Tron Legacy, Green Lantern, Cowboys & Aliens, Batman, Last Airbender, A-Team, Star Trek and more headline Vegas Licensing Expo

According to a report on THR, film studios will be squarely focused on tentpole franchises at next week’s Licensing International Expo, which will be celebrating its 30th anniversary.

The Licensing International Expo runs from June 8th through the 10th, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, and will feature attendees from the worlds of retail, advertising and licensing, alongside film and TV studios, sports brands and more.

They amass in an annual ritual that will showcase merchandise based on Hollywood properties that arrive this year and next.

Marty Brochstein from trade organization LIMA (International Licensing Industry Merchandisers Assn.), stated that content firms have focused on fewer but bigger properties based on retailers’ recession-driven conservatism.

According to the report, Disney will for the first time since its Marvel acquisition bring its new stable of superheroes to the foreground, along with film properties Tron Legacy, Pirates of the Caribbean, Phineas and Ferb, Cars, Toy Story, and its classic characters Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh.

Warner Bros. will focus on Green Lantern, which the studio expects to hit theaters in 2011. Warner Bros. will also put weight behind Happy Feet, ahead of its sequel next year, along with the last two Harry Potter films.

Also on tap for the company include DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera, Batman, Looney Tunes, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and Scooby-Doo.

Nickelodeon Consumer Products will shine the spotlight on this summer’s The Last Airbender and the 10th anniversary of Dora the Explorer, along with staples SpongeBob SquarePants and iCarly.

Fox is rolling out a merchandise program tied to network hit Glee, and are also excited about next year’s animated film Rio, for which the company will seek merchandising partners in Las Vegas. Fox will also taught The Simpsons, Family Guy, Avatar, Ice Age and The A-Team. I’m more than a little surprised there was no mention of the re-booted Alien or Predator franchises in the article, but that certainly doesn’t mean they won’t be on display in some shape or form.

CBS Consumer Products arrives with the upcoming Antoine Fuqua-directed film Consent to Kill – an action-thriller centered on CIA counter-terrorism agent Mitch Rapp – and a re-imagining of the classic Western Gunsmoke. Star Trek will also extend its retail presence across all product categories ahead of the sequel in 2012.

Universal Partnerships & Licensing hits Vegas seeking partners for big 2012 Hasbro-based film releases including Stretch Armstrong and Battleship, along with Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Cowboys & Aliens, animation/live-action film Hop, Fast and Furious sequel Fast Five and the sci-fi thriller The Thing. It also will offer opportunities around the studio’s 100th anniversary to be celebrated in 2012.

DreamWorks Animation will talk about merchandise opportunities for next year’s Kung Fu Panda sequel and Puss in Boots as well as this winter’s Megamind and TV’s The Penguins of Madagascar.

Lucasfilm is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars returns for a third season on Cartoon Network this fall.