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So, does anyone else think that there may be a new, Chima/Nexo Knights-like, Pirates-based theme on the horizon?

Because there's a lot of evidence to back the theory.

Since Nexo Knights got canned, it's logical to expect that something's going to replace it, in the same way as Nexo Knights replaced Chima, and Chima was supposed to replace Ninjago (but, as we all know, that didn't work). And next year is the 40th anniversary of Pirates - what better way to celebrate it than with brand new Pirates stuff?

And Lego has to know that people would love a genuine Pirates theme. I'm sure they learned from their mistake with Nexo Knights; personally, I really liked the high-tech thematic, but I know lots of people didn't, meaning that they're most likely going to breathe new life into classic Pirates if this does happen.

Plus. there's the two Pirates-themed sets that have come up in the Creator lineup for Summer 2018, including the lovely rollercoaster. It's entirely possible that Lego is trying a bit of subtle cross-promotion. 

There's also the point of Overwatch sets coming next year; I feel like the similar aesthetics of Overwatch and Nexo Knights might have been a factor in NK getting canned. So it makes sense that the next original IP should be something that doesn't match any of the currently existing outside themes. Harry Potter will corner the market on Castle, and Star Wars continues to dominate Space. And, of course, City is, always has been, and will always be, City. And who's to say where Ninjago and Overwatch will end up going? (Seriously, Ninjago has done some weird stuff.) Pirates is the only one that's open, and they've already done Pirates in Ninjago, and I'm pretty certain there's nothing pirate-related in Overwatch. 

Finally, and this one might be a bit tenuous, I admit; Ninjago City Docks. They have released a massive set that is a dockyard. And, of course, there's no point in a dockyard without ships - and if there is a new Pirates theme, there absolutely HAS to be at least a couple of ships. The existence of the Docks, as a Ninjago Movie set, is admittedly confusing, given how late it is - but it makes more sense if you consider it as being a literal bridge between Ninjago, the most successful in-house property in the history of Lego, and this hypothetical new Pirates theme. I'm sure Lego expects kids to think of docking the inevitable large pirate ship at the Docks, and subsequently pressure their parents into getting two large sets for them. 

So, thoughts, everyone?

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I wouldn't say LEGO 'learned from their mistake' with Nexo Knights because they knew it wasn't guaranteed to be a lasting hit, and they still managed to get a good two and a half years out of it. The fact that it disappointed a lot of classic castle fans is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things — do you think LEGO ever expects wacky new themes to be welcomed with open arms by traditional-minded fans after our community's persistent habit of whining about basically every new action/adventure theme in the past ten years?

I think all we can do is speculate about what sort of theme LEGO might bring out next. It's a little premature to assume the next big action/adventure property would be based on ANY of the classic evergreen themes, though — not when there are so many other categories to choose from, from underwater to underground to globetrotting adventure to mecha to stuff we've never even seen before. And themes aren't necessarily released in a "one-in, one-out" pattern anyhow. For all we know we might see another castle theme next year (continuing the pattern of a new take on castle every three years) AND a new media-driven action-adventure property. In any case, I don't think the specific desires of AFOLs are going to be a major factor in whatever new theme decisions the LEGO Group makes.

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On 5/27/2018 at 5:40 AM, Feng-huang0296 said:

And next year is the 40th anniversary of Pirates - what better way to celebrate it than with brand new Pirates stuff?

I'm not putting too much faith into TLG honoring these milestones as much as I did in the past, but that'd certainly be a good excuse for the next "big bang" to take on a nautical/pirates theme! :classic:

Please don't make it anything like Disney's Treasure Planet though. :hmpf:

On 5/27/2018 at 5:40 AM, Feng-huang0296 said:

So it makes sense that the next original IP should be something that doesn't match any of the currently existing outside themes. Harry Potter will corner the market on Castle, and Star Wars continues to dominate Space. And, of course, City is, always has been, and will always be, City. And who's to say where Ninjago and Overwatch will end up going? (Seriously, Ninjago has done some weird stuff.) Pirates is the only one that's open, and they've already done Pirates in Ninjago, and I'm pretty certain there's nothing pirate-related in Overwatch. 

This I think is the strongest point you've made in this argument. :thumbup:

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I think discussion of a new Pirate theme belongs here:

But that's mostly because I don't expect it to be a Big Bang Action & Adventure theme.  I also hope that it isn't.

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On 27/05/2018 at 11:40 AM, Feng-huang0296 said:

And Lego has to know that people would love a genuine Pirates theme.

 

Probably no more than "people" would love a castle theme, or a historical theme, or an explorers theme, or a space theme, or a monsters theme, or a sports theme, or an underwater theme, or a zoo theme, ...

