Harry Potter 2020 - Rumors & Discussion

[8fifty]

17 minutes ago, 2lazeetomakeaname said:

Would you happen to know a timeframe when they might do such a thing

I'd personally say three days in advance, but that's more kind of a feeling than something based on actual facts ☺

[2lazeetomakeaname]

I searched the DA set number to see if some random site had put pictures up yet. None had, but one chinese site translated the Expecto Patronum set to: Harry Potter and the Disease Protection Act.

[MooneyRemus]

7 minutes ago, 2lazeetomakeaname said:

one chinese site translated the Expecto Patronum set to: Harry Potter and the Disease Protection Act.

That made me laugh out loud! 

[karrit]

1 hour ago, Holden Brickfield said:

I feel there are a multitude of reasons why Gringotts isn’t in the set, not just one specific reason. I’m sure when they started conceptualizing the DA set they wanted to include Gringotts, but eventually decided they wouldn’t be able to do as much justice to the building as they’d want to, given the constraints of the $400 price point. Even if it ends up meaning the final DA model doesn’t look as good as it could’ve with Gringotts at the end, I’d like to think doing justice to the street, across more than one set if necessary, was at the forefront of their minds.

This has been my exact belief since mention of this set was first leaked.  When I heard the price point I always thought there was no way to do it justice by including Gringotts with as many actual shops as I was hoping for.  I really didn't want to get a half hearted facade of Gringotts in this set if it meant only getting 2 or 3 actual shops.  Never thought we'd actually get as many shops as we are but I'm perfectly happy & willing to wait for a hopefully grand all inclusive Gringotts to add on at a later date.  As it is we really are only getting less than half of the Shops I've seen listed elsewhere in the Harry Potter world as actually being in Diagon Alley.  Hoping for a Leaky Cauldron eventually too as well as a piece of Knockturn Alley at some point.  As it is between the CMF & this whole new wave I'm going to be spreading it thin to get Diagon Alley this year too as well as all the other big sets that are currently on my wishlist.  I'm already making peace with the fact that I probably won't ever be getting Mos Eisley.

[Terrasher]

The last livestream reveal I remember was the Fiat's back on February 29th. The event was announced about a week prior on Facebook. The set released the day following its official reveal.

As much as I wish the livestream were this weekend, I think chances are slim to none. TLG would probably announce it much earlier for a set of this magnitude.

[ResurrectionBob]

1 hour ago, karrit said:

As it is between the CMF & this whole new wave I'm going to be spreading it thin to get Diagon Alley this year too as well as all the other big sets that are currently on my wishlist.  I'm already making peace with the fact that I probably won't ever be getting Mos Eisley.

I feel you there - I also collect Star Wars, but keeping up with Potter takes priority right now. I figure I'll be able to spread out buying the wave of sets online, but since I'm not going into any stores for a while, I'm hoping to find a way to get the full set of CMF without buying a whole box.

[Bowtruckle44]

16 minutes ago, ResurrectionBob said:

since I'm not going into any stores for a while, I'm hoping to find a way to get the full set of CMF without buying a whole box

I believe that you can purchase individual packs from Lego Shop @ Home when its released, you can purchase DC and series 20 singular, so I would think they'll do the same for HP series 2

[HalfBloodPrince]

The Sets are now out on the target website.

[LegoLover19]

9 minutes ago, HalfBloodPrince said:

The Sets are now out on the target website.

It feels likes its been 10 years since the sets were revealed for them to be released in the US lol

[Accio Lego]

4 hours ago, 2lazeetomakeaname said:

Actually probably later than February. With the way we're headed right now, i doubt they will hold toy fairs next year

Maybe not in person, but I’d expect that by early next year event organizers will have started to work out the kinks of how to hold virtual conventions. 

[Vindicare]

18 minutes ago, HalfBloodPrince said:

The Sets are now out on the target website.

Are you seeing more than just The Burrow & RoR? Those are all I see & the closest in store for RoR is 48 miles away. No in stock of The Burrow. 

[Bowtruckle44]

12 minutes ago, Vindicare said:

Are you seeing more than just The Burrow & RoR? Those are all I see & the closest in store for RoR is 48 miles away. No in stock of The Burrow. 

I'm seeing it only when i put in "Harry Potter Lego" as the search term. All the sets are available for shipping

[LegoLover19]

17 minutes ago, Vindicare said:

Are you seeing more than just The Burrow & RoR? Those are all I see & the closest in store for RoR is 48 miles away. No in stock of The Burrow. 

