Do you think lego will ever realese another space theme

[mrfang2]

So, while we don’t have exactly a “space theme” currently, i would argue we haven’t been as removed from them as we thought. 
 

say we do get a new space theme. Sets would probably include like, a flying vehicle with a deployable ground vehicle. A big rolling vehicle too, maybe with an exaggerated rocket engine area to really push it as being faster and more powerful than today’s vehicles. Maybe a big, showy mech set. Maybe a few little Buildings with some futuristic elements to them. A big base with some smaller vehicles maybe. Since it’s a modern theme you’d probably want atleast 2 factions. Maybe if the heroes side is smooth and colorful, the villains side is dark and angular. Probably a new color scheme too, say, the heroes use red and yellow with some teal accents, and the villains black and purple with firey red accents?

Monkie kid. 
 

how about a theme where technology is the key to everything. A huge battle inside a tron-esque computer program, users using sci fi racing vehicles to battle programs over some kind of key to get out of the system? 
 

ninjago: prime empire

 

how about a more grounded theme, where sci fi elements are invented as the theme goes and mounted on existing, modern day vehicles in order to deal with the themes given threat, with the technology getting more streamlined and sci fi as the theme continued?

that was hidden side. 

Just because they aren’t set in space doesn’t mean these things aren’t perfectly good sci fi. They feature excellent parts, gorgeous set designs, and fun characters. While sure, I’d love a new -tron or another theme like galaxy squad or aliens conquest, heck even a mechs theme like exo force, the stuff that we do have is great! 
 

oh, also a torso design for a new ice planet team leaked in a ninjago trading card so... maybe that’s the rumored “returning classic theme” that’s been mentioned for this year. 

[danth]

6 hours ago, mrfang2 said:

oh, also a torso design for a new ice planet team leaked in a ninjago trading card so... maybe that’s the rumored “returning classic theme” that’s been mentioned for this year. 

How sure are we this isn't just a ninja torso that has been misidentified due to blurriness?

[mrfang2]

7 hours ago, danth said:

How sure are we this isn't just a ninja torso that has been misidentified due to blurriness?

It’s a very clear image, is a civilian character other than the torso, and is, very, VERY clearly an updated ice planet torso. Logo, colors, fuzzy neck area, grey belt with a similar design to the grey section on classic ice planet figs. It also looks to me to have a print that would continue onto legs while the legs on the card are blanks. I’d post it but I’m pretty sure it counts as a leak since those cards haven’t been revealed yet. If cards don’t count I’ll gladly put the pic up!

it’s the same character as the ice cream guy who works in the ice planet shop in the city gardens, but with a completely different torso to that which has not appeared anywhere yet, while the rest of the fig uses existing parts. 

[danth]

19 minutes ago, mrfang2 said:

It’s a very clear image

I finally saw it! Yep, it's true.

I have no idea where you guys see this stuff. I follow the obvious tags on Instagram but that pic never showed up on my feed.

[Lego David]

2 hours ago, danth said:

It’s a very clear image

I looked around #legoleaks, but I just couldn't find it. Can you please give some guiding as to where to find it? 

[Classic_Spaceman]

1 hour ago, Lego David said:

I looked around #legoleaks, but I just couldn't find it. Can you please give some guiding as to where to find it? 

Look at @exabrickslegogo's page, specifically the post that shows The Mechanic (from Ninjago) - The image is in that compilation. 
 

[danth]

Where is the whole "Lego is going to bring back an old theme" rumor coming from? Not saying I don't believe it, but if it's like a news press release or interview, I'd be interested in reading it.

If Lego WERE to bring back an old Space theme, I think Ice Planet is the absolute best choice they could make. Classic Space is awesome, but in terms of color schemes, you just can't beat Ice Planet. Everyone who sees old Ice Planet sets on social media goes crazy for them. People love the transparent orange chainsaw -- it's even a meme. It really has everything from regular Space sets -- exploration, satellites, rocket launchers -- with the added element of the hostile cold environment, so you get a built-in conflict to drive stories, even without an enemy. And of course the cool elements like skis and chainsaws. Hell, it even used magnets, so a new Ice Planet theme could use those new magnet pieces.

That said, I don't see that Ninjago card as proof of anything. There are a bunch of new torsos shown there. Do we expect all of them to be used in some theme? It'd be cool but I doubt it. I'd love to be wrong though.

Edited January 2, 2021 by danth

[mrfang2]

3 hours ago, danth said:

That said, I don't see that Ninjago card as proof of anything. There are a bunch of new torsos shown there. Do we expect all of them to be used in some theme? It'd be cool but I doubt it. I'd love to be wrong though.

