Wizarding World 2025 - Rumors & Discussion

[BrickBob Studpants]

That leaked young Boba Fett minifig gives me hope we might get to see minifig factory leaks before getting an actual list, which could be really fun!  

…and I likely just jinxed it

[brickbride]

Let me spare you the wait and give you the minifig list right now:

• 76445 Hogwarts Castle: Herbology Class (59,99$): Sprout, Cedric, Neville, random student that's either not white or has a physical disability or both
• 76448 Dumbledore’s Phoenix (19,99$): none
• 76449 Book of Monsters (59,99$): hard to say since we don't know what it is. If it's something like I suspect (kind of a trunk thingie with buildable monsters) I'd say one minifig, most likely Harry or Hagrid.
• 76450 Book Nook featuring Hogwarts Express (99,99$): none I'd say
• 76451 Aunt Marge’s Visit (89,99$): Harry, the Dursleys, Aunt Marge (minifig plus a brickbuilt inflated version), Ripper the dog
• 76452 Quality Quidditch Supplies & Ice Cream (99,99$): Harry, probably Ron, Fortescue; one or two Quidditch-associated students (likely Angelina, Lee Jordan, or Cho Chang); unnamed QQS shopkeep; one or two more customer for the ice cream shop
• 76454 Hogwarts Castle: The Main Tower (249,99$): yeah not touching that one

Edited March 15 by brickbride

[Gorilla94]

10 hours ago, Virginia_Bricks said:

(which to my understanding was never defined in the books as with most characters) and the same for every other actor.

Like others said, he is clearly a very pale guy with a marble-like skin colour. I was just as annoyed to see Eragon in blond with the book mentioning his brown hair on a regular basis. 

Personally I also count the first Panini sticker album. Those illustrations were drawn, so the exact Design JK had in mind at that time.

I am in fact open to changes, if they bring value. Like lord of the rings' Theoden being insecure but then lifted up by Aragorn. I also love how they treated Haldir... Denethor not very much. But just changimg something because "why not?" Is stupid. Lots of Fans care and those people carried the IP often from day 1.

Edited March 15 by Gorilla94

[BrickBob Studpants]

46 minutes ago, brickbride said:

So even if LEGO are somehow forced to make sets for the show I don't think they'll make many - simply in order to protect their bottom line.

Exactly my point. Movie sets are guaranteed to sell, as the last few years have shown. Show sets might tank and take down the entire theme with them

6 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

And I've heard they plan on still using the iconic John Williams score and filming in the same locations and sets as the movies, so if that's true, this means the remake will be co-opting the iconic imagery of the movies because they're still the definitive take.

If true, that’s even lazier than I thought  How could that NOT be viewed as an attempt to replace the movies? I thought this was supposed to be a new adaptation of the books, hence something with its own identity, not just a remake of the movies, even stealing their imagery.

Besides how ludicrous the idea of using a 2 hour movie score to score an 8 hour season is. What are they gonna do, repeat the themes ad nauseam? And John Williams only scored the first two movies. Maybe they’ll only use the main theme and have someone else score the rest, but that’s even more jarring. (Just look at the Obi-Wan series. The rest of the show’s bland music pales in comparison to its main theme by good ol’ John)

(And I still can’t believe they want to tell a 2 hour story in 8 hours. The padding will be insane )

Edited March 15 by BrickBob Studpants

[JeanGreyForever]

2 hours ago, brickbride said:

If anything, the Disney example has probably shown us that sets of reboots do worse than sets of originals. I don't have any sales figures obviously but the Peter Pan Flight Over London set could often be found on clearance (where it was STILL overpriced but that's another matter) and like it has been mentioned here, Arielle's Shell (actually a pretty good-looking set in my opinion) doesn't seem to have been well-received either. So even if LEGO are somehow forced to make sets for the show I don't think they'll make many - simply in order to protect their bottom line.

The Peter Pan set was actually based on the original Disney movie. The remake had one set, which was one of those storybook sets usually made for the Disney Princess line. But I'm not surprised the regular Peter Pan set sold badly considering how overpriced it was, and considering there was only one new minifigure and two reused ones that could be found in a much cheaper set from earlier that year. And even that one new minifigure, Wendy, was incomplete as they didn't bother to give her a bow for her hair like in her minidoll version. As for the clamshell, I think a lot of people were upset that it wasn't covered up in the back. It was also a weird medley of scenes without doing justice to anything in particular, like Ariel's grotto, Ursula's lair, or King Triton's palace.

1 hour ago, Gorilla94 said:

Like others said, he is clearly a very pale guy with a marble-like skin colour. I was just as annoyed to see Eragon in blond with the book mentioning his brown hair on a regular basis. 

Personally I also count the first Panini sticker album. Those illustrations were drawn, so the exact Design JK had in mind at that time.

It reminds me of Percy Jackson being blonde in the Disney show, instead of having black hair.

Those were the illustrations by Mary GrandPre right? I grew up with her art in the books.

1 hour ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

If true, that’s even lazier than I thought  How could that NOT be viewed as an attempt to replace the movies? I thought this was supposed to be a new adaptation of the books, hence something with its own identity, not just a remake of the movies, even stealing their imagery.

