Ideas for new Lego themes! (Non-licensed)

[MAB]

22 hours ago, SpacePolice89 said:

I disagree. Ninjago tries to be too much at once and is too chaotic for me. There is nothing wrong with Ninjago but it can never replace more realistic or purely sci-fi themes. 

43 minutes ago, SpacePolice89 said:

The problem with most current unlicensed themes are that they are subpar Ninjago clones. City space is also a poor replacement because it will always be too NASA like.

So Ninjago can never replace realistic sci-fi, but City is "poor" because it is too realistic?

This type of set doesn't look very NASA like to me. This looks like a direct descendent of earlier fantasy-based Space themes. 

50 minutes ago, SpacePolice89 said:

Ninjago is a good theme that deserves a permanent place in the lineup but it can never replace themes such as Castle, Pirates, Space etc. because it is too out there and too fantasy based and too Power Rangers like. I don't necessarily see one year themes as a bad thing because they provide variation and most of them stuck around for 2-3 years.

Ninjago (along with City) can replace Castle, Pirates and Space. We know that because it has literally replaced them. Times move on, and kids' interests change. Classic Castle, Pirates and Space are now just nostalgia based ideas primarily for adults covered by ICONS. 

[SpacePolice89]

28 minutes ago, MAB said:

So Ninjago can never replace realistic sci-fi, but City is "poor" because it is too realistic?

This type of set doesn't look very NASA like to me. This looks like a direct descendent of earlier fantasy-based Space themes. 

Ninjago (along with City) can replace Castle, Pirates and Space. We know that because it has literally replaced them. Times move on, and kids' interests change. Classic Castle, Pirates and Space are now just nostalgia based ideas primarily for adults covered by ICONS. 

I wrote realistic or sci-fi.

[DonQuixote]

4 hours ago, SpacePolice89 said:

 

5. Personally I prefer the human vs human themes and subthemes in Castle and Space. Blacktron and Wolfpack are much better villains than aliens or trolls. 

Yep, me too. I never liked the fantasy era from castle. Also not a fan of Lord of the Rings despite having Rivendell on display.

Human villains are far more interesting in films than Orcs ,White Walkers and what not..

Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, ( Starwars)

King Joffrey , Cersei,(Game of thrones),

the Sherrif of Nothingham ( played by the great Alan Rickman ) in Prince of thieves.

Biff, Griff, Buford (Back to the future)

They are all human and interesting villains.

Blacktron and Wolfpack are excellent villains.

Now we need SpacePolice 1 come back to arrest the Blacktron! 

Non human villains are too one dimensional ,too boring, too evil, just being evil for the sake of evil.

Human villains are not 100% bad , they have emotions , motivs and so on ,interesting character development and so on

[Lyichir]

Something that occurred to me recently when buying gifts for family is that, while Lego has gotten a little more into sets for adults, there's very little to speak of in their catalog that appeals broadly to teens in their edgy/angsty phases. There's a little bit in licensed fare (Wednesday's goth-adjacent aesthetic, Stranger Things' coming-of-age/horror blend), but less when you get into unlicensed stuff (which mostly either trends colorful and cartoony for kids or prestigious and stately for adults). I ended up getting my young cousin the Wednesday Black Dahlia set, but I can't help but wonder if there's a market for an original theme for that age—something slightly spooky, edgy, or countercultural, but one that doesn't have to lean on fandom for existing pop culture. I guess pseudo-horror themes like Monster Fighters and Hidden Side sort of filled that niche before they went away, and a theme in that vein could do so again in the future, but there's not much in the current catalog of themes that fits the bill.

[danth]

5 hours ago, MAB said:

Ninjago (along with City) can replace Castle, Pirates and Space. 

I don't recall any Ninjago space sets. Although maybe that's why you included City. 

I still think it's weird that Ninjago went everywhere BUT space. 