All the other torsos shown ARE real, as far as I’ve seen, either from ninjago or from city. Most are either from ninjago city gardens or from the uncharted island series that’s coming in March! 

[Pulp Detective]

No there won't be.

Lego of the current year has become too complacent and too lazy.Why make a new space theme,why take risks,why spend resourses for something original and creative when you can keep peddling the same old tiresome designs from an ancient movie?

 

[Lord Insanity]

Has everyone seen the Canadian Catalog scans for the Marvel Eternals sets on Brickset?  The main spaceship is pretty cool looking and it has trans-purple windows.   Remember that is the Canadian price not US.  I have never heard of that particular Marvel comics property but that thing is a seriously cool spaceship.  The other sets could wind up being useful parts packs too.  Slap some helmets and gloves on those figures and they could make some great sci-fi astronauts.

[danth]

13 hours ago, mrfang2 said:

All the other torsos shown ARE real, as far as I’ve seen, either from ninjago or from city. Most are either from ninjago city gardens or from the uncharted island series that’s coming in March! 

I haven't seen the Team Shintaro torsos (the bare chested ones) on a real minifig yet. Or the hairpiece with the spiked circlet.

8 hours ago, LOTR34 said:

No there won't be.

Lego of the current year has become too complacent and too lazy.Why make a new space theme,why take risks,why spend resourses for something original and creative when you can keep peddling the same old tiresome designs from an ancient movie?

I feel ya. Not getting my hopes up. It's much more believable to me that Lego would tease us with a rendered Ice Planet torso that will never exist than the idea that they're gonna bring back the theme.

1 hour ago, Lord Insanity said:

The main spaceship is pretty cool looking and it has trans-purple windows.

First thing I noticed too! I'm going to have to Bricklink those, assuming they are really trans-purple and not trans-clear in purple lighting.

[Pulp Detective]

14 minutes ago, danth said:

I feel ya. Not getting my hopes up. It's much more believable to me that Lego would tease us with a rendered Ice Planet torso that will never exist than the idea that they're gonna bring back the theme.

Oh this definitely an easter egg and nothing more.Just a wink to the older fans and that's that.Lego has been doing this for quite some time for various older themes,for example there are countless Adventurers easter eggs in many themes.

[Robert8]

Star Wars will get loads of new content which means LEGO Star Wars galore. Also Marvel will have several space sets with Eternals, Captain Marvel 2 and Guardians of he Galaxy 3

So, nope. There is no way TLG is going to have 3 space lines sharing the shelves

 

I think the CMFs are the only way for the next few years. That or LEGO IDEAS. 

There is still the wild card of whatever is going to do Universal with the LEGO movies, but after the (space themed) TLM2 flopped I really doubt they would want to revisit that

[Lego David]

1 hour ago, Robert8 said:

I think the CMFs are the only way for the next few years. That or LEGO IDEAS. 

Or LEGO World Builder, for that matter. There are already a few good space-themed projects on that site.

 

[Aanchir]

On 1/2/2021 at 1:00 PM, danth said:

I feel ya. Not getting my hopes up. It's much more believable to me that Lego would tease us with a rendered Ice Planet torso that will never exist than the idea that they're gonna bring back the theme.

There's been enough "non-set" Ninjago minifigs over the years that later ended up getting physical minifigures that I wouldn't be quick to rule out a physical version of that updated Ice Planet torso EVER appearing.

However, even a physical version does end up getting released, I would probably expect it to be just as a shout-out to a classic theme (sort of like Rench's re-imagined Blacktron torso from Space Police 3, or the re-imagined Dash Justice and Johnny Thunder minifigures from the blind bag series) and not as any sort of hint or foreshadowing of a full Ice Planet revival.

Of course, like those earlier shout-outs, a torso like that would definitely be a great starting point for "Neo-Ice Planet" MOCs. Since Ice Planet was my first Space theme as a kid, I'll definitely be excited if a physical version of that torso ends up appearing, especially since there have been so many other parts in recent years that could be useful for that faction!

[Flak Maniak]

So, what are the reasons to want a new space theme? I mean, sure, I get it, on one level. It's an endorsement of one's aesthetic taste.

But, well, in practical terms, what category would you put yourself in?

1. "I want a new space theme because it will have good new parts for spacecraft/parts in useful colors."

2. "I want a new space theme because I want to take the sets as-is and put them on my shelf."

3. "I want a new space theme because it would provide inspiration, a jumping-off point, a new idiom or style in which to build ships."

4. "I want a new space theme because it would provide minifigures that will fit in well with my custom space creations."

5. "I want a new space theme because it is pandering to my aesthetic tastes, ideals, and nostalgia, an implicit endorsement by Lego of my preferences."

