Summary
- Many toy movies in production after success of Barbie movie, including Polly Pocket and Monopoly.
- Seth Rogen recalls Ridley Scott’s Monopoly pitch from 15 years ago, inspiring a scene in his new series.
- Over a dozen toy movies confirmed in production, don’t expect them to match Barbie’s quality.
After the success of the Barbie movie in 2023, there was a rush to greenlight other toy movies in the hopes of seeing a similar slice of success. A Polly Pocket movie is said to be in the works, while Barbie star Margot Robbie herself is producing a movie based on Monopoly. But according to Seth Rogen, he and Ridley Scott nearly beat her to the punch by 15 years.
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Rogen says he remembers the pitch “verbatim”, and that it inspired a shot in his new series, The Studio. “It was a meeting with Ridley Scott,” Rogen told Variety. “He was going to direct the ‘Monopoly’ movie, and me and Evan [Goldberg] went into his office and he said, ‘Imagine a helicopter shot of Central Park. You’re looking down on it from above. You pull up, you see all the buildings surrounding Central Park. What does it look like?’ And then he said, ‘A Monopoly board!’ And were like, ‘F*ck, that’s good.’”
There Are So Many Toy Movies Coming Out Soon
Though Rogen did have faith in the Monopoly movie with Scott behind it, a scene in The Studio’s first episode is all about Hollywood using any and every available IP to adapt – in The Studio, it’s Jenga, but the idea, Rogen confirms, comes from Monopoly. Looking at real-life Hollywood, it’s hard to disagree.Leaving aside the fact we have so many sequels, prequels, and spin-offs, not to mention the continued high ratio of superhero movies and the growing number of video game adaptations, there are over a dozen confirmed toy movies in some form of production right now. Barbie extended beyond the dolls to tell a larger story about commercialism, gender roles, and conformity, earning Oscars for its efforts, but it’s unlikely every movie on the horizon will match its quality. Here’s a list of toy movies currently being made.
- American Girl Doll
- Barney (produced by Daniel Kaluuya)
- Chatty Cathy
- Hot Wheels
- Major Matt Mason
- Masters of the Universe
- Matchbox (starring John Cena)
- Monopoly
- Polly Pocket
- Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots
- Thomas the Tank Engine
- Uno
- View-Master