Besides how ludicrous the idea of using a 2 hour movie score to score an 8 hour season is. What are they gonna do, repeat the themes ad nauseam? And John Williams only scored the first two movies. Maybe they’ll only use the main theme and have someone else score the rest, but that’s even more jarring. (Just look at the Obi-Wan series. The rest of the show’s bland music pales in comparison to its main theme by good ol’ John)

(And I still can’t believe they want to tell a 2 hour story in 8 hours. The padding will be insane )

I never watched the HBO teaser for the show but I think it used the movie theme so people were speculating that the show will similarly use at least the iconic Hedwig's Theme. I wouldn't put it past HBO. The teaser also used the movie castle and if they do want to keep it consistent with the theme parks, that might be something they keep. Co-opting everything iconic from the movies only shows how there's no legitimate reason for this show to exist. 

I also heard that the Hogwarts Legacy sequel is somehow supposed to tie-in with the HBO show. I have no idea how, since the Hogwarts Legacy game takes place long before the books/movies, so how could a sequel directly tie-in with the show? I'm wondering if they'll take the castle design from the game for the show. It's basically identical to the movie Hogwarts from the exterior but the interior does have some new places and changes, even if some locations are pretty much identical like the Great Hall, DADA classroom, and Gryffindor common room. If the game is linked with the show, it does seem to confirm that WB wants to keep the iconic Hogwarts imagery and music.

John Williams also scored the third movie. Maybe they'll bring back the frog choir and Double Trouble. Actually that reminds me that we've never gotten a HP set featuring the frog choir.

 

 

[JeanGreyForever]

2 hours ago, brickbride said:

Let me spare you the wait and give you the minifig list right now:

• 76445 Hogwarts Castle: Herbology Class (59,99$): Sprout, Cedric, Neville, random student that's either not white or has a physical disability or both

I hope this is a proper greenhouse from the exterior and not interchangeable with the Charms or Potions classrooms, to be swapped out at will.

I was very confused by the student in a wheelchair in the Ollivander's set. I don't think any characters exist with that type of physical disability in the books or movies. But I also heard it was meant to be a tribute to David Holmes, Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double who was paralyzed. So I don't mind if that's the case.

[brickbride]

12 minutes ago, JeanGreyForever said:

I was very confused by the student in a wheelchair in the Ollivander's set. I don't think any characters exist with that type of physical disability in the books or movies.

That's LEGO's new thing. It's even more prevalent in the Friends and City sets where heads with hearing aids, a main character with only half an arm, and a dog in a wheelchair abound. Because we clearly need minidoll/minifig representation for all of that and for every conceivable skin tone and hair type, but at the same time God forbid we get any minidoll representation for any body type other than stick-thin. But that's a rant for another time.

[Gorilla94]

1 hour ago, JeanGreyForever said:

I was very confused by the student in a wheelchair in the Ollivander's set. I don't think any characters exist with that type of physical disability in the books or movies.

Well the can remove your whole scelleton and let it grow again. They have prosthetics superior to your normal limbs like Mad eye's eye or can shape new limbs within seconds (maybe a less powerfull Wizard than Voldemord needs more time for that, but it should be managable. Otherwise you will just see a professional doctor)... I don't want to be distastefull, but in this fantasy world Winchester and wizards do not need wheelchairs except for short term medical conditions.

Edited March 15 by Gorilla94

[BrickBob Studpants]

10 minutes ago, Gorilla94 said:

I don't want to be distastefull, but in this fantasy world Winchester and wizards do not need wheelchairs except for short term medical conditions.

Well, people still wear glasses in this world, so there are limits to what magic can fix

[brickbride]

There's also absolutely no way you could get around Hogwarts in a wheelchair unless it could fly.

[JeanGreyForever]

2 hours ago, brickbride said:

That's LEGO's new thing. It's even more prevalent in the Friends and City sets where heads with hearing aids, a main character with only half an arm, and a dog in a wheelchair abound. Because we clearly need minidoll/minifig representation for all of that and for every conceivable skin tone and hair type, but at the same time God forbid we get any minidoll representation for any body type other than stick-thin. But that's a rant for another time.

It makes sense in the regular themes like Friends and City. I remember seeing a character with a hearing aid in a Friends set. But this push for diversity and representation doesn't always work in fantasy. As pointed out, Hogwarts is not a school designed to accommodate students in wheelchairs.

And frankly, people get more turned off by forced diversity when Lego goes out of their way to push it by taking away from iconic characters they actually care about. Creating two random and nameless characters for the D2C Hogwarts Express, just to be diverse, at the cost of a grownup Hermione and Ron was ridiculous. We're unlikely to ever get that epilogue scene represented in Lego ever again. That was a one and done deal to get grownup versions of the main characters, but Lego felt pushing diversity was more important. They could have chosen any set to include characters like that, so I don't know why they felt the need to specifically sabotage this train set. And they wonder why it won't sell. Granted, it had plenty of other issues but losing out on grown Hermione and Ron for two randos was certainly a factor of disinterest. 

