will come to a reissue.
Once a non movie figure hits the chronicles line, you will know the rest of the story. If they can save a penny making a smaller figure and have all you fools rebuy at a new size, of course they will go that route.
Just finish vintage already. Or NA origins!
@banthafett You’re very cynical.
I like it.
It’s dead Jim. It’ll be all Chronicles, Core to support the movie a d beyond and Origins.
SDCC will likely announce the 2nd and third waves for Chronicles and Core along with the playsets including Castle Grayskull in the fall.
@dgsimo Or the movie bombs. No one buys Chronicles. Mattel puts Chronicles on pause.
Too much wishful thinking imho. Mattel didn’t go through all the effort to design these new bucks only to make them dissapear again after they released the movie figures. Pretty sure the wording was something along the lines of “the new collector line moving forward". Masterverse is pretty much dead as far as I can tell. And it would really fit their pattern too, starting new lines all over the place to cash in on that initial rush.
Hmmm….
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Mattel chose not to incorporate the 2026 movie figures into Masterverse… that fact alone tells me that a return later on is unlikely.
With Mattel being a U.S. based company, I can see why they are ending MasterVerse. 6.5″ means less material costs than 7″ MasterVerse.
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@adam_prince-of-eternia The problem is that I seriously doubt most of this fandom will be receptive to this. Motu culture is all about the substance of these characters, specifically their muscular volume and width. And even if an attempt is made by Mattel to make up for it by reproducing the muscular structure in its own way, the failure that occurred in 1989, when the New Adventures of He-Man figures were a resounding flop, could well be repeated.
It does remind me of Jaguar suggesting they didn’t need their existing customers going forward and putting out THAT ad. Recent pop culture history too is littered with taking an existing fanbase as a given and producing the product around a new audience that really doesn’t exist for it. Or at least doesn’t actually pay for it to continue.
Once the excitement over the movie dies I can see Masterverse selling on Mattel Creation for a couple more years with two or three special releases a year. It will never be what it was, though.
CHRONICLES!
perfect scenario brother
All the wider fandom has to do is reject Chronicles wholesale. You so much as buy those movie figures and Mattel gets the wrong message completely. As I and others have said they’ve invested in this new scale, you have to force them to ditch it. But you watch people buy in just because it’s new and they’re addicted to collecting itself.
The movie bombing might not even be enough, sure everybody gets left with stock in that scenario, but how is that any different to Revelation/Revolution? It was the fans who sustained Masterverse and it’ll be them who decide if it continues by dismissing Chronicles. I mean Origins has a shelf life, Masterverse could be needed more than ever in pure Mattel terms (especially on their own store). But only if we push Chronicles away.
I’m not pointing fingers at anyone for their habits inherent to this hobby, but yes, this is precisely why Mattel may win again this time. Besides, the announced price for these figures is a strong argument in my opinion.
What is the price? In the UK MV hit £27 and these are the same on the one site that’s listed them.
@sketchyskeletor I heard $9.99 within the US for the First Ones, not sure if that applies for Chronicles as well.
I think Chronicles is 24.99, is that what Masterverse was? From what I gather it’s basically Shrinkflation, the figures get smaller but the price doesn’t change.
@sketchyskeletor Seriously, if that’s the case, then “Chronicles" should definitely be a deal-breaker. I mean, after years of collecting great, accurate figures, why settle for something that is literally reinterpreted and often unrecognizable? But, you know, I’m not really expecting much from how (casual) fans might react to it. I mean, it’s pretty much the same old story every time. Hype is the absolute “sword of power" nowadays.
Fully agree. I ignored my instincts on how MV was being handled and here we are… I won’t make that mistake again in even worse conditions!
The problem here is that according to the Mattel thought process, if fans don’t want chronicles, then fans don’t want any MOTU. Then we might be heading for another multi-year cleansing of all things MOTU.
I think Revelation MV sold just well enough to keep the line afloat in the beginning – thanks in part to the ridiculous amount of free press the show got… what with every single youtuber lambasting Kevin Smith and co. over his handling of the franchise.
I did have that thought but then… so what? Mattel have wrecked this brand consistently as adult fans gave them respect they never deserved. It’s been the same thing every time in every era of the brand – some short term thinking wanker makes a greedy decision instead of sticking with what provably worked.
