“Messi and the Giants” Is Already Building a Giant Lineup With Hasbro, adidas, Panini and More

“Messi and the Giants” hasn’t even kicked off on Disney+ yet, and this new animated adventure is already assembling quite the team.

We recently got our first real look at the upcoming animated sports-fantasy series inspired by football legend Lionel Messi, which will introduce audiences to 12-year-old Leo and a world where soccer is about to become considerably bigger than the game we know.

Now Sony Pictures Consumer Products and Sony Music Vision are revealing the first companies that will help take that adventure beyond the screen when the series arrives next summer.

And there are some pretty major names on the roster.

Hasbro has been named the master toy partner for “Messi and the Giants” and will develop toys and games inspired by the series, while adidas is stepping onto the field with children’s footwear, apparel and sport accessories designed for both athletic and everyday wear.

That adidas partnership also comes with a particularly interesting first.

The program is expected to feature the first adidas kids on-screen shoe in the company’s history, connecting what children see Leo and the characters wearing in the series with the wider product world being developed around it.

Considering this is a story built around soccer, that feels like a rather fitting place to start.

But the lineup doesn’t stop with toys and sportswear.

Penguin Random House will serve as the worldwide book publishing partner, bringing Leo’s world into publishing, while Panini will develop stickers and collectibles based on the series. Centric Brands is creating apparel, accessories and home products for a range of retailers, and Rubie’s will bring “Messi and the Giants” into Halloween with costumes, party goods and accessories.

Yes, Leo hasn’t even made his Disney+ debut and kids are already going to be able to dress up as part of his world.

Products are expected to begin rolling out alongside the series in summer 2027, with additional launches following in fall 2027.

It’s an ambitious start for an animated property audiences are still getting to know, but “Messi and the Giants” certainly isn’t beginning from the same place as an entirely unknown series.

Lionel Messi brings one of the most recognizable names in sports to the project, while the series itself isn’t simply telling his story. Instead, that connection becomes the starting point for an original fantasy adventure designed around soccer, competition, teamwork and determination.

“Messi and the Giants” follows 12-year-old Leo after he becomes trapped in an alternate reality ruled by giants. Getting home means competing in high-stakes, soccer-like battles, turning the sport into the foundation for a much larger fantasy adventure.

Now that world is being built outside the series too.

Toys let kids recreate those adventures. adidas gives the soccer connection somewhere to go in the real world. Panini taps directly into the collecting culture already surrounding the sport, while books offer another way to spend time with the characters and story. Then costumes give young fans the opportunity to become part of it themselves.

Put together, this first group of partners makes Sony’s ambitions for “Messi and the Giants” rather clear.

This isn’t being treated as simply another animated series.

It’s being built as a world kids can watch, read, collect, play with and even wear.

And we haven’t even reached kickoff yet.

“Messi and the Giants” is scheduled to premiere globally on Disney+ and on Disney Channel in the U.S. in summer 2027, with its first wave of products also beginning to arrive that summer.

Leo may have giants to face when his adventure begins.

But judging by the team already forming around him, he’s bringing a pretty giant lineup of his own.