Lego themes that we would like to happen

[LM71Blackbird]

I'd love to see a historic plane line-up. Something with significant advances in aviation would be both educational and fun to build!

[Digger of Bricks]

Someday, I hope to see the City theme do a moonbase subtheme, as a homage to Classic Space. Given all the places the City theme has gone with its exploration subthemes, I think the moon could be a tangible possibility down the road. For a theme rooted in realism, an outpost on the moon isn't too much of stretch when it comes to tangibility, since many space agencies periodically express their desire to do so every once in a while.

Also, City's first Space subtheme was released in 2011, with its second return in 2015; so, if we are to see a Space subtheme from City every four years, perhaps we will see a third return in 2019.

Edited January 24, 2018 by Digger of Bricks

[Ninjaguy99]

I gotta say it.... Henry Danger.

[Internet Ham]

I would love to see a new planet exploration theme. Exploring Andromeda or something like that.

[Aanchir]

18 hours ago, Internet Ham said:

I would love to see a new planet exploration theme. Exploring Andromeda or something like that.

Honestly it's sometimes interesting to think back and realize how few Space themes have had much in the way of extraterrestrial landscapes besides mountain bricks, raised baseplates, and crater plates. I suppose part of this is how outside of a more story-driven theme like Star Wars, it's hard to make many types of environments (volcanic, oceanic, forested, stormy, etc) seem recognizably "spacey". Most people's idea of "space" is cold, rocky, and desolate, as has been the case with most of our nearest celestial neighbors.

[TeriXeri]

7 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Honestly it's sometimes interesting to think back and realize how few Space themes have had much in the way of extraterrestrial landscapes besides mountain bricks, raised baseplates, and crater plates. 

In Classic Space and the 90s, almost each faction had some base, and while I can see most of them use a baseplate and large parts, nowadays some structures still use larger plates, burps and pillars and panels to cover size.

Even with the removal of raised baseplates, I still see it possible to create some decent area with more modern 16x16, 8x16 plates and 10x10 corner plates and such.

Brick-built rocks and walls still take a lot of parts if not using panels/burps, but I personally have no problem with open-backed designs, as long as there is a decent facade or corner display.

Edited May 4, 2019 by TeriXeri

[Aanchir]

2 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

In Classic Space and the 90s, almost each faction had some base, and while I can see most of them use a baseplate and large parts, nowadays some structures still use larger plates, burps and pillars and panels to cover size.

 Even with the removal of raised baseplates, I still see it possible to create some decent area with more modern 16x16, 8x16 plates and 10x10 corner plates and such.

Brick-built rocks and walls still take a lot of parts if not using panels/burps, but I personally have no problem with open-backed designs, as long as there is a decent facade or corner display.

Sorry, I may have phrased my post poorly… I'm not really complaining about the way the terrain is built so much as how it's almost always focused on the same sort of terrain… e.g. rocky ground, mountains, or plateaus. In other words, while Space themes can be vastly different in terms of how their factions look, most of their settings represent more or less the same biomes, differentiated at most by the color of the planet surface. Which is a lot different from many space adventure franchises like Star Wars or Star Trek where part of what makes their extraterrestrial settings interesting is how many different biomes are represented by the various planets.

[tafkatb]

The discussion of different biomes reminds me of an idea I had years ago for a possible pirate theme, but the concept could be just as easily applied to a space theme. The basic background would be that some huge [pirate/space] ship was torn apart by a [storm/asteroid] and the broken segments were scattered and crashed on various [islands/planets], so the crew used the wreckage, combined with elements from their new environments, to build new vehicles and shelters. The upshot of all this is that you get a full wave of 2-in-1 builds: each set would be some kind of fanciful craft or structure adapted to a unique biome, or it could be rebuilt into a portion of the original ship, so that they could be combined into one big build if you want to collect them all.

[Digger of Bricks]

On 5/3/2019 at 4:10 PM, Internet Ham said:

I would love to see a new planet exploration theme. Exploring Andromeda or something like that.

10 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Sorry, I may have phrased my post poorly… I'm not really complaining about the way the terrain is built so much as how it's almost always focused on the same sort of terrain… e.g. rocky ground, mountains, or plateaus. In other words, while Space themes can be vastly different in terms of how their factions look, most of their settings represent more or less the same biomes, differentiated at most by the color of the planet surface. Which is a lot different from many space adventure franchises like Star Wars or Star Trek where part of what makes their extraterrestrial settings interesting is how many different biomes are represented by the various planets.