1 hour ago, Gorilla94 said:

Well the can remove your whole scelleton and let it grow again. They have prosthetics superior to your normal limbs like Mad eye's eye or can shape new limbs within seconds (maybe a less powerfull Wizard than Voldemord needs more time for that, but it should be managable. Otherwise you will just see a professional doctor)... I don't want to be distastefull, but in this fantasy world Winchester and wizards do not need wheelchairs except for short term medical conditions.

I've wondered about the regrowing limbs thing. Voldemort was able to do it for Wormtail but it wasn't flesh and blood. Was he incapable of creating an organic arm because magic can't regrow limbs in HP, or did he just think a silver hand was more of a reward? Maybe also because it was one he could control.

[Black Falcon]

On 3/13/2025 at 1:18 PM, akaseim said:

Hi. Just a quick question. Did I miss the 30706 Quidditch Lesson polybag as gwp? I'm not sure if it has been release yet. 

Here, at home, we are new to Harry Potter sets (little girls have passed from Disney to Hogwarts now :-D) and they are excited with the new Hogwarts sets... not my wallet but :-O well, Disney is not cheap either :-D 

We cannot wait to see the Herbology class :--P

It will very likely be given away on September 1st for their Back to Hogwarts event, usually for 40€ with an bigger GWP for reaching a 130€ threshold.

Glad to hear you and your family are enjoying the Sets (and Harry Potter overall). The greenhouses are actually also the Set I am looking forward to the most.

19 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

That was a theatrical release though. My point is that TLG have never made sets for HBO shows before. And making merch based on the show is a pretty big financial risk.

Aside from that they did Sesame Street, I don´t know what role it should play whether they did a Set of a HBO series before or not.

13 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

And yeah, the show making it to 7 seasons is hilariously optimistic too. Which other shows have made it that far in the streaming age?!  Amazon may have enough money to produce 5 seasons of a super expensive show with little to no impact, but I doubt WB/HBO do.

I don´t think the first season would do so badly, and if it is just the interest of people to take a look how the show is compared to the films. In the end it will be interesting to see how the second series is doing, but even then I would guess that HP is a big franchise that would draw enough people unless the first season is truely horrible. In the end if it isn´t doing well enough they will pull the plug, but I doubt they will get any financial hit because of it. The situation with Amazon is different though, since they had to pay a huge amount of money for the rights in the first place, which would have been a greater risk if HBO would have had to pay a similar amount before even starting production.

12 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

Rumors are that she's pushing for this reboot because of her anger at the young film cast for not supporting her ideologically, and basically wants to wipe out their legacy and start over with a more impressionable young cast beholden to her, more like Evanna Lynch than like Emma Watson or Daniel Radcliffe. 

That if a very far stretch IMO. Especially, I doubt that the idea game from Rowling in the first place but HBO.

9 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

Agreed. I think that might also be why they've loosened up the requirements on needing to be British to be cast in the show. Besides the fact that most of Britain's prestigious actors have already worked in HP

I think you are really underestimating the number of famous british actors here - and after all who says they have to be that famous to play a role in a series, sure, they might want to include some to draw more attention to the series and famous actors with a big fan base always help promoting such a show (and some people might just watch it because of the actor), but 2-3 would already be enough IMO.

9 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

I'm guessing it also hasn't been easy to find actors willing to be attached to this project. Both because agreeing to sign onto this show is essentially the same as tacitly endorsing JK's views, and also because I imagine most actors with any sense realize that a remake of a much beloved classic, which still remains globally relevant today, is like embarking on a sinking ship. Even John Lithgow basically said this will be his last relevant role ever, so he seems to be viewing it from that lens but for the rest of the comparatively younger cast, it's a full decade of being signed onto something that likely won't be accepted and will be forever linked to a controversial public figure who keeps getting more offensive over time.

Well, more realisticly Lithgow is quite old already, so I would take it more from the point that it is just not that likely that he will be playing any main role after the series is done, if he even is able to play the role for all 7 seasons. I would also say, that there might be a risk that the show isn´t well received, but there is also a big chance to promote their careers if the show is well received - and if not, it will still draw a lot attention eitherways.

9 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

I'm also not sure if WB has a similar deal with Lego as Disney does, where Disney is the one that decides what sets are to be made and which characters are to be included. If WB demands only sets made on the show instead of the HP movies, does Lego have to comply to keep the license or do they have the power to overrule that and keep making movie sets which have proven to be a tried-and-tested property? I think HP is Lego's second biggest franchise after Star Wars, so I can't see Lego endangering that if they have any choice in the matter.

Well we don´t really know what either the deal Lego has with Disney, nor WB really includes, but there is like no way that either of them wouldn´t include that WB and Disney have the last say of those Sets.

3 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Exactly my point. Movie sets are guaranteed to sell, as the last few years have shown. Show sets might tank and take down the entire theme with them

If true, that’s even lazier than I thought  How could that NOT be viewed as an attempt to replace the movies? I thought this was supposed to be a new adaptation of the books, hence something with its own identity, not just a remake of the movies, even stealing their imagery.

