That is why I'm thinking this isn't Space Jam. Personally I'm thinking they are going to continue the trend of 35th anniversary crossovers, even if it doesn't release exact on schedule. Ghostbusters was the 1984. BttF was 1985. Top Gun 1986. My guess is Project Bats is Monster Squad 1987.

Project Park obviously breaks this as Jurassic Park is 1993. So it isn't a hard pattern. They will probably do whatever they can get permission for that isn't controversial or too adult.

1988 the only iconic vehicles I'm thinking of off hand are the motorcycle from Akira, Benny the Cab from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, or the ice cream truck from Killer Clowns from Outer Space. Akira isn't necessarily out, but Killer Klowns probably is. Benny the Cab doesn't exactly fit a Transformers aesthetic but who knows?

Plus it is probably early to be finding the 1988/2023 anniversary crossover figure even with fudging of the exact year. So maybe another 1987/2022 figure? There are a few options, though some a bit weird. Spaceballs is 1987, and seems to fit so well. I doubt it. But maybe Disney, MGM, and Mel Brooks are willing to sign off on a silly Hasbro project... Despite the original Lucas no toy clause.

The speculation has been fun, though.

 

First note: Project Bats from what leakers suggest is Dracula, who I think is a public domain character at this point. It's less about any particular anniversary and more to do with them wanting to go back and actually do that "Universal Monsters" figures that TFWiki has records about.

With regard to the rest, it's a combination of hard anniversaries and new movies. Maverick was supposed to pair with the new Top Gun movie, and Jurassic Park originally had a new movie coming out before the pandemic screwed everything up.

The roughly 30 some years isn't an accident, it's just the usual nostalgia cycle. They're reviving franchises that people with the spare cash remember from their youth and Hasbro is riding that to give them new toys.

That's why a lot of people think Space Jam. It's not just the anniversary, there's a new movie coming out this year that it would tie to.

 

And Scooby-Doo and Batman don't have movies coming out this year.

 

I generally agree with your post and agree Dracula is public domain, but I am thinking Monster Squad specifically because Dracula had an iconic car in that movie. Dracula's hearse could be a nice reshell of Ectotron. Both are Cadillac of similar builds though not the same year and different models.

 

Rumors are it uses TR Mindwipe as the base mold. Turns into a bat. Gillman and Wolfman from the other two Decepticon Headmasters to follow if it sells well. That's the rumors anyway.

 

Ah, I missed that part of the rumor. Well, that is less interesting but still cool.

 

Which is cool because it means we'll get another combiner!



...what?

 

By the way the Jurassic Pack one is said to be a repaint of BW Megatron from Kingdom.

 

I wouldn't assume it's just a repaint. Leakers tipped us off to SG Megatron, but didn't seem to know he would be getting that jet mode (or the new parts to turn in to it).

So it's possible the info they have that suggests no tooling changes is outdated or incorrect.

 

Spoiler

 

 

That's fan made and that wouldn't count as a collaboration, a crossover yes a collaboration no.

 

To further support that anniversaries and movies aren't a hard rule for the collaborative stuff, I don't think X-Spanse was really tied to any sort of anniversary or movie

 

Is this going to be a beast wars bugs bunny retooled from one of the kingdom moulds?

 

Yeah cause should have been next year for the 30th anniversary of the cartoon now you mention it.

 

So, Project Jam. How about we analyze the previous Collaborative Figures to see if there is a pattern
Project Mullet: Ghostbusters/Ectotron (why?)
Project Future: Back to the Future/Gigawatt (Obvious)
Project Bird: Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate X-Spanse (it became a Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird, the X-Jet)
Project Cruise: Top Gun/Maverick (Tom Cruise)
So, let's analyze the word "Jam". "Jam" could refer to Music. It could refer to Space Jam. First of all, the original Space Jam was released in 1996, so it would be rather unlikely to be that as Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, X-Men, and Top-Gun all are franchises from the 1980s or are linked to Transformers (X-Men was created in 1963, but it was linked to Transformers via Marvel). So, it has to be a famous 1980s franchise linked to "Jam". I looked at movies and "James Bond" popped out at me. "James Bond" had a TON of movies in the 1980s and his gun was a Walther P-38. That is what G1 Megatron became. A Walther P-38. So, I theorize James Bond.

 

Bonds gun is a Walther PPK not the P-38, the P-38 was used by German SS soldiers which made sense as Megatrons head was based on SS helmets.

 

Jazz is gonna Jam out with Jem and the Holograms

 

Cool Runnings Bobsleigh. Calling it now  

 

It probably isn’t Barkley Shut Up and Jam! either.

 

Though why was Ectotron called "Project Mullet"?