Vintage – I need my bonus so we’re shipping old stock to meet targets *line goes off a cliff*
New Adventures – Those old figures were massive, let’s shrink them so they’re almost unrecognisable.
200x – Hey, He-Man and Skeletor ALWAYS sell, right?
Origins – Who cares who or where we ship it to so long as the spreadsheet numbers tally! MOAR of the big two!
Netflix CGI – What if we claimed to have action features but didn’t really and just put out loads of the leads? Again.
Masterverse – Hey, we’ll just keep putting out the same characters AND start endless new sublines like they do with comic books!
It’s never been the lack of fan support with MOTU at retail, it’s always some complete dickhead at Mattel treating it as a patsy for their own gain somehow within the company. That’s why Classics was such an anomaly, it couldn’t be gamed in the traditional ways.
So yeah, apart from it’s initial heyday it’s now a brand for adults because nothing truly worked long enough due to greed. And we always get treated like a domestic by Mattel. Let them rot, as Frank said. It’s never getting better than Origins and Classics/Masterverse for us and kids won’t ever buy action figures in great numbers again. Time has moved on, that’s the brutal truth.
Mattel stops making Masterverse POP to start making Masterverse New Etheria so they can stop it all.
One caveat about this discussion is that hardcore fans are not enough to sustain a line. It was with the subscription Classics, but that was much smaller numbers.
I feel all this multi-year MOTU push being precisely the thing they are trying to revive the brand in a wider sense, which is incredibly hard. For the wider public, the brand hasn’t existed since 200X. It takes so much investment. Even taking into consideration the movie might fail, but still will get lots of exposure for MOTU.
You need casual collectors and random people to pick up a figure at Walmart, in order to sustain a world-wide retail line.
Apparently this stop and go approach, with refreshes and new lines, together with the movie, is what they think will help to make some inroads. Wether they are right, is a different matter…
While I find these new Chronicles figures well made, I wish they were MV scale. I am heartbroken about MV and hope they will continue some small releases.
This is one of the main reasons I opted to get on board with Mondo and their incredible 200X line. I’m sick and tired of Mattel’s desperate attempts to revive a brand from a specific era while causing collateral damage time and time again. This roller coaster has definitely taken its toll on me. I no longer trust their ability to satisfy me as a customer, let alone as a collector. The last straw for me was realizing that they might not even finish the famous “eight backs." Beast Man has yet to be added, and as the trend goes these days, I guess you know where I’m coming from. In conclusion, I’ll add that I plan to continue collecting Motu, but only if Mattel is no longer the primary manufacturer. There are many great companies around, such as Super7, Mezco, and Storm Collectibles. As for Mondo, I hope their boldness drives them deeper into the rabbit hole. They may reactivate the pure vintage nostalgia button once they’re finished with the reinvented MYP characters. I’d be perfectly fine with that, judging by how great they look at 1:6 scale. I’m just pessimistic about the prospect of ever seeing our Princesses of Power and New Adventures characters revisited by anyone again. It’s such a shame, considering how great the potential is for both franchises, design-wise.
@onlyoneskeletor I have a lot of Storm Toys Mortal Kombat figures, they are great, but I think they ended the line or something like that, now I see McFarlane is doing MK figures…I have a question for those of you who have MOTU Classics…do they fit with Masterverse ? I cant figure out the size of MOTUC, some of them look smaller than MV some of them look the same size idk…for example, I was thinking about buying MOTUC Saurod…will he fit next to MV Blade ? or will MOTUC Modulok fit in the MV Horde ?..will MOTUC figures fit nicely or they will obviously stand out ? not belonging there…you know what I mean…
same question is for Mondo’s new line…I know they are expensive but maybe buying few of those won’t hurt, just to complete the MV collection…or maybe wait to see what will these mutts from Mattel decide to do with MV…dilemma
@yen1893 I can guarantee that the MOTUC and MV figures on my shelves harmonize very well with each other!
Agreed.
Plus, Saurod is one of the best MOTUC figures in the line! He is awesome!
(As a matter of fact, the William Stout collection are the best figures Super7 has ever made.)