DC Multiverse collectors have known for a while that a change was coming, and NYCC 2026 finally filled in the details. McFarlane Toys' run as the maker of adult-collector DC action figures is winding down, and a new company is stepping into the role.
This isn't a story about McFarlane choosing to walk away. It's a licensing decision made by Warner Bros. Discovery, and it reshapes where every DC collector's shelf is headed next.
Here's what's actually confirmed as of today, what Mattel showed off at NYCC, and what collectors still don't know yet.
None of this is speculation pieced together from rumors. It comes straight from Mattel's own NYCC reveal and McFarlane's own panel remarks about the license ending.
In February 2025, Mattel and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products announced a new multi-year licensing deal covering DC-themed action figures, playsets, and adult collectibles. Mattel previously held the DC master toy license years earlier before it moved to Spin Master and McFarlane.
This is a corporate licensing decision, not a reflection of DC Multiverse's sales or quality. McFarlane's adult-collector DC Multiverse line continues through the end of 2026, after which the license passes fully to Mattel.
McFarlane has continued shipping new DC Multiverse waves throughout 2025 and 2026, including its NYCC 2026 panel reveals. The company's own recap of that panel directly referenced the license ending in December, confirming the end-of-2026 cutoff.
Collectors shouldn't expect McFarlane to announce brand-new DC Multiverse characters once that window closes. Any remaining pre-order windows this year are effectively McFarlane's last chances to add to the line.
At NYCC 2026, Mattel unveiled DC Core, a mass-retail figure line built around a 6.5-inch scale (1:12 proportions) rather than McFarlane's familiar 7-inch format. Figures are priced at $12.99 MSRP.
DC Core is designed for wide availability at Target, Walmart, and major online retailers, aiming at casual collectors and kids building out team rosters rather than premium shelf centerpieces. It's a clear departure from McFarlane's specialty-retail, premium-sculpt approach.
Alongside DC Core, Mattel revealed a $100 premium set sold through Mattel Creations: the Batman: Hush Rooftop Bat-Signal Diorama. It's built around Jim Lee's Hush comic art and features a 6.5-inch Batman with 34 points of articulation and swappable hands.
The diorama base includes a removable gargoyle, a functional 7-inch Bat-Signal that projects onto nearby walls, and a water-based ultrasonic fogger for a rooftop mist effect. It shares the same 6.5-inch scale as DC Core, so the two tiers can sit on the same shelf.
Mattel has not yet revealed full wave lineups, specific character rosters beyond the Hush diorama, or firm release dates for DC Core figures hitting retail shelves. Pricing and availability for a dedicated adult-collector tier beyond the Premium diorama also remain unconfirmed.
Mattel has set January 1, 2027 as the date for an official Mattel Creations livestream that's expected to reveal full wave lineups, rosters, and preorder dates across all its DC tiers. Until then, specifics beyond what NYCC showed are genuinely unknown.
If you're deep into DC Multiverse, the smart move for the rest of 2026 is treating every new McFarlane reveal as potentially final rather than assuming more waves are coming later. Once the license transfers, restocks and new characters stop.
If you're DC-curious but have been waiting on the sidelines, Mattel's $12.99 entry point is a notably lower barrier than McFarlane's 7-inch pricing, though it also means a different scale if you're trying to keep a uniform shelf. Posing older and newer figures together on an acrylic display stand can help minimize height differences across lines while you figure out your long-term shelf plan.
DC's toy license has moved between companies before — Mattel held it years before losing it to Spin Master and McFarlane, and now the rights are swinging back. These transitions tend to create a short window where secondary-market prices on the outgoing line's final waves climb as new production stops.
Collectors who lived through the last transition will recognize the pattern: official restocks dry up first, then specialty retailers sell through remaining inventory, and finally only the secondary market remains for anything McFarlane doesn't reissue before December 2026.
McFarlane's DC Multiverse license runs through the end of 2026.
Mattel, under a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery announced in February 2025.
DC Core figures are built at 6.5-inch scale, 1:12 proportions, priced at $12.99 MSRP.
No, it's a separate $100 Mattel Creations Premium release, though it shares DC Core's 6.5-inch scale.
Mattel has set a January 1, 2027 livestream to reveal full wave lineups and preorder dates.
Whichever side of this transition your shelf lands on, keeping your current McFarlane figures protected is worth doing now rather than after the license changes hands — start with EVORETRO's DC Multiverse 7-inch action figure case.
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