 

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I'm in the boat (heh) with people who wouldn't really mind a new pirates theme with some form of technological elements to it. Something like steampunk or even space pirates has the potential to be pretty fantastic provided it's handled correctly. Steampunk pirates seems like the obvious choice but my understanding is that steampunk doesn't really test well with kids, so maybe some kind of space pirates theme along the lines of that one season of the Japanese version of Power Rangers would be cool?

I dunno, I love traditional pirates but there's been a lot of Lego doing mash-up themes lately, and I wouldn't be overly surprised (or that upset, assuming its well done) if pirates was next.

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There are some good points made in the OP, but Lego doesn't have to make a traditional theme mashed up with Sci-Fi. Obviously both Ninjago and Nexo are exactly that, but Chima exists as well (I know that everyone would like to pretend that it didn't :tongue: ). I'm cautiously optimistic about the next theme, and I hope that Lego puts out more than one new, non-Licensed themes next year.

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1 hour ago, shadefoundry said:

I'm in the boat (heh) with people who wouldn't really mind a new pirates theme with some form of technological elements to it. Something like steampunk or even space pirates has the potential to be pretty fantastic provided it's handled correctly. Steampunk pirates seems like the obvious choice but my understanding is that steampunk doesn't really test well with kids, so maybe some kind of space pirates theme along the lines of that one season of the Japanese version of Power Rangers would be cool?

You mean Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger? That would certainly be interesting, but if Lego did do something like that, they might get criticised for ripping off Super Sentai . . .

Yeah, steampunk pirates would be awesome. It's not even much of a stretch. 

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4 hours ago, BrickJagger said:

I'm cautiously optimistic about the next theme, and I hope that Lego puts out more than one new, non-Licensed themes next year.

AMEN! :thumbup: :smug:

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15 hours ago, Feng-huang0296 said:

You mean Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger? That would certainly be interesting, but if Lego did do something like that, they might get criticised for ripping off Super Sentai . . .

Yes that, although there's certainly quite a few examples of space pirates in popular culture. The people over at TLG are pretty imaginative though, so I would think that they'd have their own lego-esque feel to space pirates even if it did take some inspiration from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, in the same way that Nexo Knights took some very clear inspirations from 40k without actually feeling like a 40k ripoff.

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If we were to ever see a "big bang" Pirates theme set in space, I think it should fuse much of the typical technological hallmarks of modern science fiction (space freighters, starfighters, spacesuits, etc.) with the stylistic sensibilities of the eighteenth century. But, having said that, they shouldn't just lazily throw thrusters onto a earth bound sailing vessel and call it a day, if you know what I'm hinting at... 

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Eh, it is better than gluing some gears and sticking a propeller to something and calling it steampunk. 

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10 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

I think it should fuse much of the typical technological hallmarks of modern science fiction (space freighters, starfighters, spacesuits, etc.) with the stylistic sensibilities of the eighteenth century.

I understand why you feel this way, but I don't.  I would prefer some sort of Neo-Classic Space with piracy, personally.

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5 hours ago, Peppermint_M said:

Eh, it is better than gluing some gears and sticking a propeller to something and calling it steampunk. 

True, as Steampunk can be so lazily utilized and/or labeled as far as retrofuturistic/alternative historical genres go.

5 hours ago, x105Black said:

I would prefer some sort of Neo-Classic Space with piracy, personally.

I'd love to see that as an alternative too, but understandably, it would be less of a fantastical Pirates theme and more of a honest-to-goodness Space theme instead. 

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8 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

I'd love to see that as an alternative too, but understandably, it would be less of a fantastical Pirates theme and more of a honest-to-goodness Space theme instead. 

That's true.  I guess I would prefer a Pirates theme to be aquatic in nature.  Preferably, we would get a Pirates theme revolving around the Pirates and the Islanders.  I'd be open to some fantasy elements in there, like a kraken, voodoo magic, or other such things.

When you get to Space Pirates, it all starts to feel sci-fi, so I'd prefer to look at a theme like that from the Space angle instead.

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It's an interesting Lego topic regarding the Pirates theme because way back in the day, I'd say Pirates was Lego's most successful theme; so successful that with each wave of sets came a whole new storyline to follow (Red coats/blue coats/natives etc). Personally I'd love to see something like that back, but I just don't think pirates ever did as well outside of the 90s for Lego. They couldn't even make a licensed Lego Pirates of the Caribbean work, so I'd be surprised if they were in a hurry to make any new Pirates sets. That being said; I'd welcome a new line with welcome arms. It's just I felt the previous Pirates sets have been pretty bland. Most of them have just contained non-interesting builds and really bog-standard ships. As I said, I think if they went back down the 90s route and based the sets on an on-going storyline, you could have something pretty special there. Maybe even a TV series like Elves and Friends would boost the audience?

