Update: A Target employee has brought to our attention that there are actually no Green Lantern: The Animated series toys; however toys for Young Justice do exist but the line is a year old, so in regards to Green Lantern, it could be the movie toys not being big sellers in addition to all the below stated reasons for the two.
Another Saturday has come and gone and, once again, we don’t have new episodes of Green Lantern: The Animated Series or Young Justice to look forward to.
Both series were pulled after only two new episodes with the initial report citing Cartoon Network’s 20th Anniversary.
Fans went ballistic, lighting up Cartoon Network and DC Nation’s Facebook pages, and shortly thereafter, DC released an official statement stating that the shows would be back with all new episodes in January.
While we don’t think Cartoon Network will be celebrating their anniversary for three months, what exactly is the problem?
Turns out both Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice might share the same problem as the Transformers movie franchise — in that sales for toys are down.
The next Transformers movie will see all-new vehicle signs, or at least that is what has been hinted, due to sales for their toy line not selling so well as of late.
Regarding the DC Nation block, Bleeding Cool has it that the low toy sales are the reason for the two animated shows getting pulled, in that the low sales also created a domino effect cascading into advertising.
Other reasons are cited including production delays for new episodes, rights to characters and a purported falling out between Cartoon Network and Warner Bros.
Basically when it comes down to it, it’s about money.
Now with Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice getting pulled – and we might as well throw in Thundercats – this presents an interesting dilemma.
I would say that all three of the above shows are geared toward an older audience, possibly an audience that doesn’t buy too many action figures?
Or is it just that fans are burnt out by the gluttony of action figures on the market, or that there are just too many action figures out there, as the last few years have seen every type of figure you can imagine, with many characters getting literally dozens of variations, not to mention the toys are really cheap — and I don’t mean price-wise?
Regardless what the exact reason, this January will see the return of DC Nation to Cartoon Network with 10 new episodes of each, but will these be the last?