With Lucasfilm and Marvel now under the heavy crown of the Mouse House, could Disney be making another play that will make them one of the biggest tentpole players in town? Again, it's just rumor, but it's not totally outside the realm of possibility, but here it is: Disney may be in talks to buy Hasbro.
The news comes from MTV Geek who say they "have it on good authority" that discussions are being had over caviar and champagne with big wigs at both companies. So, could it be true? Certainly, outside of "Transformers," Hasbro has been having a helluva time launching other properties with only "Stretch Armstrong" currently with a solid release date, while other titles like "Monopoly," "Ouija," "Clue," "Hungry Hungry Hippos," "Action Man" and more all remain brewing/stalled in development. A company like Disney could not only produce those pictures, but they already do multi-platform licensing and branding like a reflex, not to mention the numerous theme park opportunities. Moreover, they have worked with Hasbro before on countless toys and tie-ins so it seems like a slam dunk.
Something else to consider — Hasbro owns toy and table top game licenses to "Star Wars," so it's easy to see why Disney would be kicking the tires. Why not have that extra revenue come in under their roof? Moreveover, Hasbro's deal with Universal fell apart when that studio bailed, anticipating the disastrous "Battleship," but putting the company under the roof of a movie studio solves a lot of problems, and saves the headache of striking different deals for each property.
And MTV Geek notes that even if this is the first and last you hear about this rumor for a while, sometimes these deals take years to put together. And with two companies as big as Disney and Hasbro, the amont of paperwork involved is probably staggering. (And yes, things will have to be worked out over "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers," but they managed that when the Mouse House snapped up Marvel in a similar situation a couple of years ago, even though they still had a distribution agreement with Paramount).
The flipside? This could all be total bullshit coming in the wake of the Lucasfilm sale.
So, put it under your cap for now. Perhaps at some point down the line we'll see "Star Wars: Episode XXIX — The Battle For Hungry Hungry Optimus."