Besides how ludicrous the idea of using a 2 hour movie score to score an 8 hour season is. What are they gonna do, repeat the themes ad nauseam? And John Williams only scored the first two movies. Maybe they’ll only use the main theme and have someone else score the rest, but that’s even more jarring. (Just look at the Obi-Wan series. The rest of the show’s bland music pales in comparison to its main theme by good ol’ John)

(And I still can’t believe they want to tell a 2 hour story in 8 hours. The padding will be insane )

I actually like that they want to keep the old opening theme and some of the other titles - and surely they will still add some more to it. I actually also hope that they keep the look of the location, for instance a new Hogwarts Castle wouldn´t make much sense to me, because the one we got is just what it looks like for Millions of people now - but I do hope they keep the castle consistent over the whole series unlike they did with the films.

[BrickBob Studpants]

37 minutes ago, JeanGreyForever said:

Creating two random and nameless characters for the D2C Hogwarts Express, just to be diverse, at the cost of a grownup Hermione and Ron was ridiculous.

Those two characters were made from existing pieces, so they didn’t affect the budget whatsoever. It’s not like they went “yeah, let’s replace adult Ron & Hermione with random students!”, but more like “we have no budget for more new prints for this set, so who can we include made out of existing pieces?”  From this perspective, they were a bonus!

19 minutes ago, Black Falcon said:

I actually like that they want to keep the old opening theme and some of the other titles - and surely they will still add some more to it. I actually also hope that they keep the look of the location, for instance a new Hogwarts Castle wouldn´t make much sense to me, because the one we got is just what it looks like for Millions of people now - but I do hope they keep the castle consistent over the whole series unlike they did with the films.

Again, what’s the point of remaking the movies if they keep the movie sets, the music, and perhaps even some of the designs? All the remakes I’ve seen tried really hard to set themselves apart, to varying success. As @JeanGreyForever points out, this one appears to be an intentional effort to replace the movies, potentially motivated by a vindictive JKR. 

Edited March 15 by BrickBob Studpants

[BrickMatit]

1 hour ago, JeanGreyForever said:

We're unlikely to ever get that epilogue scene represented in Lego ever again. That was a one and done deal to get grownup versions of the main characters, but Lego felt pushing diversity was more important. They could have chosen any set to include characters like that, so I don't know why they felt the need to specifically sabotage this train set

Likely the real motivation with that chose was budget not diversity.

Designers had no more budget for adult Ron and Hermione and their two kids. So they tried to hide it with a diversity splash - and by far, it had been better for them to put students from Ravenclaw + Hufflepuff instead of Gryffindor + Hufflepuff. And then there was also the absurd statement on the importance of having minifigures Hogwarts outfits, as if someone could be confuse by their absence.

[Black Falcon]

1 hour ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Those two characters were made from existing pieces, so they didn’t affect the budget whatsoever. It’s not like they went “yeah, let’s replace adult Ron & Hermione with random students!”, but more like “we have no budget for more new prints for this set, so who can we include made out of existing pieces?”  From this perspective, they were a bonus!

Honestly, if they would have included those two, we would have complained if their kids wouldn´t be there too.

1 hour ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Again, what’s the point of remaking the movies if they keep the movie sets, the music, and perhaps even some of the designs? All the remakes I’ve seen tried really hard to set themselves apart, to varying success. As @JeanGreyForever points out, this one appears to be an intentional effort to replace the movies, potentially motivated by a vindictive JKR. 

The only thing I see there, is that they have a successful franchise and want to make more money with it and after Fantstic Beasts didn´t´do as well as expected they are going back to the main theme. On the other side, a series will never replace the films so if they would really try to do it, they would have to make new movies instead.

As for what the point is, it is to make money of course, like it was for the films too. And the attempt with the series is that they can embellish the story further and that probably is the thing a new version of the Story needs the most. If it would just tell exactly the same (compared to the books shortened) story, there would be no point to even doing it again, so soon after the original. 

[Gorilla94]

3 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Well, people still wear glasses in this world, so there are limits to what magic can fix

Well... there are also people wearing glasses just for fashion reason... I wear my contact lenses only when I am doing stuff that is difficult wirh my glasses.

2 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

It makes sense in the regular themes like Friends and City. I remember seeing a character with a hearing aid in a Friends set. But this push for diversity and representation doesn't always work in fantasy. As pointed out, Hogwarts is not a school designed to accommodate students in wheelchairs.

And frankly, people get more turned off by forced diversity when Lego goes out of their way to push it by taking away from iconic characters they actually care about. Creating two random and nameless characters for the D2C Hogwarts Express, just to be diverse, at the cost of a grownup Hermione and Ron was ridiculous. We're unlikely to ever get that epilogue scene represented in Lego ever again. That was a one and done deal to get grownup versions of the main characters, but Lego felt pushing diversity was more important. They could have chosen any set to include characters like that, so I don't know why they felt the need to specifically sabotage this train set. And they wonder why it won't sell. Granted, it had plenty of other issues but losing out on grown Hermione and Ron for two randos was certainly a factor of disinterest. 

I've wondered about the regrowing limbs thing. Voldemort was able to do it for Wormtail but it wasn't flesh and blood. Was he incapable of creating an organic arm because magic can't regrow limbs in HP, or did he just think a silver hand was more of a reward? Maybe also because it was one he could control.

