Hasbro Attempting To Create New Animation Studio

Hasbro is home to iconic franchises like Transformers, My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, and now Power Rangers, and it appears that it is trying to add another Animation division to its hefty portfolio, which would reside in Dun Laoghaire. Hasbro, along with animation studio Boulder Media (which it purchased in 2016) submitted proposals to take over the Stena Line Terminal, a facility that hasn't been used since 2015, and while that proposal was rejected by the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, it does provide a glimpse into Hasbro's potential animation studio plans, especially since they can counter with another proposal to make it happen (via Irish Times).

The proposal was for $5 billion and featured a pitch to bring "Hollywood Production" and "a truly unique studio and academic facility with stand-out identity and worldwide appeal. Hollywood production would truly be happening in the centre of Dún Laoghaire – with regularity".

The tender goes on to say "Our proposed facility would be a celebration of learning, hard-work, opportunity, success and outstanding achievement. We believe it would become a globally recognised hub, offering unparalleled opportunities for artists, students and media professionals."

According to the documents the studio would feature around 350 to 400 employees at launch and could rise to around 650. The location, which used to be a Ferry Terminal, was actually going to become a hub for tech companies, but that ended up falling through. Hopefully, Hasbro can make this happen eventually, though it would need to obtain a new grant of planning permission if it wants to continue.

As for Hasbro's plans, this seems to indicate that it wants to increase its development of animated projects. Hasbro's animation output already includes franchises like Transformers, My Little Pony, and Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, but now that it owns Power Rangers it could be wanting to bolster that division even more.

Granted, this is probably not just due to Power Rangers, but since that is an emerging brand for the company, it does make sense that they want to utilize all their tools to support it. They did go through all the trouble of buying it, and one of the biggest strengths of their other franchises is how many different media forms they are able to utilize them through. Both Transformers and My Little Pony hit in the realm of film, animation, toys, video games, and tabletop, so it's safe to assume that Power Rangers will eventually follow the same path to get the most out of it.

Fans have long wanted a Power Rangers animated series, but perhaps this is the first step to finally getting one. We'll have to wait and see, but let us know what you want in a Power Rangers animated series in the comments, and you can always hit me up on Twitter @MattAguilarCB for all things Power Rangers!

H/T Pwrrngr.com