UPDATE: 'Black Panther' Toy Shortage Blindsides Retailers

Update:  A representative at Walt Disney has reached out with a quote:

“The product line celebrating Black Panther is the largest ever for a Marvel origin film, including expanded categories, such as performance wear and high-fashion collaborations. We are thrilled that fans around the world are celebrating this incredible story through merchandise. We anticipated demand would be strong, but it is exceeding even our highest expectations.”

Toy stores were not prepared for the buzz that would surround the release of Black Panther. The New York Post recently reported that Hasbro can’t meet the demand for the film’s action figures that customers are currently fawning over. Stock for thousands of retailers worldwide has sold out in just three weeks after Black Panther premiered back in February. Even Amazon is close to running out of action figures according to report.

Disney has assured folks that a new batch of toys will rollout over the summer for Avengers: Infinity War, as well as for back-to-school and Halloween time. Toy analyst Richard Gottlieb told The Post the industry underestimated Black Panther would have strong demand outside of the black community. “The African-American community was very excited about this movie, but the toy industry was unsure whether it would generate broad public demand,” he said.

In related news, Black Panther recently beat Titanic as the third top-grossing film in America.