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Thanks to Seibertronian DecepticonFinishline, we have some big news regarding the Transformers brand's management. John Warden, the Transformers brand Design Manager since 2014, has now moved on to another Hasbro property. According to the Twitter account @PwrRngrSite, Warden has moved to the Power Rangers and Ghostbusters brand.

John Warden (former Design Manager, Transformers 2014-2020) is now the Global Design Lead for #PowerRangers (and Ghostbusters). If you held a Transformer in your hand in the last 6 years, chances are John had a part in its creation.

Click on the photo above to be taken to the Tweet.

It's unknown at this time who his replacement will be, but he's certainly overseen the design for some very well received lines (Siege, Earthrise, Prime Wars Trilogy), not to mention the biggest Transformer to reach production, Unicron!

How do you feel about this news? Please feel free to speculate about his successor, his influence, and what you think below!

I guess this means Kingdom is his last line.

Makes one wonder what we could be getting after WFCT ends.

Thank you Mr. Warden.
Transformers were awesome under your leadership.

Wonder if this also has any relation to a certain big rumor about the future of the Power Rangers brand.

The very G1-focused direction of the brand under Warden's leadership hasn't always been my thing, but it was Warden's vision, and he did a great job with it. His work, attention to detail and accuracy, emphasis on articulation, and passion for Transformers and the fans has brought happiness to so many people over the last 6 years (with one more to go). He's going to leave quite a legacy, and I sincerely hope his successor can match his skill as Design Manager.

Thank you John Warden, and good luck.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but do we know for certain that he's leaving his current job to take this one, and he's not just expanding his role to include these other franchises? To be clear, I'm not saying that I think that's what's happening, I just want to know if we can rule it out.

Good luck on future projects!

AcademyofDrX wrote:Maybe this is a dumb question, but do we know for certain that he's leaving his current job to take this one, and he's not just expanding his role to include these other franchises? To be clear, I'm not saying that I think that's what's happening, I just want to know if we can rule it out.

The Tweet does say "former" in regards to position with the Transformers team.

INTRODUCING POWER RANGERS GENERATIONS
FEATURING CHARACTERS FROM
MIGHTY MORPHIN SEASON 1
MIGHTY MORPHIN SEASON 2
AND EVEN MIGHTY MORPHIN SEASON 3

And here's an online exclusive Zeo Red Ranger for the Tommy fans



Jokes aside, I hope this means more focus on the megazords. I've only seen the Beast Morphers zords a handful of times and I have straight-up never seen the gorilla or "mantis" at all. They feel like an afterthought because they put action figure people in charge of the brand.

AcademyofDrX wrote:Maybe this is a dumb question, but do we know for certain that he's leaving his current job to take this one, and he's not just expanding his role to include these other franchises? To be clear, I'm not saying that I think that's what's happening, I just want to know if we can rule it out.

His LinkedIn page lists 2020 as his last year working on Transformers, while it lists Power Rangers and Ghostbusters as "current".

King Kuuga wrote:INTRODUCING POWER RANGERS GENERATIONS

You jest, but that name has actually been used before. It was the name of Jetix's mini-block of rerun Power Rangers episodes from seasons that preceded the current ones.

On Fox Kids, it was called "Power Rangers Power Playback". On ABC Family during the post-Fox Kids/pre-Jetix era, it was named "Best of Power Rangers". "Power Ranger Generations" was the final name used before Jetix died.

Sabrblade wrote:Makes one wonder what we could be getting after WFCT ends.

I'm sure whoever takes over will pick up where he left off and continue with updating lesser known characters while rehashing the 84 Autobots.

... or we'll just get the 84 Autobots again.

Sabrblade wrote:

King Kuuga wrote:INTRODUCING POWER RANGERS GENERATIONS

You jest, but that name has actually been used before. It was the name of Jetix's mini-block of rerun Power Rangers episodes from seasons that preceded the current ones.

On Fox Kids, it was called "Power Rangers Power Playback". On ABC Family during the post-Fox Kids/pre-Jetix era, it was named "Best of Power Rangers". "Power Ranger Generations" was the final name used before Jetix died.

I remember Power Playback and BOPR but I don't remember "Generations". What point in time was that? I tuned out around 2005 when I jumped to Sentai. Maybe I just have a spotty memory.

