At Licensing Expo 2019, Universal Brand Development (UBD) will showcase an expanding portfolio of properties from the company’s film and television creative partners including Universal Pictures, Illumination and DreamWorks Animation. This powerhouse slate of celebrated film franchises and entertainment properties will continue to captivate audiences through 2019 and beyond.
After eight films that have amassed almost $5 billion worldwide, the Fast & Furious franchise is back with Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, in theatres August 2019. The franchise now features its first stand-alone vehicle as Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham reprise their roles as Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw. In late 2019, the Fast & Furious franchise speeds onto Netflix with the global launch a brand-new kids and family series from DreamWorks Animation Television. In the series, teenager Tony Toretto follows in the footsteps of his cousin Dom when he and his friends are recruited by a government agency to infiltrate an elite racing league serving as a front for a nefarious crime organization bent on world domination.
Jurassic World fans can look forward to new adventures in 2019 with the upcoming, animated mini-series LEGO Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar debuting later this summer. Following the adventures of Claire, Owen and fan-favorite dinosaurs seen in the 2018 animated specials, LEGO Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit, this new mini-series runs 13 episodes and inspired four all-new LEGO building sets hitting retail shelves in August.
From DreamWorks Animation comes the highly anticipated feature film Trolls World Tour, the follow up to the 2016 breakout hit starring Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, debuting in theatres in April 2020. Global master toy partner, Hasbro, continues to expand the breadth and scope of its toy collection, which supports the film franchise, including the hit Netflix original series, DreamWorks Trolls: The Beat Goes On!.
Premiering on Universal Kids in Fall 2019, DreamWorks Where’s Waldo? will have audiences joining Waldo and Wenda on their international adventures as they travel the world to earn their stripes and become wizard-level Wanderers.
Additionally, DreamWorks Animation Television welcomes pre-school to its award-winning portfolio with two new series launching on Netflix in 2020, Rhyme Time Town and Gabby’s Dollhouse, in addition to a robust line up of kids’ series including the award-winning Spirit Riding Free and the critically acclaimed She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, among others.
From Illumination, audiences can look forward to the global theatrical debut of Minions 2 in July 2020 as well as Sing 2 in December 2020.
UBD, powered by its creative partners Universal Pictures, Illumination and DreamWorks Animation, globally drives expansion of the company’s intellectual properties, franchises, characters and stories through innovative physical and digital products, content, and consumer experiences. Along with franchise brand management, Universal Brand Development’s core businesses include Consumer Products and Games and Digital Platforms. A key component to this division’s approach includes evolving properties into robust, multi-year sustainable brands with multiple consumer touch points.