After plenty of speculation over the last year or so, it’s been officially revealed by Hasbro and Paramount that they’ll be launching a shared cinematic universe based on five classic toy ranges.

The plan is for G.I. Joe, Visionaries, M.A.S.K., Micronauts and ROM: SpaceKnight to all exist in the same cinematic realm. Obviously we’ve had two G.I. Joe movies to date, and a Micronauts movie has been in development for a few months now. This new series of shared universe movies will be a joint venture between Paramount and Hasbro’s film label, Allspark Pictures.

On this news, Paramount CEO Brad Grey said, “Paramount and Hasbro have had a longstanding relationship and we’re proud of the success we’ve enjoyed on the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises. We’re excited to grow our agreement and make even more movies based upon these popular and powerful Hasbro characters and their worlds.”

Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner added, “Hasbro and Allspark Pictures put storytelling at the centre of everything that we do. These brands are filled with memorable stories and vivid characters, and this universe creates a framework for how they will become interconnected. Extending our partnership with Paramount allows us to continue our long-term strategy and overall vision to build dynamic worlds for all of our brands, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them as we develop these properties.”

So does the idea of these famed toy lines of yesteryear hitting the big screen get your inner-child excited or is it a case of is any of this really needed? Also, there’s still rumblings and rumours that the Transformers franchise may tie in with things at some point, although that’s merely speculation right now.

For those not familiar with the other franchises that have yet to hit the screen yet, Visionaries was a cartoon that centred on heroes and villains with holograms on their chests and staffs that represented their own particular supernatural magical powers. Fear not, for it was far better than it sounds (well, in our misty-filled reminiscing eyes…). As for M.A.S.K., that was a show that was the most successful out of the non-G.I. Joe franchises here. The series was sadly only a one-season-wonder that focused on an advanced task force that fought the good fight against the uber-evil V.E.N.O.M. group. Then there’s Micronauts, a cartoon that gave the spotlight to subatomic-sized warriors. Finally, ROM: SpaceKnight was a tale of a regular human who volunteers to become a robotic spaceknight who protects the planet of Galador from Dire Wraiths. Of course, these shows all largely began life as toy lines before becoming kids’ TV shows.

As ever, expect more on all of this as it develops.