Well, I myself have always wanted to see an in-house Space theme from Lego that would sorta be Star Trek/Lost in Space meets Lego's Adventurers, with a premise revolving around the crew of an expeditionary starship and their many adventures discovering strange new worlds. Done right, such a story-driven Space theme could potentially stand apart and alongside Star Wars without much conflicting overlap between the two, adopting a more distinct, colorful aesthetic (perhaps harkening towards more of a '60s sci-fi vibe) and a story that's less heavily reliant on Star Wars' good-vs-evil saga tropes. 

[Lego David]

I would like to see an in-house Superheroes theme. With super heroes that are not either Batman or Spiderman. Something new, that was LEGO's original idea.

[Digger of Bricks]

11 hours ago, Lego David said:

I would like to see an in-house Superheroes theme. With super heroes that are not either Batman or Spiderman. Something new, that was LEGO's original idea.

Maybe I'm just biased, but I somewhat feel such a theme should have some sorta pronounced period setting and/or vibe to help distinguish itself from the Marvel and DC SuperHeroes themes' offerings, perhaps in the same way Pixar's The Incredibles had leaned heavily on its own Silver Age style, setting, and tone. 

[icm]

12 hours ago, Lego David said:

I would like to see an in-house Superheroes theme. With super heroes that are not either Batman or Spiderman. Something new, that was LEGO's original idea.

I think that describes Alpha Team, Agents, and Ultra Agents pretty well.  An out-and-out super hero theme without the secret agent set dressing would obviously compete with licensed super hero themes far more directly than Space competes with Star Wars, so Lego would have to wait until the MCU and DCEU conclude or be exceedingly creative to create interesting, compelling superhero characters that don't just seem like no name clones of Superman etc.  I can imagine a lot of kids and teens being disappointed that Lego wasn't making sets with Superman and Batman anymore, just some lame-o nobodies.  Pixar can get away with creating an entire cast of superheroes because they're a major studio and they were originally making a superhero parody anyway.  I don't think Lego has that clout, but it's possible that they could make it work with media backing similar to that of Ninjago.  (Johnny Thunder is fondly remembered as an in house Indiana Jones character, but he came before the Indiana Jones license, not after.)

[Lego David]

37 minutes ago, icm said:

Pixar can get away with creating an entire cast of superheroes because they're a major studio

Well, in the same way, if executed well, LEGO could get away too, since they are the biggest Toy Company in the world, in the same way Pixar is like the 2nd biggest Animation Studio after Disney. So, if they use their creativity and create something that doesn't even feel like it was intended to copy the DC or Marvel superheroes, something great might come out of it. 

I also think the powers of the Bionicle masks could also inspire the powers of those in-house superheroes. Like, I don't know any superhero out there who has the power to revive dead bodies creating zombies, in the same way Matoro's Kanohi Tryna is able to.

See this site for my refrence:

https://bionicle.fandom.com/wiki/Tryna

Edited May 6, 2019 by Lego David

[Exetrius]

19 hours ago, tafkatb said:

The discussion of different biomes reminds me of an idea I had years ago for a possible pirate theme, but the concept could be just as easily applied to a space theme. The basic background would be that some huge [pirate/space] ship was torn apart by a [storm/asteroid] and the broken segments were scattered and crashed on various [islands/planets], so the crew used the wreckage, combined with elements from their new environments, to build new vehicles and shelters. The upshot of all this is that you get a full wave of 2-in-1 builds: each set would be some kind of fanciful craft or structure adapted to a unique biome, or it could be rebuilt into a portion of the original ship, so that they could be combined into one big build if you want to collect them all.

I can picture that would be a beautiful theme, but it would be a pain to design. I don't think it's worth doing for the small portion of people who would effectively get the whole wave. 

 

17 hours ago, Lego David said:

I would like to see an in-house Superheroes theme. With super heroes that are not either Batman or Spiderman. Something new, that was LEGO's original idea.

It gets old really quickly, doesn't it? Some bat-freak, a lame hysterical clown, penguin grandpa, a spider-freak, some docter with four arms, and so forth, on repeat. At least this is how I view it, as a non-fan. I'd much rather see original IP superhero themes, the more variation in the designs, the better. 