I'm pretty much sick of the Ninjago aesthetic. I like ninjas & mechs & vehicles but I just don't think the Ninjago sets have good designs. Anime mecha already have a cool Japanese aesthetic, so I don't get why Ninjago mechs need to be ridiculously ninja'd out. Or the vehicles: a helicopter with swords for rotor blades and a shuriken for a tail rotor. Is that cool, or stupid and ridiculous? I guess some kids may like it, but anime mechanical designs are way cool without being stupid.

To sum up: Ninjago is extremely and narrowly Asian-coded stylistically, but somehow doesn't even nail that excellent Japanese sci-fi design sense, so it's not capable of replacing sci-fi themes generally. 

The recent City Space sets were cool without being extremely goofy.

Edited December 15, 2025 by danth

[danth]

5 hours ago, MAB said:

We know that because it has literally replaced them.

Actually, Star Wars replaced Space, other than the recent City Space sets (which, btw, show both that 1. Lego knows that non-Star Wars Space is popular and can sell and 2. Lego is forced to shoehorn sci-fi Space sets into City due to licensing agreements). 

And LOTR, Harry Potter, and Disney replaced Castle. 

5 hours ago, MAB said:

Times move on, and kids' interests change.

More like licensing happened and kids can only buy what's available. 

[Lion King]

I really don’t mind about City’s Space sub theme. But yeah, i think Space sub themes had been replaced with Star Wars. I would love to see another new Space theme that we never saw before.  We have seen Rock Raider and Ice Planet. What about humans exploring strange jungle on a distant planet?  A tribe of jungle-dwelling aliens? Bioluminous creatures hiding in dark depths of jungle?  Almost like Avatar, yes but something different. 

On 12/14/2025 at 11:39 AM, Karalora said:

 

4. A "historical Japan" setting would also be excellent, but I'd be leery of applying "good guys vs. bad guys" to a historical scenario that could easily be coded to modern nations that are often in conflict. No, modern Japan and Mongolia are not at odds, but modern Japan and China are in certain ways, and given that the Mongols were the rulers of China at the time of the invasion in question...yeah. I think a better use of old Japan would be to set it in the Warring States period (as I believe classic Ninja was) so that all the color-coded factions are Japanese and the question is avoided

Ghost of Tsushima video game is extremely popular recently. 

[Lion King]

Anyways, I ‘m in favor of burning Ninja theme back. However, Ninjago is still around here.  So….

[MAB]

11 hours ago, Lyichir said:

Something that occurred to me recently when buying gifts for family is that, while Lego has gotten a little more into sets for adults, there's very little to speak of in their catalog that appeals broadly to teens in their edgy/angsty phases. There's a little bit in licensed fare (Wednesday's goth-adjacent aesthetic, Stranger Things' coming-of-age/horror blend), but less when you get into unlicensed stuff (which mostly either trends colorful and cartoony for kids or prestigious and stately for adults). I ended up getting my young cousin the Wednesday Black Dahlia set, but I can't help but wonder if there's a market for an original theme for that age—something slightly spooky, edgy, or countercultural, but one that doesn't have to lean on fandom for existing pop culture. I guess pseudo-horror themes like Monster Fighters and Hidden Side sort of filled that niche before they went away, and a theme in that vein could do so again in the future, but there's not much in the current catalog of themes that fits the bill.

It might be that when teens are into that semi-rebellious phase then they are also starting to rebel against their 'little kid' toys too, and where they are still into their toys then there is too much difference into what they might be into. There have been some smaller sets and especially CMFs in the past that touch on themes like the skater boys and girls, the trendsetter, various gamers and DJ characters, a few goth-like figures, k-pop style fashion, and so on.

Edited December 16, 2025 by MAB

[Xfing]

Oh dear, as a huge fan of unlicensed LEGO I'd definitely have a bunch of ideas. 

I know underwater themes have been done a lot, but I'd definitely give this another try, perhaps Aquazone II - a proper reimagination of Aquazone with similar-looking and directly inspired factions but modern moulds. I wouldn't mind the return of those octagonal tubes, since today we've got way better ways of SNOT building than before, so they'd be easier to integrate into builds in ways that don't seem awkward. The propeller housing should deifnitely make a return though. It'd feel right at home, seeing as how TLG have been making a slow return towards angular shapes after almost two decades of roundness (if the Lego City yellow bulldozer is any indication). 