6. "I want a new space theme because I believe somewhere, deep in my guts, that it can recapture that lost childhood magic, even as I look at every actual new space-ish theme and it never quite satisfies." (Sorry if this is calling you out too hard.)

I guess what I'm saying is, in this age of plentiful parts from BrickLink/Bricks & Pieces, where getting a pile of part X is easy, where the spaceship of your dreams need only be designed and then you can summon the parts for it... Well, what does an official space theme do, that you can't do yourself? If I had to pick, I'd say reason 3. I like Lego's original themes a lot because they're aesthetically strong. If they can show us a new idiom, a good-looking style, then yeah I'd love to build a bunch of MOCs in that style. (Well, I say this, but then of course the customs I HAVE made have been of... Styles of my childhood, from Aquazone. So it's possible that nothing beats nostalgia.)

[Celloguy]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6! But mainly 1 and 4.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Celloguy

[danth]

On 1/5/2021 at 6:33 PM, Flak Maniak said:

I guess what I'm saying is, in this age of plentiful parts from BrickLink/Bricks & Pieces, where getting a pile of part X is easy, where the spaceship of your dreams need only be designed and then you can summon the parts for it... Well, what does an official space theme do, that you can't do yourself?

The same can be asked of every Lego set ever made, so go ask Star Wars, Marvel, City, and Ninjago fans why they want new sets.

Edited January 8, 2021 by danth

[Flak Maniak]

A fair question to ask those people, too!

At least for many of the licensed themes, the fans' answer will be "minifigure prints that we wouldn't get otherwise". I'm not a licensed-sets fan, but I understand wanting to see prints/specialized molds that wouldn't be made otherwise. (And, for me, when I see cool new versions of the ninja from Ninjago, well, I gotta have 'em. And of course we get other great stuff too, like the Ninjago orcs from this past year. Even if, for example, various good fantasy-themed minifigure parts already exist, they often aren't cheap on BrickLink. But if there were a new castle theme, maybe there'd be lots of good torsos and legs available on B&P. That definitely is valuable, cheap and plentiful useful parts!)

For people who answered #2, well, they're paying Lego for the design. That's totally fair.

But, for me, a lot of the point of new waves is just giving us useful new parts (like the long lightsaber hilts from Monkie Kid, or the 1x1-1x1 brackets, or any number of other simple SNOT parts of recent years), or parts in new useful colors, or more/cheaper supply of parts that technically existed before. If Lego's release schedule ends up lowering the BrickLink price of parts/colors I want, great. If new things show up on Bricks & Pieces that I want, great.

And yeah I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a bunch of sets lying around as-is. Of course I do; sometimes I see a new set design and I say "I gotta have that". But a large majority of the money I waste spend on Lego is just BrickLink/Bricks & Pieces.

[Lego David]

On 1/6/2021 at 4:33 AM, Flak Maniak said:

3. "I want a new space theme because it would provide inspiration, a jumping-off point, a new idiom or style in which to build ships."

This is probably the camp I fall into. Of course, I can technically come up with my own designs, but it's still a lot of fun taking a style already made in a LEGO theme and using it as a foundation for my own builds. LEGO themes often spark our imagination and give us new ideas for MOCs, and that's why I want LEGO to produce more original in-house Space themes.

[Stuartn]

In my own opinion, I think the problem with previous short lived space themes (mars mission, space police, alien conquest (I think that would classify as a space theme) and galaxy squad) is that they are combat based and include aliens.

I know that makes the theme more exciting, but no one ever has had exposure to some sort of combat in space or aliens, unlike the original, much more exploration based classic space, which lasted a lot lot longer and was more successful.

The only knowledge that anyone has of space travel is exploration or research based, so the combat based sets don't really make sense. What do you do with them? How are kids supposed to play with them? Sure there's a story in the set, but unlike town, castle and exploration based classic space and City Space, there is less room for creativity or story building, and it appeals less to older buyers.

My reasoning is that there have been three very successful City space subthemes. As for Star Wars, which is the obvious rebuttal to my point, the movies and TV shows provide inspiration and justification for the aliens and odd vehicles.

 

My other point is that I don't think it is Star Wars that is preventing a in-house space themes, there have been four that co-existed with Star Wars, including one that also co-existed with a City space subtheme. I think it is other in-house sci-fi themes such as Nexo Nights, Ninjago and Hidden Side that are in the way of a space theme.

I do agree there should be more space sets. Even if the buyers would primarily be AFOLs, then why not release sets as 18+ sets ( I reckon an updated, advanced, version of the galaxy explorer would sell extremely well). I think most people are not requesting entire themes, just more sets from whatever source. I am not a fan of classic space myself (in fact the only space set I have (outside of Star Wars and City space) is the miniature galaxy explorer from the Great Lego Sets book) but I know there obviously is demand on these forums, from many different people, so while I might not want any classic space/sci-fi sets myself, I would support more sets.