5 hours ago, icm said:

I think that describes Alpha Team, Agents, and Ultra Agents pretty well

Well, it was more like specialists vs. super villains, instead of super heroes vs super villains. I liked the Ultra Agents villains for their variety in powers and colour schemes, but didn't care much for the all-black agents side. 

 

5 hours ago, icm said:

I can imagine a lot of kids and teens being disappointed that Lego wasn't making sets with Superman and Batman anymore, just some lame-o nobodies.  Pixar can get away with creating an entire cast of superheroes because they're a major studio and they were originally making a superhero parody anyway.  I don't think Lego has that clout, but it's possible that they could make it work with media backing similar to that of Ninjago. 

I think it all stands or falls with a successful TV show. But I'm sure it's not impossible. All shows pull the same tropes all the time, but it's in the execution that some really get you hooked and makes you want to buy merchandise. DC and Marvel are not the only successful producers of superheroes. I disliked the genre, until two Japanese anime - My Hero Academia and One Punch Man - came around, which made me realize it just needed a different execution to appeal to me. The Ninjago show too just struck the right chords for me. 

[Digger of Bricks]

7 hours ago, icm said:

I think that describes Alpha Team, Agents, and Ultra Agents pretty well.  An out-and-out super hero theme without the secret agent set dressing would obviously compete with licensed super hero themes far more directly than Space competes with Star Wars, so Lego would have to wait until the MCU and DCEU conclude or be exceedingly creative to create interesting, compelling superhero characters that don't just seem like no name clones of Superman etc.  I can imagine a lot of kids and teens being disappointed that Lego wasn't making sets with Superman and Batman anymore, just some lame-o nobodies. 

For some, it may be not as exciting as a story-driven playtheme, but perhaps it'd be better if Lego just started giving superhero/comic book archetypes some generic representation within the non-licensed Collectable Minifigure line within each Series from here on out. 

[Lego David]

18 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

For some, it may be not as exciting as a story-driven playtheme, but perhaps it'd be better if Lego just started giving superhero/comic book archetypes some generic representation within the non-licensed Collectable Minifigure line within each Series from here on out. 

Maybe they can start their own comic series based on an in-house superheroes line, like they did with Bionicle where a major part of the story was told trough comics 

[MAB]

I'd prefer they didn't do their own Superheroes. Either they become generic meaningless toys that look like bad knock-offs of the licensed style SH they are copying - like these for example:

OR they become what they were replacing - essentially a heavily license driven SH range. If LEGO came up with their own SH range backed by comics, TV shows, etc then it is not really that different to having another license. They already do that type of thing - Chima, Nexo Knights, Ninjago. Why overlap these with two of their (current) core offerings, Marvel and DC, losing fans of those franchises?

Edited May 7, 2019 by MAB

[Digger of Bricks]

3 hours ago, MAB said:

I'd prefer they didn't do their own Superheroes. Either they become generic meaningless toys that look like bad knock-offs of the licensed style SH they are copying - like these for example:

Heh, maybe instead of an in-house theme based upon more traditional Golden Age/Silver Age/Bronze Age/Modern Age superhero comics, perhaps they could rather draw inspiration from their earlier Pulp-Era predecessors. Ya know, characters like Doc Savage, The Shadow, Tarzan, Green Hornet, Zorro, Flash Gordon... 

I mean, it'd be very like Lego's Adventurers theme in spirit and tone, but with crimefighters, masked avengers, and the sort. 

On 4/12/2019 at 5:38 PM, Ninjaguy99 said:

I gotta say it.... Henry Danger.

Well, have you yet seen this? 

 

[TeriXeri]

9 hours ago, Lego David said:

Maybe they can start their own comic series based on an in-house superheroes line, like they did with Bionicle where a major part of the story was told trough comics 

Chima, Nexo Knights and Ninjago had plenty of comics in the magazines that were/are published.

And for 2018, with no Nexo Knight TV show, the year-3 story was only seen in those comics.

Edited May 7, 2019 by TeriXeri

[Lego David]

1 hour ago, TeriXeri said:

Chima, Nexo Knights and Ninjago had plenty of comics in the magazines that were/are published.

