Todd McFarlane Interview

In 1994, McFarlane Toys rewrote the rules on action figures with hyperdetailed, lovingly sculpted pieces of plastic that bore little resemblance to the crude slabs that came before. In the last 14 years, the company has cranked out hundreds of pop-culture characters, from rock stars (Ozzy, Jimi, Elvis) to movie villains (Freddie, Leatherface, Predator) to professional athletes. And, of course, it all started with figures based on comic-book brand that company founder Todd McFarlane created in the early ’90s. But now, McFarlane has a new focus: videogame figures. It’s a market the toymaker has dabbled in before — via older licenses like Ultima Online, Metal Gear Solid, and Soul Calibur II — but never to this degree. We got seven points of articulation from Todd himself about why game properties are the new heart of his business — and what his personal-dream Halo figure looks like.

OXM: Why the switch to videogame-based action figures?

TODD MCFARLANE: Really, we’re trying to evolve with the times and what’s out there in consumer stores and what their agendas are. In the simplest form, they’re all looking for fewer in-house ideas and more proven IPs.

If you compare them to movie licenses, these videogame properties we’re doing now are the equivalent of someone having the Batmans and the Iron Mans — they’re the top ones for videogames. There might not be as big an audience, but these people do spend a lot of money — $60/game. Everyone’s trying to see how they can get those people’s extra dollars [between game purchases] — and toys are one of those venues.

When you break it down, we’re essentially in the pop-culture business. So once you figure out that a group of people are doing this or that, my job as CEO isn’t to necessarily approve of it; it’s to realize what’s popular. If I could figure out how to do American Idol toys and get them out in time for each season, I’d do it.

OXM: What were your past experiences with game-based figures like?

TM: I don’t recall that any of them were overcomplicated or a pain in the rear. With movie-based figures, for example, it’s sometimes tricky in that people don’t want to give up their secrets — they don’t want to spoil the ending to a film, for example. Or they’re worried that an actor might not like their likeness. So it’s a little easier when you’re doing stuff based on videogames. I know the Metal Gear Solid figures did tremendous for us…it was a big game when it came out, and there weren’t a lot of videogame toys back then. You could argue the same thing with Halo now — big game, not a lot of videogame toys.

OXM: You’re releasing tons of different Halo action figures between now and 2009. What’s your angle with these?

TM: With Halo, Microsoft was trying to broaden their audience, so we intentionally made those figures smaller and more toy-centric than our normal figures, with more articulation; they’re fun to play with, whereas a lot of our figures are just meant to be looked at. We didn’t know if that “toyness” would be a holdback to an older audience, but so far, people seem to dig it. That said, we’ll be putting out more Halo products that are less toy-centric.

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