Well, it is just the same with the cmfs. Wheelchair racer, legless runner, asttonomy kid... It isn't the best Idea to make diverity the least popular thing you could get in a lottery... i love the design of this one new ponytail heaipiece. It would look so great on Luna... sadly it has a mollded hearing device. I with they made those exclusively as prints on the side of heads. That way I can remove them witv a bit of polishing and use the head for medieval fantasy stuff... What actually annoys me is that they never did the "how to be a knight" book-boy as a physical minifig. His medieval wheelchair would have been in deed usefull.

Well, to be honest I don't care. If you'd offer me silver legs after a car crash, I'd gladly take those over a wheel chair.

Edited March 15 by Gorilla94

[BrickBob Studpants]

7 hours ago, Gorilla94 said:

Well... there are also people wearing glasses just for fashion reason... I wear my contact lenses only when I am doing stuff that is difficult wirh my glasses.

…I was referring to a certain boy. One that lived.  If magic can’t fix bad eyesight, it’s not a stretch to think it also can’t cure paraplegia. And if it actually could, wizards and witches are kinda sorta… horrendously evil to be withholding that sorta knowledge from the rest of mankind!

…and that’s exactly why magic and overthinking mix about as well as oil and water.

…

Can we have some news please? Pretty please? We’re starving here.

[JeanGreyForever]

11 hours ago, Black Falcon said:

Aside from that they did Sesame Street, I don´t know what role it should play whether they did a Set of a HBO series before or not.

That if a very far stretch IMO. Especially, I doubt that the idea game from Rowling in the first place but HBO.

I think you are really underestimating the number of famous british actors here - and after all who says they have to be that famous to play a role in a series, sure, they might want to include some to draw more attention to the series and famous actors with a big fan base always help promoting such a show (and some people might just watch it because of the actor), but 2-3 would already be enough IMO.

Well, more realisticly Lithgow is quite old already, so I would take it more from the point that it is just not that likely that he will be playing any main role after the series is done, if he even is able to play the role for all 7 seasons. I would also say, that there might be a risk that the show isn´t well received, but there is also a big chance to promote their careers if the show is well received - and if not, it will still draw a lot attention eitherways.

Well we don´t really know what either the deal Lego has with Disney, nor WB really includes, but there is like no way that either of them wouldn´t include that WB and Disney have the last say of those Sets.

I actually like that they want to keep the old opening theme and some of the other titles - and surely they will still add some more to it. I actually also hope that they keep the look of the location, for instance a new Hogwarts Castle wouldn´t make much sense to me, because the one we got is just what it looks like for Millions of people now - but I do hope they keep the castle consistent over the whole series unlike they did with the films.

Isn't Sesame Street a PBS show? 

The HP movie series was known for having the cream of the crop of British actors. So many Dames and Sirs. Even some of the untitled ones, like Helen McCrory, passed away too young before she could be granted a damehood. Each of those actors was a living legend in the UK whereas just look at the new cast now. John Lithgow is the only big name and he's American, not even British. It's obvious they aren't able to attract that same caliber of talent, either because they already used most of them up for the movies, or because the few who didn't work in HP simply aren't interested. 2-3 big names is nothing compared to the entire lineup of big names in the movies: Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Richard Harris, Emma Thompson, Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Brendan Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, etc. I could keep going on with more and more names because there's just so many. They really added to the prestige of the films so to go from an all-star lineup to what we're getting now is an obvious downgrade.

I think that's why John Lithgow did say yes. He's almost 80 so this role will keep him booked for almost a decade and likely the rest of his life. 

What I've heard is that Disney specifically decides which sets Lego can make and which minifigures can be included. I think this includes all the Disney properties or at least Marvel. I know with the Daily Bugle that Lego was filling it with generic citizens but Disney/Marvel said no and demanded that every character be an existing one. This is why the Gwen Stacy minifigure looks nothing like her besides being blonde. It was just a random blonde minifigure but Marvel made Lego name her Gwen Stacy. And characters Lego wanted to include, like Deadpool, Iceman, Human Torch, and Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew weren't allowed because of Marvel. This is also why whenever any Lego Ideas set wins that's Disney-themed, they have to get extra permission and can't confirm right away if the set will be made or not.

You said they should keep the Hogwarts castle consistent because millions of people recognize it as the movie one. But isn't that true for everything about the movies, like millions of people recognizing Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter? And Emma Watson as Hermione? By that logic, wouldn't it make more sense to simply keep the movies that millions of people have seen and recognized and not bother with this reboot at all?

10 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Those two characters were made from existing pieces, so they didn’t affect the budget whatsoever. It’s not like they went “yeah, let’s replace adult Ron & Hermione with random students!”, but more like “we have no budget for more new prints for this set, so who can we include made out of existing pieces?”  From this perspective, they were a bonus!

9 hours ago, BrickMatit said:

Likely the real motivation with that chose was budget not diversity.

Designers had no more budget for adult Ron and Hermione and their two kids. So they tried to hide it with a diversity splash - and by far, it had been better for them to put students from Ravenclaw + Hufflepuff instead of Gryffindor + Hufflepuff. And then there was also the absurd statement on the importance of having minifigures Hogwarts outfits, as if someone could be confuse by their absence.

