Over the last few years, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have enjoyed an awesome resurgence in the world of television, film, comic books and action figures. Unfortunately, when it comes to the coveted space of toy aisles during the holiday season, some franchises are just more popular and powerful than others. Although they’ve been one of the hottest holiday items for three years in a row, TMNT toys are now being squeezed out by a new line of Star Wars toys that are hitting store shelves.

To be honest, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, because Star Wars has been one of the hottest brands in the world since before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles even existed. That being said, it’s sad to see that Playmates and other TMNT toy manufacturers are losing valuable real estate in stores such as Target. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Target will be using 20% of the space formerly taken by TMNT merchandise in order to promote Star Wars toys instead. That’s a pretty significant chunk, but it doesn’t necessarily spell the doom and gloom of the franchise.

With a new movie coming out in 2016, the television series in its fourth season and IDW’s comic series really heating up, there is no indication that the Ninja Turtles are going anywhere anytime soon. The only reason they are losing ground this holiday season is because the Star Wars brand is so incredibly popular. Heck, I’m sure there are plenty of shellheads out there who are looking forward to the new movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens, set for release on December 18th, 2015.

As a fan of both franchises, I’m perfectly fine with the turtles making a little space for some Star Wars toys. I don’t know if Viacom will feel the same way about that, but hopefully they won’t hold it against the Ninja Turtles. With several more Star Wars properties planned in the coming future, this is only the beginning of the battle over store shelves. Hopefully both franchises manage to do well and thrive despite one being pushed to the side in favor of another.