No Licenced historic theme this year?

[kinggregus]

In recent years, I cannot recall a year when we did not have a licenced historic theme running. I am thinking about Prince of Persia, The Lord of the Rings,The Lone Ranger and The hobbit.

I was wondering, if I am in the minority to look after those licenced historic sets and if anyone is aware of an upcoming new theme which would fill in this gap?

I particularly like licenced historic set as they show more realistic designs/colours and very nice minifigures.

[LegoFjotten]

I'm guessing the "misc" licensed slots are currently occupied by Jurassic World and Scooby Doo plus the upcoming Angry Birds theme. Not sure how long JW and Scooby Doo will stick around though. Haven't heard anything about other new licensed themes yet.

Edit: Oh, and I generally like the licensed sets (historical and otherwise) too, mostly for the minifigs and unique pieces.

Edited December 22, 2015 by LegoFjotten

[narbilu]

I hope at the end of 2016, that we can expect something of the new (JK Rowling) Harry Potter spinoff "Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them!

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Fantastic_Beasts_and_Where_to_Find_Them_(film_trilogy)

[x105Black]

Angry Birds (as much as I can't stand the actual license) has both a castle and a pirate ship, so I'm guessing this is the 'historic' licensed theme.

Sadly, the 'minifigures' are useless, at least to me. But the castle looks pretty cool.

[MAB]

Yeah, angry birds is the future of history.

[Aanchir]

I don't think LEGO goes out of their way to ensure their licenses all fall into particular genres, or that they fulfill some type of "quota". What licensed themes they have tends to depend more on what movies/TV shows they are willing to bet on than on what genres those movies/TV shows fall into. The only way I can see them caring a lot about genre is if they're worried about a licensed theme conflicting with an ongoing non-licensed theme, and that doesn't appear to be the case this year.

Are there any particular 2016 "historical" movie licenses you think the LEGO Group could/should have pursued? Looking at https://en.wikipedia...ki/2016_in_film I don't see a lot for the first half of the year that jump out at me. There is Moana coming out in November 2016, which I could see LEGO potentially releasing sets for. Depends what Disney's marketing strategy for that movie will be like, I suppose.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Aanchir

[SirBlake]

I hope at the end of 2016, that we can expect something of the new (JK Rowling) Harry Potter spinoff "Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them!

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Fantastic_Beasts_and_Where_to_Find_Them_(film_trilogy)

That's a nice thought, but it is set in early 1900's New York, so less chance for a castle setting like Hogwarts.

[Blakstone]

I could see some more historic (but not Castle) sets coming from Dr Who if it expands past Ideas / Dimensions. I thought I saw a BBC article saying that it would be a full theme, but I searched for that today without success.

[Lyichir]

I could see some more historic (but not Castle) sets coming from Dr Who if it expands past Ideas / Dimensions. I thought I saw a BBC article saying that it would be a full theme, but I searched for that today without success.

I mean, Doctor Who has featured castles before from time to time, as well. But it is still unknown what sort of further sets there might be. Even if there are more sets, that could be anything from a large set like the Ghostbusters Firehouse to a series of minifigures like The Simpsons.

[A Gallifreyan Cat]

The angry birds license in my opinion was a mistake. The game is about 3 years past its prime, and almost no one plays it anymore.

[Sigolf Brimabane]

Yeah, everything about the Angry Birds license feels like a mistake. It's like when memes get into games a year after people have stopped using it. Since it takes lego quite some time to get licenses and design the sets it might be unwise to do these fads like Angry Birds. But we'll see how it goes.

[Lyichir]

The angry birds license in my opinion was a mistake. The game is about 3 years past its prime, and almost no one plays it anymore.

To be honest, I see a lot of comments like this, and I think they're just as wrong as they were when people were saying the exact same thing about Minecraft.

The game may not be the newest, freshest thing anymore, but it's one of the most popular titles in the mobile gaming sphere, and I wouldn't be surprised if even the original game still is downloaded by hundreds of new users every day (a number that will surely go up when the movie brings the brand back into the public consciousness). I also still see TONS of Angry Birds merchandise in stores, including kids' T-shirts, and I rarely ever see any evidence that the brand has lost any of its appeal with Lego's demographic. Lego does do better with classic licenses than they do with "fads", but I think calling Angry Birds a "fad" ignores the fact that the brand and characters are probably more widely recognized by many members of the current generation than even classic video game icons like Mario or Sonic.

Edited December 26, 2015 by Lyichir