Last Weekend, it was announced by Paramount Pictures that G.I. Joe Retaliation will not make it’s June 30th, 2012 release and will be pushed for a March 29th, 2013 release to focus on bringing the movie to 3D format. So what does this mean for toy collectors? well, it means a lot more then you think.
Many people are currently on panic mode at the moment. For good reason: we are hearing different reports of different stories happening, so to ease everyone up and to lay it all out, we will weed out what we do know and make sure everyone is in the same page:
FACT:
G.I. Joe Retaliation toys are not canceled.
Hasbro has stated that they are defiantly not canceling the line anytime soon.
FACT:
G.I. Joe Retaliation toys are now available to purchase.
Hasbro has sent memos out to retailers on the day of the date change to put out the merchandise out ahead of the May 27th street date.
FACT:
The SDCC Exclusive Kim “Jinx” Arashikage and Shockwave HISS w/ Destro are still a go.
pictures surfaced of these sets earlier in the week, which means Hasbro has no plans anytime soon pulling them from SDCC. It should also be noted that the Jinx figure, despite being based on the movie, is also a homage in packaging by being in the traditional G.I. Joe black card and the figure’s design to replicate the original Jinx figure released in ’87.
FACT:
The Amazon.com 4 packs are available.
If you really miss Renegades like we all do or can’t find any of the Retaliation joes: Amazon still has the Renegades 4 pack and the Retaliation Preview 4 pack on their site.
NEW as of 5/30/12
FACT:
Waves 2 and 3 are canceled till 2013
online retailers are getting notices today that Waves 2 and 3 are canceled till 2013. Not to say they won’t return, but with such a strong emphasis on the word “canceled” instead of “Delayed”, there might be changes in the wave breakdown coming. With rumors circulating that the real reason why they are delaying the movie to add in more scenes with Channing Tatum, we might see a few more Duke’s thrown our way before it’s said and done.
New as of 6/2/12
FACT:
The Discount Store exclusive series is NOT canceled, but…
It was originally reported that the Discount Store/ Dollar General series of G.I. Joe was recalled, but it was confirmed later on that it was recalled not by Hasbro, but by Dollar General themselves who’s shipment was damaged. They are still shipping to stores nationwide, though in light of this, it might be harder now.
RUMORS:
G.I. Joe Retaliation toys are being pulled from shelves.
This one can be attributed to many reports on forums and a report on Variety.com regarding this matter. But people have been finding G.I. Joe Retaliation figures on the shelves. If you still see empty pegs, it means they are waiting for the in-store plantograms to change to put out the fresh merchandise on the shelves, or have end-caps to get the attention of shoppers for the period.
UP IN THE AIR:
the current figures available right now will be the only shipment Hasbro will circulate till next year.
this one is nether fact or rumor. In the press release, they stated that the figures will be made in limited numbers throughout the year and will be made more readily available for next year. That’s fact. Whats up in the air is if Hasbro will let retailers order more of the figures to replenish, or will let the retailers exhaust their current stock of figures and send them more stock next year or as early as December.
There are many more questions then answers as you can see, and in some cases, confirmation leads to even more questions down the road. With Joecon happening the last weekend of June (on the date movie was originally going to hit), and SDCC fast approaching, fans will get their answers soon enough.
For now, Let us all stay calm and Yo Joe.
