Featured image: Editorial illustration created for One Sixth Society.
McFarlane Toys has appointed Joshua Izzo as its new president, effective September 8, 2026. He joins from James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, where he spent nearly a decade in senior leadership and most recently served as executive vice president.
Todd McFarlane remains founder and CEO. The announcement adds a new president, not a replacement for McFarlane in the chief executive role.
For collectors who follow Hot Toys and the wider figure market, the interesting part is what Izzo brings beyond a Hollywood connection. His career includes Pokémon merchandise, major toy companies, entertainment licensing and Avatar publishing. He also has an existing working relationship with McFarlane through the company’s Avatar collectibles.
Who Is Joshua Izzo?
Izzo arrives with nearly three decades of experience spanning toys, licensing, entertainment and franchise development. His previous employers include 20th Century Fox Consumer Products, Capcom Entertainment, Hasbro and 4Kids Entertainment.
His toy industry background goes further than the short corporate biography suggests. The published notes for his January 2025 appearance on the 4Kids Flashback podcast document work on Pokémon cards at Topps, followed by positions as marketing manager and head of sales at 4Kids. They also identify subsequent work on Pokémon toys at Hasbro before his later roles at Capcom, Fox and Lightstorm.
That is a relevant distinction for a toy company president. Izzo is not arriving with experience limited to promoting films. His background connects physical merchandise, licensing and the management of entertainment properties across different businesses.
His Avatar Work Went Beyond Merchandise
At Lightstorm, Izzo’s responsibilities included franchise strategy, business development and storytelling beyond the Avatar films. The appointment announcement describes work with creative, licensing, theatrical and strategic partners.
His published work provides a more tangible example. Penguin Random House credits Izzo and Simon Beecroft as the authors of The World of Avatar Updated Edition, a guide covering Pandora’s environments, creatures and Na’vi cultures. Its coverage draws on the first three Avatar films and expanded material such as Ubisoft’s Frontiers of Pandora.
Izzo is also credited alongside other contributors on Avatar The Way of Water: The Visual Dictionary. His publisher biography describes a role ensuring that Avatar comics, novels, reference books and games stayed consistent with the filmmakers’ vision.
For a collectibles business, that experience could be useful. Knowing how a fictional world fits together is different from simply knowing which characters are recognizable. It could help inform which environments, creatures, accessories and supporting characters deserve attention. Whether that translates into stronger McFarlane product lines remains to be seen.
He Has Already Worked With Todd McFarlane
One of the most relevant details predates this appointment by four years.
On September 10, 2022, Izzo and Todd McFarlane appeared together at D23 Expo to present McFarlane’s Avatar collectibles. According to the franchise’s official website, their showcase included the World of Pandora Omatikaya Rainforest set, Jake Sully and Neytiri figures, and Mega Banshees. The event also introduced products based on Avatar: The Way of Water.
In other words, Izzo is not meeting McFarlane’s business for the first time as its president. He has already represented the property owner’s side of a collaboration with the company and helped present its products to fans.
That does not establish how the appointment was negotiated or how much influence he had over individual figures. It does establish a working connection that existed well before this leadership announcement.
There Is an Alien Connection, Too
Izzo’s experience with collector audiences also includes Alien.
In the published introduction to its April 2023 interview with him, the Perfect Organism podcast identified Izzo as a former director of licensing at 20th Century Fox and credited him with establishing Alien Day at the corporate level. The podcast separately acknowledged the celebration’s informal fan origins.
That distinction matters. His role was not simply inventing a fandom celebration from nothing. It involved helping turn fan enthusiasm into an official studio initiative. For a company selling products built around entertainment fandoms, that is another relevant part of his experience.
What McFarlane Wants From Its New President
The company describes Izzo’s assignment as guiding its next phase of growth across toys, collectibles, licensing and entertainment.
Todd McFarlane emphasized Izzo’s industry relationships and experience with major entertainment brands, saying he brings “valuable inside knowledge of all aspects of branding and toy making.”
Coowner Stephan Tetrault focused on expansion, saying there is still “a lot of room for McFarlane to grow.” He framed Izzo’s leadership as a way to develop the business while retaining what has already made it successful.
Izzo described himself as “excited and energized” about joining the team and expressed an ambition to build on the company’s existing position in toys and collectibles.
Those statements describe an intention, not an announced product strategy. There are no specific new licensing agreements or figure reveals attached to the appointment.
The Timing Matters as the DC Transition Approaches
The appointment comes as McFarlane approaches the end of its reported DC action figure license term. In October 2025, DCCollectors reported Todd McFarlane’s confirmation that the company would continue making DC Multiverse figures through the end of 2026, with Mattel’s collector offerings following in 2027.
Mattel has since provided a more specific timetable. Photographs from its San Diego Comic Con 2026 presentation show a planned preview at New York Comic Con 2026 and a full DC Collector line reveal event on January 1, 2027, through Mattel Creations.
McFarlane has not identified that transition as the reason for hiring Izzo. Its appointment announcement discusses growth and experience, not a DC replacement strategy.
Nevertheless, the timing makes his background particularly relevant from a business perspective. As one major licensing chapter approaches its endpoint, an executive experienced in developing entertainment properties and working with rights holders could help identify where the company should invest next. That is an assessment of the opportunity, not confirmation that any particular deal is being pursued.
McFarlane already has a portfolio beyond DC. Its current official brand directory includes Spawn, Avatar, Marvel, Fallout, DOOM and Warhammer 40,000, among other properties.
The question is not simply what might replace Batman on a product schedule. It is which existing or future lines can earn sustained interest from collectors.
What Has Actually Changed for Collectors?
For now, this is a leadership announcement rather than a product announcement.
The release does not identify an outgoing president or explain precisely how duties will be divided between Izzo and Todd McFarlane. It also does not announce a new sixth scale range, a pricing overhaul, changes to retailer exclusives or a revised release calendar.
That leaves some of the most practical questions unanswered. Which properties will receive deeper character selections? Will new licenses be introduced? Will availability, accessories or product execution change? Those are reasonable questions to watch, but this appointment alone does not answer them.
Nor should Izzo’s résumé be treated as a preview of future McFarlane licenses. His previous work with Pokémon, Capcom or Fox is evidence of experience, not an announcement that those rights are moving with him.
One Sixth Society’s Take
The strongest argument for this appointment is the combination of experience: toys, licensing, franchise development and a documented history of working with McFarlane’s own products. That makes Izzo a more interesting hire than a familiar studio name alone would suggest.
But a strong résumé is a reason to pay attention, not a reason to declare the next era a success before the products exist.
As with the figures we cover in our Hot Toys reviews, the meaningful test for One Sixth Society will be what collectors can actually buy. Thoughtful character choices, convincing sculpting, appropriate accessories, reliable availability and value will matter more than the language in an executive announcement.
Izzo has the background to make this an appointment worth watching. The next step is turning that experience into products that earn a place on the shelf.
For the latest sixth scale releases beyond this appointment, explore our Hot Toys preorders.