Hasbro Launches Entertainment Division After eOne Sale
Entertainment One may have been sold to Lionsgate, but its most important assets have been retained
Hasbro is launching Hasbro Entertainment, a new division which will bring together the company’s film, television, animation, and digital media doings. This comes on the heels of having sold entertainment company Entertainment One (eOne) after four years of ownership to Lionsgate for $500 million. They may have given up the company, but they’re keeping some of the talent.
Olivier Dumont reboards to serve as Hasbro Entertainment president, while Zev Foreman and Gabriel Marano take on head of film and head of television, respectively. “We are thrilled to embark on this new chapter, building upon our rich heritage of storytelling to continue delighting audiences across generations,” Dumont said. “Gabe, Zev, and I look forward to working with the industry’s best creative talent, studios, and distribution platforms to push the envelope with innovative storytelling that will let fans engage with their favorite brands like never before, while also building exciting new worlds and the next wave of Hasbro franchises for a growing audience.”
Dumont’s last role at eOne was as president of family brands. There, he oversaw the creation of programming and distribution for the combined roster of Hasbro and eOne’s family brands, leading to $2 billion+ of yearly commercial profits. His previous positions were in domestic and international children’s entertainment, including heading acquisitions and co-production for a major kids’ network, leading an animation studio, and managing a distribution business. Foreman and Marano’s duties at the company focused Hasbro IP projects and that will continue, now directly for Hasbro.
While president of film production for eOne, Foreman oversaw projects like this year’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. His other film credits include Dallas Buyers Club, All the Old Knives, Blue Beetle, and The Cobbler. Marano comes from eOne having been co-head of scripted development for eOne. Such projects under his watch include the Dungeons & Dragons series in development at Paramount+ from Rawson Marshall Thurber and Drew Crevello, and the Power Rangers reboot series for Netflix from Jonathan Entwistle and Jenny Klein. Before landing at eOne, Marano was senior vice president of drama programming and development at Fox Entertainment. 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star, The Gifted, and Lucifer developed under his watch, a step on a journey that included A&E Network and Fox Television Studios.
Hasbro is also developing productions based on Transformers, My Little Pony, and Peppa Pig, each having currently running television series, G.I. Joe, NERF, Play-Doh, and Magic: The Gathering.
Source: Variety