King Kuuga wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

King Kuuga wrote:INTRODUCING POWER RANGERS GENERATIONS

You jest, but that name has actually been used before. It was the name of Jetix's mini-block of rerun Power Rangers episodes from seasons that preceded the current ones.

On Fox Kids, it was called "Power Rangers Power Playback". On ABC Family during the post-Fox Kids/pre-Jetix era, it was named "Best of Power Rangers". "Power Ranger Generations" was the final name used before Jetix died.

I remember Power Playback and BOPR but I don't remember "Generations". What point in time was that? I tuned out around 2005 when I jumped to Sentai. Maybe I just have a spotty memory.

I believe it was during the latter half of the Disney Era but before RPM, during the time when Jetix moved to only airing on Toon Disney instead of both it and ABC Family. After 2005 sounds about right.

Nanananaa, nanananaa hey hey hey...GOODBYE!

Warden has certainly made some significant contributions to the brand. It is quite possible every figure I've gotten since 2015 has been his handiwork, for which I am thankful. In my opinion Titans Return and Siege were among the best toylines of the franchise, certainly of the 2010's. I hope the standard of quality of these lines is continued by the next team.

Sabrblade wrote:I guess this means Kingdom is his last line.

Makes one wonder what we could be getting after WFCT ends.

Here's hoping for a Unicron Trilogy trilogy.

Whifflefire wrote:Here's hoping for a Unicron Trilogy trilogy.

Nine consecutive toylines would be a lot of Unicron toys.

While I wasn't a fan of the Prime Wars trilogy, Siege and Earthrise have been pretty decent, I'm just hoping his successor can give some other continuities some love instead of just G1 rehashes again, if we get another G1 Optimus and Starscream, I'll be disappointed.

Yay, maybe now we can do something other than G1! Like literally anything. I'd even take articulated rescuebots at this point.

. I think I might play the lotto this week. Seriously though. It was Combiner Wars that brought me back after a decade of absence, and never thinking I'd buy toys again. If the toyline does go in a completely different direction after Kingdom, then I may call it quits for the 3rd time in my life.

Sabrblade wrote:

King Kuuga wrote:INTRODUCING POWER RANGERS GENERATIONS

You jest, but that name has actually been used before. It was the name of Jetix's mini-block of rerun Power Rangers episodes from seasons that preceded the current ones.

On Fox Kids, it was called "Power Rangers Power Playback". On ABC Family during the post-Fox Kids/pre-Jetix era, it was named "Best of Power Rangers". "Power Ranger Generations" was the final name used before Jetix died.

Fun fact: here in Mexico, the Power Ranger Generations was stuck in a loop of Mighty Morphin and the first half of Zeo, not even full Zeo, so yes, a direct analogy of Transformers Generations.

This is huge.

Many say that Transformers have been G1 obsessive for years because of Warden. Now that he's gone elsewhere, Transformers will finally be able to move on.

-Kanrabat- wrote:This is huge.

Many say that Transformers have been G1 obsessive for years because of Warden. Now that he's gone elsewhere, Transformers will finally be able to move on.

I agree. I've been trying to find a way to phrase it in a way that doesn't make me come off as a huge ******, But until now failed. I'm hoping for exactly what you said. Don't get me wrong, I like G1 just as much, Maybe more than the next guy, But Transformers as a franchise is so large, That there's something for everyone, And plenty more to focus on than just G1. Hopefully Beast Wars will be the start of a new era in Transformers.
The sky really is the limit.
Beast Machines, RID, The Unicron trilogy, Maybe even Animated, And plenty more.
That's why Thrilling 30 was my favorite line, It had a great mix of everything. IDW, (My personal favorite)
G1, G2, Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Unicron trilogy, RID, A little bit of everything.
I can honestly say thats one of the only lines I collected every figure in (Except for a couple of the legends).
I'm personally hoping for something like that again.

Just imagine. Animated was pretty much perfect in 2007/8. With modern tech, Animated being revived with improved toy designs! And maybe, a complete Animated Devastator and even the cancelled season of the show being revived.

while I wish him luck with his new gig, I'm more curious as to what direction Transformers will take now. Will a new brand leader be asked to run things the Warden way to keep the cash coming in from G1 fans?