Thanks for confirming. The fact that they were just existing parts they could throw in makes it worse because I have no problem with them including freebies. They could have included those two characters, who were basically free of charge, will still giving us Hermione and Ron. They shouldn't use diversity as a scapegoat, basically telling people to shut up and accept the major snubs all in the name of diversity. 

[JeanGreyForever]

9 hours ago, Black Falcon said:

Honestly, if they would have included those two, we would have complained if their kids wouldn´t be there too.

The only thing I see there, is that they have a successful franchise and want to make more money with it and after Fantstic Beasts didn´t´do as well as expected they are going back to the main theme. On the other side, a series will never replace the films so if they would really try to do it, they would have to make new movies instead.

As for what the point is, it is to make money of course, like it was for the films too. And the attempt with the series is that they can embellish the story further and that probably is the thing a new version of the Story needs the most. If it would just tell exactly the same (compared to the books shortened) story, there would be no point to even doing it again, so soon after the original. 

Actually yes, I wouldn't want Hermione and Ron without their kids. They included Harry and Ginny's kids so they should have the whole extended family. For that matter, considering how important Scorpius Malfoy and Draco are in Cursed Child, particularly in connection to Albus Severus Potter, I also feel they needed to include Scorpius, Draco, and Astoria. We're never going to get Cursed Child sets so this was the closest to getting a representation of that.

Prequel series have mostly flopped. The Star Wars PT and The Hobbit films are good examples, and Fantastic Beasts fell into that trap as well. You could tell WB's heart wasn't into it and what they really wanted to make was a sequel series to HP, like Cursed Child. Because the Star Wars ST showed that what fans want is to see the original actors back again. This is why HBO heavily promoted the Harry Potter reunion because it was the closest to getting that feeling of bringing all the major actors back together again. The problem with a sequel series, like Cursed Child is two-fold. What I've heard is that the original cast refuse to return, like Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, because they don't want to work with JK Rowling ever again. And JK's deal with WB is that she can't be pushed out and she has final say on what projects can be made or can't be made, so there's no getting rid of her. The other issue is that JK herself doesn't want a Cursed Child film. One, because she feels a film will make the play irrelevant and the play's been a major financial success all over the globe, so I understand her feeling a film version would hurt that. And the other reason is because she herself doesn't want to work with the original cast ever again after she felt they snubbed her. And she's basically admitted as much when she randomly claimed she would never accept apologies from Emma or Dan, despite neither of them showing any interest in wanting her forgiveness.

So this is where the reboot idea made sense because prequels have flopped. Sequels would be ideal but if the original cast refuses to work with JKR and she refuses to work with them, and in general she won't allow a Cursed Child movie adaptation because it'll hurt the play, so that really only leaves a reboot. WB knows they can't utilize the original cast anymore for nostalgia so they're depending on remaking the series anew to basically restart the process. WB's biggest success was with the Harry Potter films so this gives them a chance to do that again while for JK, it's a chance to sever ties with the original cast. Even with LOTR, you can tell that WB would definitely make sequels with the original cast if there was source material or if they felt they could get away with it. Since they can't, they're relying a midquel set where the first LOTR movie begins, because it's the only way to bring the original cast back and appeal to that nostalgia. 

9 hours ago, Gorilla94 said:

Well, it is just the same with the cmfs. Wheelchair racer, legless runner, asttonomy kid... It isn't the best Idea to make diverity the least popular thing you could get in a lottery... i love the design of this one new ponytail heaipiece. It would look so great on Luna... sadly it has a mollded hearing device. I with they made those exclusively as prints on the side of heads. That way I can remove them witv a bit of polishing and use the head for medieval fantasy stuff... What actually annoys me is that they never did the "how to be a knight" book-boy as a physical minifig. His medieval wheelchair would have been in deed usefull.

Well, to be honest I don't care. If you'd offer me silver legs after a car crash, I'd gladly take those over a wheel chair.

I've seen that hairpiece as well. They could potentially have made the molded hearing devices a separate piece that click into slots on the side. Like how many of the Friends hairpieces have a slot for hairbows, flowers, crowns, etc. on the top or sides. I had to look up that book and yes, the medieval wheelchair looks quite well done. Surprised Lego hasn't introduced that in a Castle set. 

[Virginia_Bricks]

49 minutes ago, JeanGreyForever said:

Prequel series have mostly flopped. The Star Wars PT and The Hobbit films are good examples, and Fantastic Beasts fell into that trap as well. You could tell WB's heart wasn't into it and what they really wanted to make was a sequel series to HP, like Cursed Child. Because the Star Wars ST showed that what fans want is to see the original actors back again.

Are you trying to use Star Wars to say that sequels are better? Pretty sure the sequels are universally hated and while the prequels weren't loved, the Clone Wars helped rectify them.

And speaking of Lego sets, Clone Wars has been a boom for Lego. To the point there is a lot of commentators complaining over on that thread about how there is aren't enough OT sets this year.

The issue with Harry Potter is JK has held such strong control over the world, that fan fiction hasn't been able to be properly developed which has given Star Wars and Disney plenty of proven content to modify and turn into canon.