Edited by LegoAndDisney

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2 hours ago, LegoAndDisney said:

It's an interesting Lego topic regarding the Pirates theme because way back in the day, I'd say Pirates was Lego's most successful theme; so successful that with each wave of sets came a whole new storyline to follow (Red coats/blue coats/natives etc).

1

I doubt it was ever the most successful. Successful, yes. Most, no.

2 hours ago, LegoAndDisney said:

It's just I felt the previous Pirates sets have been pretty bland. Most of them have just contained non-interesting builds and really bog-standard ships. As I said, I think if they went back down the 90s route and based the sets on an on-going storyline, you could have something pretty special there. Maybe even a TV series like Elves and Friends would boost the audience?

 

The last two ships released within Pirates were:

The Brick Bounty

70413-1.png

The Imperial Flagship

10210-1.png

I don't think either were particularly bog-standard. Brick Bounty is fine, so long as you don't have a similar earlier one (like Brickbeard's).

 

As to TV tie-ins, I don't think they'd work for older kids (and hence lead to decent AFOL wanted sets). Pirates books and toys seem to be aged at quite young kids these days, and they are no longer very cool by about 5 or 6 (at least in the UK) and definitely by age about 8. Which I guess is why LEGO aimed the last range at quite young builders.

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I would like to see LEGO do something like Pirates of Dark Water.  That would be an interesting take on the Pirates concept, and would keep it from being a rehash.

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I really doubt we'll get one. The last time they released a pirate set, everyone had a big WOO HOO this is the best moment. But then it slowly went away. Thanks to the pirates of the money making Disney, we probably won't see a pirate anything for at least 2 years. 

I kinda hope I'm wrong. Next to space, this was my favorite theme. 

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On 6/13/2018 at 10:13 AM, Lothos said:

I really doubt we'll get one. The last time they released a pirate set, everyone had a big WOO HOO this is the best moment. But then it slowly went away. Thanks to the pirates of the money making Disney, we probably won't see a pirate anything for at least 2 years. 

I kinda hope I'm wrong. Next to space, this was my favorite theme. 

I'm not sure it's really fair to blame Disney, considering long hiatuses like this between new Pirates waves have been the norm for the past 20 years. For all we know, the popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies might have even been one of the things motivating LEGO to revive the theme back in 2009!

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I'd really love to see the theme go on where it stranded in the mid-90's with the Armada... Those were actual story based sets and not reboots of sets that once dominated the -in my opinion- best theme that LEGO ever created. Also I'd be disappointed if TLG would do any crossovers with other theme's, like Nexo Knights... I really didn't get it...

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1 hour ago, Lord Brickington said:

Also I'd be disappointed if TLG would do any crossovers with other theme's, like Nexo Knights... I really didn't get it...

As would I.

The Armada idea would be nice, considering they can do a much better job of it this time around.  I wasn't much of a fan of those minifigures.

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9 hours ago, x105Black said:

As would I.

The Armada idea would be nice, considering they can do a much better job of it this time around.  I wasn't much of a fan of those minifigures.

I must agree on that one, the designs could be way more detailed nowadays. 

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In general, despite it being my childhood, I feel like the late 90s and early 2000s were a pretty weak time for LEGO designs in general, and a lot of the core theme concepts back then have been greatly improved by a second pass (like Rock Raiders to Power Miners, Insectoids to Galaxy Squad, UFO to Alien Conquest, Arctic to the Arctic subtheme of City, Alpha Team to Agents, etc). So I definitely think the same could be said for Imperial Armada.

The big question I think is whether kids would relate to the concept as well as the usual pirates or soldiers. The Pirates of the Caribbean movies have had a few portrayals of the Spanish navy and Spanish privateers, but at least in the US I don't think the Spanish navy is as ubiquitous in pop culture as broader concepts like knights and ninjas and pirates. Then again, the theme is called "Pirates", and I think the pirate faction is always going to be center stage, so maybe the familiarity of the foes they're facing might not be so important… I wouldn't be TOO surprised if the next take on Pirates were to take some cues from the Imperial Armada for its antagonists, seeing as they've already revisited both the redcoats and bluecoats.

@Lord Brickington, I'm curious about the description of Imperial Armada as "story based sets". There were definitely supplemental story tidbits like short comics and character bios attached to them in the magazines, but that was the way things were for pretty much all themes back then. I don't remember any Imperial Armada inspired story media as extensive as the comics and picture books from early in the Pirates theme's lifespan. The sets themselves were not especially story-driven.

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The real question is, would a new pirate theme be A&A or Pirates?

Historic didn't want anything to do with Nexo Knights once the whole concept was revealed, but even pirates that belong in a Ninjago like universe could possibly still be welcome in Pirates itself. 

Not to mention, a more space-faring pirate would be at home in SciFi. Then again, this is all just speculation on the possibility of more pirates. 

 

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