Regarding a newer theme, I picture: dark bluish gray and neon green. spaceships, vehicles - combo of sci fi and Lovecraftian fantasy. exploring deep tunnels in search of ancient civilizations and creatures, uncovering mysteries. Think a combination of space with the character of Adventurers and Rock Raiders, with a dash of the mid-late 90s sci-fi themes such as UFO and Insectoids in terms of aesthetics. I know it's all vague, but that vibe might end up leading to something pretty cool
  

12 hours ago, Lyichir said:

Something that occurred to me recently when buying gifts for family is that, while Lego has gotten a little more into sets for adults, there's very little to speak of in their catalog that appeals broadly to teens in their edgy/angsty phases. There's a little bit in licensed fare (Wednesday's goth-adjacent aesthetic, Stranger Things' coming-of-age/horror blend), but less when you get into unlicensed stuff (which mostly either trends colorful and cartoony for kids or prestigious and stately for adults). I ended up getting my young cousin the Wednesday Black Dahlia set, but I can't help but wonder if there's a market for an original theme for that age—something slightly spooky, edgy, or countercultural, but one that doesn't have to lean on fandom for existing pop culture. I guess pseudo-horror themes like Monster Fighters and Hidden Side sort of filled that niche before they went away, and a theme in that vein could do so again in the future, but there's not much in the current catalog of themes that fits the bill.

Funnily enough, I believe that age group was targeted back on the cusp of studded/studless transition for Technic, around 1997-1999. That's when Technic tried to rebrand from "nerdy" to "cool" and "edgy" and targeted older, rebellious kids and teenagers. As for System themes though? you're probably right, nothing to my knowledge ever targeted teens directly and explicitly

Edited December 16, 2025 by Xfing

[SpacePolice89]

13 minutes ago, Xfing said:

It'd feel right at home, seeing as how TLG have been making a slow return towards angular shapes after almost two decades of roundness (if the Lego City yellow bulldozer is any indication). 

I'd be very happy to see that happen!

[Xfing]

12 hours ago, Lyichir said:

Something that occurred to me recently when buying gifts for family is that, while Lego has gotten a little more into sets for adults, there's very little to speak of in their catalog that appeals broadly to teens in their edgy/angsty phases. There's a little bit in licensed fare (Wednesday's goth-adjacent aesthetic, Stranger Things' coming-of-age/horror blend), but less when you get into unlicensed stuff (which mostly either trends colorful and cartoony for kids or prestigious and stately for adults). I ended up getting my young cousin the Wednesday Black Dahlia set, but I can't help but wonder if there's a market for an original theme for that age—something slightly spooky, edgy, or countercultural, but one that doesn't have to lean on fandom for existing pop culture. I guess pseudo-horror themes like Monster Fighters and Hidden Side sort of filled that niche before they went away, and a theme in that vein could do so again in the future, but there's not much in the current catalog of themes that fits the bill.

Funnily enough, I believe that age group was targeted back on the cusp of studded/studless transition for Technic, around 1997-1999. That's when Technic tried to rebrand from "nerdy" to "cool" and "edgy" and targeted older, rebellious kids and teenagers.

[SpacePolice89]

14 hours ago, Lyichir said:

Something that occurred to me recently when buying gifts for family is that, while Lego has gotten a little more into sets for adults, there's very little to speak of in their catalog that appeals broadly to teens in their edgy/angsty phases. There's a little bit in licensed fare (Wednesday's goth-adjacent aesthetic, Stranger Things' coming-of-age/horror blend), but less when you get into unlicensed stuff (which mostly either trends colorful and cartoony for kids or prestigious and stately for adults). I ended up getting my young cousin the Wednesday Black Dahlia set, but I can't help but wonder if there's a market for an original theme for that age—something slightly spooky, edgy, or countercultural, but one that doesn't have to lean on fandom for existing pop culture. I guess pseudo-horror themes like Monster Fighters and Hidden Side sort of filled that niche before they went away, and a theme in that vein could do so again in the future, but there's not much in the current catalog of themes that fits the bill.

