More 'Mature' Licensed themes?

[Agent Kallus]

The Stranger things set shows TLG is willing to cross a line that they were previously unwilling to cross, now stranger things is nowhere near as 'adult' as some people seem to think but it is definitely not as child oriented as any of the other lego licensed themes. This can sort of be seen in that it has been given a single (so far) 'collectors' set rather than a mass market toy line.

I started this topic so we'd have some where to discuss this, how we feel about this and what other license we might like that fit into this niche (i.e not child oriented but not extremely 'Mature'.

Now in the Trolls topic @Robert8 suggested that this new slew of licensed themes (stranger things + Trolls) might have something to do with TLG's recent change in CEO and I find he might be on to something.

As for themes I'd like I think The Elder Scrolls make sense it isn't super inappropriate so maybe we could see sets to go along with the release of TES6, though Skyrim special edition was an 18 so maybe TES6 will be too which would make that less likely. (Though skyrim isn't anywhere near as 'mature' as GOT or anything but even with stranger things getting a set TES is probably still too 'mature for lego)

[doclord]

Slippery slope. From the way people talk about Stranger Things on here you'd think they were talking about Grand Theft Auto.

Have we forgotten the new Reaper shotguns and the James Bond car with a big body count?

[TheBatstan]

I'd say the original Lego Batman series and Indiana Jones could fit into this niche as well. While the sets never outright said it, Lego basically made Nazi minifigures and scenes from the movies that were definitely not suited for kids (7623 Temple Escape set, for example). 

The first Lego Batman theme, while not hardcore mature, was definitely a more mature take than what we have today with the current DC line. The sets were darker in color and design, and the minifigures themselves seemed to be based on Batman: The Animated Series than any of the more kid friendly Batman cartoons that were on at the time around 2006. Batman himself was much more serious as well, acting much more like his comics self instead of the self-parody that he is in the Lego Movie 1/2/TLBM. This line was also the one that introduced two new types of gun pieces. The villains weren't carrying silly Alien Conquest blasters (which are still used today in some Superheroes sets), almost every set included a very realistic tommy gun and pistol piece, so they were packing heat.

Edited May 10, 2019 by MisterBatfleck

[autolycus]

I would like really good quality, detailed ($100-200) sets of Serenity and USS Planet Express Shop. Please? Pretty please?!

[Blondie-Wan]

I posted this in the Stranger Things thread, but it’s relevant here as well...

Quote

... 

but I’m reminded of a poll they ran a few years ago in which they asked, among other things, about various entertainment franchises and our levels of interest in them, and/or which ones we wanted to see in LEGO or thought would make good LEGO themes. I don’t remember most of them, other than that most of them were at least somewhat family-friendly properties of the sorts we’re accustomed to seeing in LEGO (and I suspect several of them have since gone on to appear in LEGO, though I again I don’t recall them specifically). One did jump out and stick in my mind, though, because I was so surprised it was even on the list at all, and that’s Alien. At the time, I assumed it was one they’d never do, and that it was just mentioned there to help them get an idea of the kinds of things AFOLs like.

I did see a recent article about some of the more adult-oriented cameos and references in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, in which it was reiterated that LEGO doesn’t do R-rated properties (and hence, that of the

 

multiple time travel franchises

represented in that one sequence, a couple were indeed LEGO licenses but most weren’t, and at least a couple of them “never” would be due to their kid-unfriendly natures). But now we have this thing, which edges closer to R-rated material than I would once have imagined LEGO would ever dare, and I think about how cool LEGO Alien could really be; we’ve seen lots of beautiful MOCs from the franchise over the years already...

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by Blondie-Wan

[Oky]

I don't think the Stranger Things set is any indication of Lego getting more mature. People were saying this when the Simpsons sets came out too which is arguably an even more mature property. But the truth is, Lego has been making sets based on pretty dark/mature material for a long time now. Temple of Doom anyone? I mean, we got several Deadpool minifigs for crying out loud.

No, I think Overwatch is closer to being an indication of Lego pushing their boundaries since they previously stayed away from first-person shooters. But even that IP is so cartoony and sci-fi that it's no different from any of the other licenses.

However, if this is indeed the case, I'd say bring on Lego Alien or any other mature franchise they can get their hands on!

[wesker]

I wouldn't mind seeing them push the boundaries on more mature franchises in the future, especially after the success Funko has had releasing cutesy childish looking products based on mature films and TV. I can understand not wanting a full wave of sets at regular retailers that's widely available to kids, but the occasional D2C or Lego Ideas set aimed at older builders shouldn't be too much of an issue. I'd certainly be up for Alien, Terminator and more James Bond.

Edited May 10, 2019 by wesker

[Eggyslav]

I'd love to see Team Fortress 2 sets. After all, we have Portal Dimensions sets, so Valve licensing deal is not a problem. And TF2 is quite similar in theme as Overwatch It's just more realistic and mature. At least make a TF2 CMF series, with all classes...

[Aanchir]

On 5/9/2019 at 5:15 PM, doclord said:

Slippery slope. From the way people talk about Stranger Things on here you'd think they were talking about Grand Theft Auto.