[JeanGreyForever]

30 minutes ago, Virginia_Bricks said:

Are you trying to use Star Wars to say that sequels are better? Pretty sure the sequels are universally hated and while the prequels weren't loved, the Clone Wars helped rectify them.

And speaking of Lego sets, Clone Wars has been a boom for Lego. To the point there is a lot of commentators complaining over on that thread about how there is aren't enough OT sets this year.

The issue with Harry Potter is JK has held such strong control over the world, that fan fiction hasn't been able to be properly developed which has given Star Wars and Disney plenty of proven content to modify and turn into canon.

The "rehabilitation" of the PT is only because of a specific generation that grew up with them and are nostalgically blind to their faults or nostalgic specifically because of those faults. They were critically reviled when they came out by critics and audiences alike. The ST, at least the first two films, were critical and commercial successes and only the final installment was a letdown. So no, the ST isn't universally hated. TFA wouldn't be the highest grossing movie of all time domestically if that was the case. Does it get a lot of hatred online by a vocal minority, yes. But general audiences and casuals don't spend all their time online hating on the ST. They watched it and that's that, they've moved on. TCW is a kids show watched mainly by kids and hardcore fans. The average viewer hasn't even heard of the show, let alone watched it. TCW movie was a flop if I remember correctly or at least underperformed. When Solo came out, I remember the general audience reaction was how is Darth Maul alive? Didn't he die in TPM? This is the general audience reaction because 90% of them won't ever have seen TCW to know Maul was resurrected there. Film franchises like this always have hardcore fans but they can't exist on the fandoms alone. TFA was able to make as much money as it did by relying on general audiences and casual fans. 

This is also what hurt Fantastic Beasts. The first film was a hit with general audiences, but every successive installment was losing casual audiences and relying on just hardcore fans. Also HP is more popular abroad so FB was underperforming domestically in the US, while still succeeding in Europe and Asia where it's a lot more popular.

So TCW market for Lego sets is because of that millennial generation that grew up with the PT and TCW and now has a steady income to spend on those sets. The OT generation is getting older and older and not as marketable anymore. This also connects back to what I said about how we're getting more HP sets now, more then a decade after the movies ended, than when they were actually coming out. It's because a generation of millennials who grew up with HP are now of age where they have a steady income to spend on nostalgia. It's not a coincidence that the HP movies came out at the same time as the Star Wars PT, so this is definitely a market catering to that generation.

Edited March 16 by JeanGreyForever

[BrickBob Studpants]

2 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

The HP movie series was known for having the cream of the crop of British actors.

Yeah, while there are plenty of fantastic high-caliber British and Irish actors and actresses left that that haven‘t already played a role in HP, I doubt WB‘ll be able to get ahold of many of them. JKR is pure poison, and then there‘s the long-term commitment. Most actors of that caliber are hard to acquire for a 7-season show. And they‘re expensive to boot!

They‘ll probably go the ROP route and cast mostly unknown theatre actors. Granted, Lithgow is a far bigger name than any of the ROP cast, but I imagine very few cast members will be that high-profile  

(I’m aware of some of the rumours, but no way they‘ll cast Cilian Murphy as Quirrell, for instance)

[JeanGreyForever]

2 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Yeah, while there are plenty of fantastic high-caliber British and Irish actors and actresses left that that haven‘t already played a role in HP, I doubt WB‘ll be able to get ahold of many of them. JKR is pure poison, and then there‘s the long-term commitment. Most actors of that caliber are hard to acquire for a 7-season show. And they‘re expensive to boot!

They‘ll probably go the ROP route and cast mostly unknown theatre actors. Granted, Lithgow is a far bigger name than any of the ROP cast, but I imagine very few cast members will be that high-profile  

(I’m aware of some of the rumours, but no way they‘ll cast Cilian Murphy as Quirrell, for instance)

And considering how the average season comes out every 1.5-2 years after the last now, that 7-year commitment could easily be a 10-year commitment or longer. That's a long time for any actor to not be able to accept any other roles. Game of Thrones lasted almost a decade and needed more seasons to really flesh out the story, but they knew the actors were getting tired of being unable to do other projects. Most actors who do one big franchise admit they don't want to do another one because it's so many years of their lives. Then to be signed onto a controversial reboot by a controversial author doesn't make this a prime choice for any established actors. It'll probably just be unknown actors willing to make a name for themselves, like with RoP.

And RoP has Amazon's unlimited funds to sustain itself, even as a flop show. HBO doesn't have that. If they fail to stick the landing, they won't be able to keep HP going.

I've heard Cillian Murphy is being considered for the Voldemort role. Ralph Fiennes was also asked about him as a possible successor. But I don't see Cillian Murphy being all that interested in being tied to this series. Although his role would be easier to schedule around since Voldemort doesn't have much screentime until the end of the series.

[Black Falcon]

11 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

Isn't Sesame Street a PBS show? 

It was, but HBO got the rights in 2015.

