Bryan Cranston Called It: Sony’s Labubu Movie Is The Studio in Real Life

Well, this was probably inevitable: Sony is turning Labubu, the viral designer toy from China, into a movie. If that makes you picture a new IP factory spinning up, you are not wrong. And yes, the timing is hilariously on the nose given a certain Apple TV+ satire about studio heads who only see brands and merch.

Wait, what exactly is Labubu?

Labubu is the lead plush monster dreamed up by Kasing Lung, a Hong Kong-born artist. It was never built for Hollywood. It was barely built for the mainstream. Over the last two years, though, Pop Mart turned it into a global phenomenon by leaning into mystery and scarcity.

The toys are sold in blind boxes, so you do not know which figure you are getting until you crack it open. That gamified surprise plus limited runs created a wild resale market. Some Labubu pieces have gone for six figures. Celebrity co-signs did not hurt either: BLACKPINK's Lisa has been spotted using them as accessories, Dua Lipa joined the wave, and the toys blew up across Southeast Asia before spreading everywhere else. Pop Mart says profits jumped 350% this year off the frenzy. Naturally, Hollywood wants in.

So what is Sony actually making?

• Studio: Sony is officially developing a Labubu movie, per The Hollywood Reporter.
• Franchise intent: This is not a one-off; the plan is clearly to build a dedicated brand on the studio side.
• Format: Still up in the air. Could be animated, could be live-action. No decision yet.
• Talent: No writers, directors, or stars attached at this stage.
• Origins: Labubu is the signature creation of artist Kasing Lung; the brand exploded under Pop Mart's retail strategy.

The Hollywood vibe check

The playbook here is familiar. After The Lego Movie and Barbie proved that toy-to-film can be monster business, every company started rummaging through the collectibles closet. Labubu, though, is a different beast than a household-name toy. It is niche, quirky, and powered by scarcity. Translating that into a four-quadrant movie is a big swing.

And then there is the funny coincidence: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's Apple TV+ series The Studio. In it, Bryan Cranston plays a profit-obsessed CEO named Griffin Mill, the kind of exec who sees cinema as content pipelines. One of his brainwaves? A massive Kool-Aid blockbuster tied to the Jonestown cult, possibly with Martin Scorsese in the mix. The satire writes itself, and the Labubu news landing now makes it feel even sharper.

'Barbie is this massive blockbuster, and the idea is: Make more movies about toys! No. Make more movies by and about women.'

That was Randall Park, after Barbie's success, summing up the lesson he thinks Hollywood should have learned. Instead, we are back to the toy aisle. To be fair, with Pop Mart's profits spiking 350% and resale prices hitting six figures, you can see why Sony thinks there is a movie in here somewhere.

Where this could go

If Sony figures this out, I could see a surreal animated adventure leaning into Kasing Lung's oddball creature design, or a live-action hybrid that turns Labubu into a mischievous mascot. If they chase the brand without the charm, it becomes exactly the thing The Studio is making fun of.

The Studio is streaming on Apple TV+ in the U.S.