I think one has to be a hardcore Lego fan to stay interested in Lego trough those years. From all the people I know in real life it is only me and another guy that stayed seriously interested in Lego during all the teenage years. Most people thought that they were too cool for Lego during those years and I think no matter what designs Lego makes they will not buy. Many of them regained interest in Lego in their 20s when they had matured and their hormones had settled. 

Edited December 16, 2025 by SpacePolice89

[Xfing]

Yeah, I had quite a break myself. Seems like "dark ages" is not a thing for no reason.

and the propeller housing? yes, I do feel it's an evergreen, even though according to Rebrickable it was last used in a set in 2005.

[Lion King]

So we had Viking sub theme in 2000s. Would anyone be interested to see its return after Viking Village (Ideas set)? I do! It’s really neat to see some fantastic creature like Midgard Seprent and Fenrir in that original theme. 

And I would love to see a newer theme that is based on Greco-Roman mythology.  Maybe take a Monkie Kid spin?

[SpacePolice89]

2 minutes ago, Lion King said:

So we had Viking sub theme in 2000s. Would anyone be interested to see its return after Viking Village (Ideas set)? I do! It’s really neat to see some fantastic creature like Midgard Seprent and Fenrir in that original theme. 

And I would love to see a newer theme that is based on Greco-Roman mythology.  Maybe take a Monkie Kid spin?

A new Vikings theme would be fantastic and I feel the same about something Greco-Roman based but not if it's related to Monkie Kid in any way or form.

[Lion King]

1 hour ago, SpacePolice89 said:

A new Vikings theme would be fantastic and I feel the same about something Greco-Roman based but not if it's related to Monkie Kid in any way or form.

Yeah. It seems kids like to have bunch of mechs and vehicles like Ninjago, Monkie Kid, Nero Knights, and DreamZzz. I am not sure how much they would be interested in those mythologies without a Monkie Kid element. 

[ShaydDeGrai]

While not a narrative theme (sorry, very little computer game, comic book or animated series potential), I wouldn't object to an official line of Great Ball Contraption kits.  We've already got Art and Botanicals why not add frivolous engineering desktoys to the mix?

Each kit could have the option of running in a stand-alone loopback or be pipelined together (as per the standard conventions) 

You could have a range of offerings embodying the basic families of mechanisms varying in scale and complexity: ball pumps, ramps/seesaws, conveyer belts, scissor lifts, stair steppers, screws, etc. 

At the higher end, the kits become more complex and stylistic/themed (amusement park rides,  robot arms, Rube Goldberg-esque devices, etc.)

Low-end kits could be designed to be cranked by hand or allow for  motor (sold separately) to be added.  High end (flagship models) would include a motor and batter box.

I was recently CHristmas shopping for my daughter (who wanted a marble run kit) and was more than a little surprise by the breadth and variety of the options out there.  If the global economy can support 200+ varitions of "ball on a ramp reacting to gravity" surely there must be room in the marketplace for at least a few "ball moving uphill in clever ways - some assembly required" offerings.  If nothing else, it might turn more people onto the GBC sub-culture and make official Lego balls a lot easier/cheaper to come by.

 

 

[MAB]

On 12/24/2025 at 12:34 PM, ShaydDeGrai said:

I wouldn't object to an official line of Great Ball Contraption kits. 

I would. GBC are one popular fan creation especially at exhibitions that LEGO hasn't made 'theirs'. I like that they are all purely fan creations and not official. As soon as LEGO decide to release their own, these displays will become less interesting as official modules start to replace fan creations. Also I don't think they make very good home displays, as even a few units take up a lot of space. Displaying a whole circuit would surely be impossible for most people.