McDonald's Happy Meals are about to come with BTS-inspired toys
BTS is coming to a McDonald's near you. Well, the K-pop supergroup's BT21 characters are.
New BT21 Happy Meals will become available starting Tuesday, July 14, at participating McDonald's restaurants. Each meal will have one of 10 BT21 toys depicting the BTS-inspired galaxy-exploring characters.
The seven-member South Korean boy band, which debuted in 2013, created its BT21 characters back in 2017 with the help of entertainment intellectual property company Line Friends. The company has also produced toys and merchandise featuring Mighteez, characters created with another K-pop boy group, ATEEZ, and with brands including Sesame Street.
Each BT21 character reflects aspects of the performers' personalities. Main vocalist Jungkook's character Cooky is loyal and "always full of heart and boundless stamina," according to the BT21 website.
The Happy Meal box also has a QR code that can be scanned for an "interactive digital experience that transports them into BT21's musical universe," according to a description McDonald's shared with USA TODAY.
McDonald's and BTS have a Happy Meal history
This will be the third McDonald's-BTS collaboration. In September 2025, the fast-food chain offered TinyTAN Happy Meals with miniature BTS figurines. Back in 2021, McDonald's offered a BTS Meal in 2021 that came with South Korean-inspired dipping sauces.
These new Happy Meals come as the band readies for its halftime performance during the FIFA World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Also performing: Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber.
What BT21 toys will be in BTS McDonald's Happy Meals?
Each member of BTS has a Happy Meal toy representing their BT21 character on an individual spaceship (as they are galactic explorers). An eighth character, Van, which represents the BTS fan base or army, gets a toy, too. A ninth toy has all of the characters on a ship. The 10th toy is a poster with stickers.
Each toy has a ring clip so you can "hook Tata to your purse, put Chimmy on your keyring, or take the whole group of universtars with you on your backpack," according to McDonald's Menu Spotter.
Here are the group members' names and their corresponding character names:
- RM – Koya
- Jin – RJ
- Suga – Shooky
- J-Hope – Mang
- Jimin – Chimmy
- V – Tata
- Jungkook – Cooky
- Army (or BTS fan base) – Van
BT21 toys regularly sell out and fans have created a global community, including meetups.
The new Happy Meal toys follow the March 2026 arrival of BTS's fifth studio album "ARIRANG," and the group's first tour since the members finished their mandatory South Korean military service. The BTS tour kicked off May 2 in El Paso, Texas, with stops throughout North America, followed by dates in Europe. The tour returns to the U.S. beginning Aug. 1.
The group's March 21 concert from Seoul was streamed live on Netflix and is available to watch on demand, as is the feature-length documentary "BTS: The Return."
Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: McDonald's Happy Meals are about to come with BTS-inspired toys
Reporting by Mike Snider, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 3:01 AM.