Have we forgotten the new Reaper shotguns and the James Bond car with a big body count?

Reaper's shotguns are fairly cartoonish sci-fi guns both in the sets and the source material. In fact, I'd say they're a lot LESS realistic than the guns in many Star Wars movies and sets. And in terms of a "body count"… couldn't you say the same for several of the villains in Super Heroes sets or dinosaurs in Jurassic World sets?

While over the decades LEGO's attitude towards dark, scary, or violent subject matter in sets has shifted a lot, LEGO's "conflict and weapons" policy that they finally codified in 2010 draw some pretty clear boundaries on what subject matter they will not allow:

"The LEGO Group believes that conflict between good and evil can form an important part of children’s play as it teaches children about their own, and other people’s, aggression and helps them recognize and handle disputes in other situations. However, the LEGO Group has no intention of glorifying war or encouraging violence, and therefore refuses to produce realistic weapons and military equipment with the risk of children recognizing these types of weapons from hostilities around the world. Instead, the LEGO Group supports children, stimulating their imagination by launching only historical and fantasy weapons. With the aim of toning down the conflict element, a good dose of humor is incorporated in the models and the storytelling around the play themes."

On a broader level, I think LEGO generally seeks to avoid stuff that would resemble the real-life traumatic experiences that kids or their families may have had. Note that in LEGO City, despite Police and Fire being some of the major subthemes, there are no guns and no house/apartment fires. When violent or scary scenarios do show up in sets, they're usually things no real-life child or their parents are likely to have experienced in real life, like alien invasions, pirate raids, medieval siege warfare, superhero battles, attacks by hungry dinosaurs, wizard duels, etc.

In that regard, I think that scary or even deadly monsters like in Stranger Things are well within the type of subject matter LEGO has allowed in the past. But I suspect they will still steer clear of creating sets realistically depicting scenarios like child abuse, police brutality, sexual violence, modern warfare, terrorist attacks, hate crimes, plane crashes, etc. It's not so much a concern that knowing about these things or seeing depictions of them will be harmful to kids, but that it would be insensitive to reduce real-life traumatic experiences like this to something for people to build or play with for fun.

Now, as far as media licensing goes? Obviously, the appropriateness of media content is highly subjective, and what's perceived as "kid friendly" or "not kid friendly" often varies from one culture to another. But so far I think LEGO has managed to maintain a mostly consistent track record of avoiding stuff that might merit an "adults only" rating. For example:

• In the United States, this would rule out films with an R, NC-17, or (obviously) X rating, TV shows with a TV-MA rating, or games with an M or AO rating.
• In the United Kingdom, this would rule out films or shows with an 18 or R18 rating and games with a PEGI 18 rating
• In Germany, this would rule out films and shows with an FSK 18 rating and games with a USK 18 rating

However, ratings that signify content that's appropriate for teens but potentially not for younger kids appear to mostly be fair game:

• LEGO has had licenses for movies with a PG-13 rating in the United States (meaning kids under 13 are only allowed to watch with parental permission and supervision) or an equivalent TV-14 television rating for over a decade. For example:
  • Spider-Man in 2002
  • Jurassic Park 3 in 2003
  • Spider-Man 2 in 2004
  • Star Wars Episode III and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005
• Video game licenses in general are newer territory for LEGO, but even before Overwatch they had licenses for several T-rated video games. For example:
  • One of LEGO's own games, Bionicle Heroes from 2006, had a T rating in its Nintendo DS port due to effectively being a first-person shooter (home console versions were able to avoid this using an over-the-shoulder camera, but the Nintendo DS's screen was too small to allow this without disrupting gameplay).
  • Star Wars: The Force Unleashed in 2008
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic in 2012

Even so, it remains at LEGO's discretion whether even a property that has a rating deeming it suitable for kids and/or teens fits with their brand values, or whether there are scenes in such properties that would be appropriate for kids/teens in the source material but not as a toy building set. For example, even if a TV show or movie about a real-life tragedy/disaster like the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion were presented in a form kids could handle, depicting an event like that as a toy (particularly with the intent of generating profits from it) would probably be too insensitive/exploitative for LEGO's tastes.

[MAB]

On 5/11/2019 at 3:03 PM, Aanchir said:

For example, even if a TV show or movie about a real-life tragedy/disaster like the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion were presented in a form kids could handle, depicting an event like that as a toy (particularly with the intent of generating profits from it) would probably be too insensitive/exploitative for LEGO's tastes.

 

Although this wouldn't need to stop them doing a set. For example, they could (and can) just do a Space Shuttle set. However, there isn't an "explode" play feature included. But if people really want to play with it exploding, then they can do it easily enough. Similarly, lots of scenes in LOTR are fairly scary for kids, but that didn't make the characters out of bounds for LEGO, they just concentrated on other scenes. But nothing stops someone acting out the scary scenes using LEGO if they want to.

If there is a good business case for making a set/theme, then I am sure LEGO can normally find something tasteful to concentrate on, even if there is distasteful material in the IP.