This has been a big year for Warner Bros. who recently had a giant merger with Discovery. While the company is reportedly frustrated with some of their deals, they still own the rights to many major franchises like DC. One of the most classic titles associated with Warner Bros. is Looney Tunes, the animated animals that have been around since 1930. According to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, the iconic franchise is getting an unexpected treatment by being turned into NFTs.ย
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Warner Bros. is working with the NFT platform Nifty’s on the new project, “Looney Tunes: What’s Up Block?” They are expected to go on sale this summer with Tweety being the first for sale in honor of the character’s 80th birthday. Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian are also set to be a part of the deal.ย
“We think that blockchain and NFTs and web3 in general is going to be a great evolution in entertainment,” Josh Hackbarth, head of NFT Commercial Development for Warner Bros, explained. “It doesn’t need to be really deep, deep storytelling, it is about gags and gimmicks and really recognizable characters, so it was a fun one to dig into.” He added,ย “Looney Tunes is not afraid to make fun of itself, or the broader pop culture as a whole … It will be a bit tongue in cheek with how we are playing with blockchain technology, but what is more exciting is that we can use that to bring people into a new space to play.”
“There are lots of NFT projects, but there is only one Looney Tunes, so if we do it right and respect the IP, and respect the existing community, I think there is a large fandom to it,” Nifty’s CEO Jeff Marsilio shared, adding that “when you own one of these avatars, that is sort of your membership in this community.”
“When you mint an NFT, you mint a community,” Marsilio added. “The key to value in the NFT space comes from this idea of community… A community where not only are you being social, but you are getting new opportunities to experience the IP that you love, and you are bring rewarded for that participation.”
“It’s more about, what are you buying into as a fan? And how is that different than what I could find on YouTube or somewhere else” Hackbarth described. “We are crafting a story that will only be told through this program, so for each subsequent drop, and activity that we do with the program, there’s an overarching story component that ties it all together. It is really about keeping people engaged along the way.”
How do you feel about Looney Tunes getting the NFT treatment? Tell us in the comments.ย
