The new year is tomorrow - and this will be the last AGDN post of 2023! The 10th anniversary of this site is in just 5 days, and 10 years ago today, I went to an American Girl store for the first time. I'm so grateful that this site has been a part of my life for over half my life, and I cannot wait to keep running it for years to come!
Anyways, onto the post! For New Year's Eve, I thought it would be fun if I did some predictions for 2024 in the American Girl world.
The first thing I'm predicting is more graphic-style novels and books for American Girl dolls. Julie is getting a journal and a graphic novel mystery, so I can imagine that we will probably end up getting more for the other historical characters. Maybe some of the older mysteries will come back as graphic novels, as well as parts cut out of the abridged illustrated novels!
American Girl does another collaboration with a new animated movie. The Trolls: Band Together line sold out within only a month or two, and the movie itself did better than expected, making nearly $100 million in the US alone. Animated movies coming out this year include Kung Fu Panda 4, Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4 and The Garfield Movie, as well as an untitled Disney movie. None seem like obvious fits with American Girl (except maybe Inside Out), but who knows, they might surprise us!
The American Girl movie either gets cancelled or gets fast-tracked into production. I know this was only JUST announced, but days after the announcement that Paramount Pictures took over the movie, it was announced that Warner Brothers is in talks to purchase Paramount. If Warner Brothers buys Paramount, this could either mean one of two things - the movie gets cancelled (like what happened with the first iteration when Amazon bought MGM), or the movie's progress goes faster (after all, Warner Brothers's biggest movie of all time is now Barbie!)
Either Kaya or Rebecca gets cubed. Both dolls have had noticeably smaller collections, with items selling out and less attention from American Girl marketing. However, since Kaya is American Girl's only Native American doll and Rebecca is American Girl's only fully Jewish doll currently available, they would make their choice silently. I think Rebecca is more likely because Isabel and Nicki are available, but that would mean that Isabel and Nicki would need some Hanukkah stuff to keep that representation in the historical line.
5. The Girl of the Year 2025, rumored to be named Summer McKinny, has a connection to space. In December 2025, the United States's Artemis 3 is scheduled to land on the moon, landing both the first woman astronaut and the first Black astronaut onto the moon. Luciana Vega, who would be seven years old in 2025, would not be remembered by the target audience, allowing American Girl to repeat the theme in honor of Artemis 3. If this is the case, there is a possibility Summer would be the second Black Girl of the Year and the first to have a unique design.
What do you guys think? I hope you all have a happy New Year!
im not as into ag dolls as i was 10 years ago but i really hope that the space/science theme for summer is real! luciana had such a cute collection plus it would be an opportunity to finally have an american girl doll hailing from my home state of texas :0 maybe houston for the space center there? i visited a few years ago and it was soooo cool
I don't actually like the direction they are going with the graphic novels. It's going to be a girl from 2024 helping an older Julie it seems like. I don't know if I want modern girls helping older American Girls...some of them might be dead by then....that's just...so sad 😭
I really would like a new theme for GOTY. Even though repeat themes are going to happen, the company underestimates that these kids know about older dolls (they are on the internet) and they aren't attempting to be creative anymore and try new things. I've grown bored with GOTY, honestly. And if she is a character of color it would be more advantageous to do something new with her collection.
I hope they do not cube Kaya. I think it would leave them open for scrutiny. Rebecca is more than likely to be cubed because of 1. Nicki and Isabel 2. Anti-Jewish sentiment in the country causing threats and violence. They might try to cube her collection to avoid controversy…
A space theme is one I think would actually be necessary to repeat because STEM for girls (and kids in general) is very important. And maybe an older Luciana could be in Summer's story just like an older McKenna is in Lila's story.
i'm excited for more books and summer! here's hoping kirsten or lissie return next year! :D