And for 2018, with no Nexo Knight TV show, the year-3 story was only seen in those comics.

No, I mean actual comic books, not just comics appearing in magazines and such.

Like the Bionicle comics:

 

 

[Lyichir]

1 hour ago, Lego David said:

No, I mean actual comic books, not just comics appearing in magazines and such.

Like the Bionicle comics:

 

 

Man, I would love that. I wish they would start at least, say, a Lego Batman comic book series. Maybe even telling further adventures with the Lego Batman Movie characters?

Though I think I can understand why they don't. Lego's cheaper, shorter comics in both free and paid magazines are, all things considered, probably a safer business model than traditional comic book publication and distribution models in this day and age. These days even the "big two" comic publishers sometimes seem like their business model relies less on the comic book profits themselves and more on the much more profitable film, TV, and video game properties that can be spun off of their back catalog.

[TeriXeri]

2 hours ago, Lego David said:

No, I mean actual comic books, not just comics appearing in magazines and such.

Like the Bionicle comics:

I don't mind actual comic books and would be interested in them for sure, for the more generic themes that don't have a TV show/game/movie etc.

Pirates did it in 1989

[Digger of Bricks]

On 5/6/2019 at 4:15 AM, Exetrius said:

Well, it was more like specialists vs. super villains, instead of super heroes vs super villains. I liked the Ultra Agents villains for their variety in powers and colour schemes, but didn't care much for the all-black agents side. 

Ya know, come to think of it, maybe with the exception of Monster Fighters, most of Lego's story-driven original playthemes stick with some sorta uniform group/team of heroes that are more often akin to the Power Rangers than more widely diverse assembles such as Marvel's Avengers or the Guardians of the Galaxy. Huh... 

[Aanchir]

41 minutes ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Ya know, come to think of it, maybe with the exception of Monster Fighters, most of Lego's story-driven original playthemes stick with some sorta uniform group/team of heroes that are more often akin to the Power Rangers than more widely diverse assembles such as Marvel's Avengers or the Guardians of the Galaxy. Huh... 

A lot of the reason for that is probably that teams like the Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy usually originate mainly as team-ups of already known/established superheroes, sometimes with some new characters to mix things up. So they typically don't have to go to the effort of establishing a widely varied range of origin stories all at once.

Also, a lot of LEGO's in-house themes are intended to be stuff that people can jump into playing with whether or not they've already been exposed to the underlying story. Characters having shared motifs, insignias, or a shared design language (like the Alpha Team agents, Nexo Knights, Toa, Turaga, etc) helps with that since kids can quickly get a sense of which characters are teamed up together as part of the same faction.

Whereas if you didn't already know characters like Iron Man, Hulk, and Captain America it would be hard to tell that they're all good guys, let alone that they're all part of the same team! In terms of design language, a lot of superheroes have more in common with the supervillains from their respective titles (e.g. Hulk and Red Hulk, Iron Man and Iron Monger, Flash and Reverse Flash, etc) than with the other heroes from their team up comics/movies/cartoons. They can get away with this because unlike with LEGO, comic book superheroes tend to be much more widely recognized for their media than their toys.

Even in the case of Monster Fighters, it's very easy to tell who the "good guys" are — despite their very different outfits, the Monster Fighters are all obviously human and many have shared motifs like metal prostheses and other steampunk-ish aesthetics. Whereas the bad guys are in part drawing on the same cultural saturation as superhero teams do — they are not only monsters, but well-known classic horror archetypes.

If LEGO were to do a "hero team-up" as varied as the Monster Fighters villains, it would likely need to draw on equally well-known public domain heroic archetypes, like Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, etc. Compare with Alan Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", a comic book reimagining Victorian-era literary figures like the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll, Captain Nemo, and Allan Quartermain as an Avengers or Justice League style superhero team, or DreamWorks' "Rise of the Guardians", which formed a hero team based on figures from children's folklore like Santa Claus, Jack Frost, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny.

[MAB]

19 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

 

I mean, it'd be very like Lego's Adventurers theme in spirit and tone, but with crimefighters, masked avengers, and the sort. 

 

 

I'd prefer them to do something like Adventurers, without the superhero masks and so on. If you mask-up otherwise unknown characters, they look like bad copies of the licensed properties, while overlapping with those properties.