The problem with space sets today is that the original space sets come off the back of the space race, when interest in space was extremely high. Today that exposure isn't there, so we might have to wait until people go to Mars, or the next moon landings in the Artemis program, to generate that extreme popularity again.

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by Stuartn

[Flak Maniak]

I doubt that Lego-original IPs will sell well to adults, in general. I think Lego-original stuff isn't very likely under the 18+ banner. What you see marketed to adults is generally either licensed (Star Wars or other nostalgic properties), or based on real-world things, like the Sydney opera house, or whatever else. Or, mundane city-ish stuff, like the Creator roller coaster, the modulars, much of the Creator Expert line.

While I mostly enjoy Lego's original IPs, I think I'm in the minority among my age cohort. There's a reason that the more fantasy-oriented Ninjago sets are clearly for the younger demographic, and the plausibly-real-world-city ones get the D2C treatment. (And you see it reflected even here on Eurobricks, where there are many fans who only like Ninjago City, Temple of Airjitzu, etc., the ones that can fit into their Lego cities, but they aren't out there buying every mech and dragon.)

(Also I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Benny's Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP! already IS the modernized Galaxy Explorer. That's what a love letter to classic space looks like. And, if you want to see more of that, that's very fair! But I wouldn't count on it, unless Lego thinks they can sell it to the children too.)

If I had my way we'd see space and castle continue forever, with stylistic revamps every few years. I'd like to think today's children would buy those sets. But unfortunately Lego seems to disagree.

[MAB]

10 hours ago, Stuartn said:

In my own opinion, I think the problem with previous short lived space themes (mars mission, space police, alien conquest (I think that would classify as a space theme) and galaxy squad) is that they are combat based and include aliens.

I know that makes the theme more exciting, but no one ever has had exposure to some sort of combat in space or aliens, unlike the original, much more exploration based classic space, which lasted a lot lot longer and was more successful.

The only knowledge that anyone has of space travel is exploration or research based, so the combat based sets don't really make sense. What do you do with them? How are kids supposed to play with them? Sure there's a story in the set, but unlike town, castle and exploration based classic space and City Space, there is less room for creativity or story building, and it appeals less to older buyers.

My reasoning is that there have been three very successful City space subthemes. As for Star Wars, which is the obvious rebuttal to my point, the movies and TV shows provide inspiration and justification for the aliens and odd vehicles.

 

Why should sci-fi space be based on real exposure? If you want realistic space, then there are the City space themes. Any new space theme should stay away from realistic space travel if it is already covered by City. And while no one has had experience of alien combat, no-one has had experience of astronauts travelling to other planets let alone building bases on those planets. So Classic Space was a fiction too.

[Lego David]

13 hours ago, Stuartn said:

In my own opinion, I think the problem with previous short lived space themes (mars mission, space police, alien conquest (I think that would classify as a space theme) and galaxy squad) is that they are combat based and include aliens.

I know that makes the theme more exciting, but no one ever has had exposure to some sort of combat in space or aliens, unlike the original, much more exploration based classic space, which lasted a lot lot longer and was more successful.

The only knowledge that anyone has of space travel is exploration or research based, so the combat based sets don't really make sense. What do you do with them? How are kids supposed to play with them? Sure there's a story in the set, but unlike town, castle and exploration based classic space and City Space, there is less room for creativity or story building, and it appeals less to older buyers.

I don't think real-world exposures to those subjects really matters at all when it comes to LEGO original themes. You say that if original space themes didn't focus on alien combat, they would be more successful... but that argument is severely flawed. A lot of fans (myself included) love getting all sorts of  alien minifigures to fill up our Sci-Fi worlds. And while yes, stuff like the original Classic Space line tended to focus more on exploration than combat, that quickly changed, as soon as the Blacktron faction was introduced. While we wouldn't get any actual alien minifigures until the late 90's, you can clearly see how the focus of Space themes shifted from exploration to pure Science Fiction as early as the late 80's. 

And if your Space themes are pure Science Fiction, than aliens should be more than welcome. Just because something doesn't exist in the real world, doesn't mean it can't spark the imagination of kids. In fact, I'd even argue that a Space theme that is purely Sci-Fi leaves a lot more room for kids to be creative and make up their own stories and worlds, when compared to something that is inspired by what exists in real life. 

[Celloguy]

So apparently the newest enormous ninjago city set has an icecream parlour called ice planet, but sadly the torso of the guy manning the shop is not that of the minifigure on the card with the icecream... so may well only be a trading card gag.