McFarlane Toys And Warner Bros. To Create Action Figures Based On “The Matrix” Trilogy Characters

(July 29, 2002 - Tempe, AZ) – McFarlane Toys and Warner Bros. Consumer Products have joined forces to create action figures based on Warner Bros. Pictures’ highly anticipated second and third installments of “The Matrix” trilogy, “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions,” slated for release in 2003. On May 15, 2003, Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment, will release “The Matrix Reloaded,” the second installment of the Academy Award-winning blockbuster “The Matrix.” The third chapter, “The Matrix Revolutions,” will be released later in 2003. Action figures based on the “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” will debut in conjunction with each film’s release. McFarlane Toys is working closely with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to determine which characters will become action figures. The product line will be geared to the adult collectible market and initial plans call for development of dioramas depicting critical scenes from each of the three movies. “Powered by unique visual moments and strongly identifiable characters, The Matrix films are perfectly suited for action figures,” said McFarlane Toys founder Todd McFarlane. “We look forward to collaborating with our colleagues at Warner Bros. to create a Matrix action figure line that reflects the trilogy's highly stylized and innovative storytelling.” “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” reunites producer Joel Silver and writer-directors Larry and Andy Wachowski with stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving, who reprise their roles from “The Matrix,” the acclaimed action thriller that won four Academy Awards, accumulated over $460 million in worldwide box office and was the first DVD title to sell one million units. Grammy- and Emmy-winning Producer/Director Todd McFarlane, best known as the creator of Spawn and the founder of SPAWN.COM, is the creative force behind McFarlane Toys. The international award winning company is one of the top action figure manufacturers in America and has had several successful movie-licensing tie-ins, including “Shrek”; “X-Files”; “Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow”; the first two “Austin Powers” films; the Beatle’s “Yellow Submarine”; “Akira” and the company’s seminal Movie Maniacs series featuring horror icons from such films as “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”; “Friday the 13th”; “The Thing”; “Army of Darkness”; “Terminator” and “Terminator 2”; “The Fly”; “Blair Witch”; “Scream”; “A Nightmare on Elm Street”; “Halloween” and more. The company also makes officially licensed figures for baseball, football, basketball and hockey, as well as rock music, electronic games and McFarlane’s signature creation, “Spawn.” For more information about Todd and the McFarlane group of companies, visit www.spawn.com. Warner Bros. Consumer Products is a division of Warner Bros., an AOL Time Warner Company, and is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world. # # #