If you were a kid during the 1980s and you had any interest in dinosaurs, then Dino-Riders was definitely your jam.
The short-lived cartoon series revolved around a war between a noble/kind human race (Valorians) and anthropomorphic evil aliens (Rulons) who are sent back through time to our planet during the age of dinosaurs…or at least a time when all dinosaurs from different eras somehow existed simultaneously.
The Valorians befriended the dinosaurs and adopted them into their society while the Rulons enslaved the creatures via mind control devices. Thankfully, both sides believed in adding badass-looking armor and weaponry to their prehistoric partners. This led to 14 episodes of painfully generic plot lines that inevitably concluded with awesome fight sequences that looked like something out of a Smithsonian Museum fever dream.
The real stars of this media franchise, however, were the toys.
Tyco’s Dino-Rider line was not only extremely popular, but also exceptionally well regarded–so much so that the Smithsonian Institute contracted Tyco to recreate the toys (sans battle armor) for their own prehistoric figure collection.
For reasons that still confuse and infuriate me, an action figure line consisting of prehistoric monsters covered with futuristic weaponry only lasted three years. Since the Dino-Riders were canceled in 1990, many of us who grew up during back then have longed for its return–or for any dinosaur toy line that could match its level of quality.
The closest we’ve come is David Silva’s Creative Beast Studios. During the last four years, Silva’s ‘Beast of the Mesozoic‘ line has utilized crowd funding to produce incredible (and scientifically accurate) velociraptor and ceratopsian action figures.
Today, Joe Moore of Toyark.com revealed that MV Studios had obtained the United Kingdom trademark for Dino-Riders and will be partnering with MFA Collectibles to make high end collectible statues based on the franchise characters/creatures…which honestly didn’t excite me very much. While I can certainly appreciate statue collectibles, dropping a few hundred dollars on one (admittedly gorgeous) figure with no articulation has never really interested me.
If you read the full press release from MV studios, however, you’ll eventually get to this beautiful little nugget of info:
“As well as collectible statues we are also in early talks with Creative Beast Studio to partner up on a brand new toy line and will release more Information on this in due time.”
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. If things come together like it appears they will, we’ll be getting new dinosaur toys designed and created by David Silva, which is the absolute best us Dino-Rider fans could have ever hoped for.
Now before anyone gets too excited, keep in mind that things are still in the early discussion stages. Just because Silva has often expressed his love for the Dino-Riders franchise (and has confirmed his potential involvement in the new toy line) doesn’t mean that MV Studios will be able or willing to give him the necessary resources/compensation to add this line to his already substantial workload.
And speaking of MV Studios, there doesn’t appear to be much information about them out there. Like, at all. Aside from a few small recording studios, a defunct financial marketing company, and a photography business that all share the same name, I could find anything. Thankfully, David Silva was able to put my mind at ease–or at least provide a little more context–over on his Creative Beast Studios Facebook page.
So it appears MV Studios might be a new player in the toy licensing game. If so, then rebooting the Dino-Riders line is one heck of a way to make a splash.
Even if you weren’t a fan (or even alive) when the franchised debuted, it’s hard to go wrong with dinosaurs and laser guns. Add in the best monster/dinosaur toy sculptor in the business, and new versions of the Dino-Riders figures are all but guaranteed to fly off the toy shelves if or when they make it there.
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