11 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

The HP movie series was known for having the cream of the crop of British actors. So many Dames and Sirs. Even some of the untitled ones, like Helen McCrory, passed away too young before she could be granted a damehood. Each of those actors was a living legend in the UK whereas just look at the new cast now. John Lithgow is the only big name and he's American, not even British. It's obvious they aren't able to attract that same caliber of talent, either because they already used most of them up for the movies, or because the few who didn't work in HP simply aren't interested. 2-3 big names is nothing compared to the entire lineup of big names in the movies: Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Richard Harris, Emma Thompson, Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Brendan Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, etc. I could keep going on with more and more names because there's just so many. They really added to the prestige of the films so to go from an all-star lineup to what we're getting now is an obvious downgrade.

To be fair, I do belive it is easier to get people to join for a Film than for a series, because the later will need more time for filming. But eitherways, the point only was, that there are still enough famous and well known actors are out there, that didn´t play in the films, whereas you made it sound like there wouldn´t be much left that were not in the films, which to be honest sounds a bit unfair to all the others. 

But as stated before, I wouldn´t expect as many famous actors for a series anyways, for several reasons like stated above, or just the point, that it would need to much budget. So again, I think some famous actors are enough, and there is just no need for all of them to be the most famous ones. 

Aside from that, how many actors are even already known? As far as I know, there are many names rumoured, but not that many really set.

11 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

What I've heard is that Disney specifically decides which sets Lego can make and which minifigures can be included. I think this includes all the Disney properties or at least Marvel. I know with the Daily Bugle that Lego was filling it with generic citizens but Disney/Marvel said no and demanded that every character be an existing one. This is why the Gwen Stacy minifigure looks nothing like her besides being blonde. It was just a random blonde minifigure but Marvel made Lego name her Gwen Stacy. And characters Lego wanted to include, like Deadpool, Iceman, Human Torch, and Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew weren't allowed because of Marvel. This is also why whenever any Lego Ideas set wins that's Disney-themed, they have to get extra permission and can't confirm right away if the set will be made or not.

And it will be like that for every other theme. In the end Lego will always have to get their sets approved, just that Disney is probably more strict than others are.

11 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

You said they should keep the Hogwarts castle consistent because millions of people recognize it as the movie one. But isn't that true for everything about the movies, like millions of people recognizing Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter? And Emma Watson as Hermione? By that logic, wouldn't it make more sense to simply keep the movies that millions of people have seen and recognized and not bother with this reboot at all?

No. Because they want to make money with it and the Fantastic Beasts didn´t do as well as expected.

11 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

Actually yes, I wouldn't want Hermione and Ron without their kids. They included Harry and Ginny's kids so they should have the whole extended family. For that matter, considering how important Scorpius Malfoy and Draco are in Cursed Child, particularly in connection to Albus Severus Potter, I also feel they needed to include Scorpius, Draco, and Astoria. We're never going to get Cursed Child sets so this was the closest to getting a representation of that.

Yeah, but for that they would have had to make the Set a Epilogue one and even then I think most of the other minifigs were easier to make because young versions of the trio already exist. But an exclusive Set for the Epilogue isn´t really something Lego would do anyways, since the moments with the kids are just way more famous.

11 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

Prequel series have mostly flopped. The Star Wars PT and The Hobbit films are good examples, and Fantastic Beasts fell into that trap as well.

Sorry, but, sure the Hobbit wasn´t as successful as the Lord of the Rings but it was nowhere even near to being a flop. The same goes for SW 1-3 and I even would say, for Fantastic Beasts, aside from maybe the last Film.

11 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

You could tell WB's heart wasn't into it and what they really wanted to make was a sequel series to HP, like Cursed Child. Because the Star Wars ST showed that what fans want is to see the original actors back again.

If that were true, why do most Star Wars fans think the Sequels are worse than the Prequels then? Really in the end it depends on how a film or series is done. And especially for Something like SW, LotR, or Harry Potter which were huge successes, it is just very hard to get there again. But that doesn´t make something bad just because it isn´t as good as the original.

11 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

 Since they can't, they're relying a midquel set where the first LOTR movie begins, because it's the only way to bring the original cast back and appeal to that nostalgia. 

It actually plays between the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. 

[brickbride]

3 hours ago, Black Falcon said:

Sorry, but, sure the Hobbit wasn´t as successful as the Lord of the Rings but it was nowhere even near to being a flop. The same goes for SW 1-3 and I even would say, for Fantastic Beasts, aside from maybe the last Film.

The problem with Fantastic Beasts wasn't so much that it was a prequel (apart from the fact that we knew in advance about some people's survival but that alone would hardly have tanked the series). It was more that the plotting was idiotic even by HP standards (with numerous internal retcons, too), that the main character was quite unsympathetic even by HP standards (the entire first movie can pretty much be summed up as "Let's watch Newt be an irresponsible pet owner who racks up tons of property damage through his negligence, and then let's watch Our Heroes mind-rape Muggles"), and that the series could never decide whether it wanted to be a light-hearted romp with magical beasts or a gritty war drama with Grindelwald.

If they had committed to one or the other, given us someone other than Jacob to root for, and had their plots actually make sense (with less of the "Dumbledore's the greatest and Hogwarts is sooooo coool!" nostalgia to boot) I think it would have gone differently. Because really, the idea of exploring what the wizarding world's like for adult characters, and away from that one school everyone in the HP books is obsessed with, is a no-brainer with a ton of potential.

Edited March 16 by brickbride