From what I saw, the Burrow was available for preorder for a couple weeks preceding tonight, but now is not available anywhere, online or in-store. Don't really know what the deal was with that. As for all of the other sets, they appear to be available.

@Bowtruckle44 is the Burrow included in sets that are available to ship?

Edited August 15, 2020 by LegoLover19

[Bowtruckle44]

29 minutes ago, LegoLover19 said:

@Bowtruckle44 is the Burrow included in sets that are available to ship?

Oddly enough, it's no longer for purvhase. you van sccess it, but it says it's out of stock and not available for shipping

[dvt]

I normally stay out of the squabble and speculation, not my thing but since someone wanted my extra 2 cents on the current debate....

Upon edit & re-read, TLDR seems necessary: TLG is in this theme for the long haul & Diagon Alley seems to have good enough content meriting Gringotts separately down the line.

There are a whole variety of decisions (pros/cons) to weigh out when running any business or launching product. None of them are great secrets either.  Sun Tzu's Art of War are more reminders than teaching new ideas of how to run your army/business.  Business isn't some super secret code.  Look at all your pieces, determine next move, weigh out side affects of your actions, biggest bang for buck etc. MOST business, and I would include TLG in this greatly, more so than almost any other company I've watched, really put their heart and a great deal of thought into their products.  Designers, engineers, producers etc themselves LOVE their product and want their customers to enjoy it as well.  When I make something that I'm proud of, i want the world to know it, immediately.  I would assume that TLG follows the same core internal pride in their product.  So... if Gringotts (one of the most iconic buildings in Diagon Alley that would look so beautiful when made with an awesome dragon etc...) isn't currently included in a set called Diagon Alley most of us react the same?  "huh? why?"  Few things to remember here though.  Think of this as a business decision, not from the fan site who wants everything... now.... but then you realize you dont want everything now because you actually can't afford everything now... 

1. TLG has clearly seen the resurgence into one of the most popular current pop culture trends of the last 20 years.  I honestly believe in 15-20 years Harry Potter, if handled correctly, will surpass Star Wars, (yes, opinion, not fact) in popularity for a few reasons:

• Those of us who grew up as kids/teenagers reading and going to the midnight releases of the movies now have kids and income.
• Little girls LOVE harry potter.  There is no denying that. More on this later down.
• The number one demanded set during the 7 year absence of Harry Potter sets was (it is tracked internally in TLG) Harry Potter.  

2. With expectations being exceeded the first year, Harry Potter is here to stay for at least the near future.  Everything on the walls says so... unless COVID screws us all and everything changes.  But as long as status norm is kept, the brand is NOT going away and they are selling like crazy.  An normal lineup stays on the shelves for 12-18 months.  Hogwarts original launch line is still available from Shop@Home.  For a licensed lineup, that is unheard of.  Its selling, so it stays. Most iconic location for all of Harry Potter is Hogwarts.  The first installations of Great Hall & Whomping Willow sold well enough to earn additional waves.  Second most popular/iconic location is Diagon Alley. Even in D2C we've seen a second additional iteration be warranted when first one proved itself.

3. The license itself.  This license is for "The Wizarding World" NOT Harry Potter alone (Magical Beasts and other expansions are included, thats not the debate here though on the quality the expanded universe I.P. but the fact that they exist says something).  Granted the "branding" has shifted back to Harry Potter but that is not what the license is from. Because another toy company has the license to Harry Potter, I believe (not 100% sure here but I believe it still is though I don't know who, could be directly to Universal themselves and they're now redistributing back out), LEGO got the license for the Wizarding World aka From universal studios from the Parks themselves.  With that being the case, when you enter Universal's park area for "Wizarding World"... BAM, there is Gringotts.  Its not hidden, its not off to the side, front and center.  In case that isn't clear, its important to the park and Wizarding World.  This is why the sets are running visually closer to the movies and the park.  The park is based on the movies, so the sets are based on the movies.  The books aren't being ignored and Easter eggs are there, but... anytime we get a character NOT from the movie should be seen as a bonus and only a bonus, don't come to expect it. Set verbiage from descriptions frequently refer to the movies, NOT the books.

4. LEGO has invested so much into neutralizing the gender gap in their toys. Original Friends franchise said TLG invested 4 years of research (secretive, not public allowed AT ALL) into building out the friends line (lead designer was hired to do just research and study why girls didn't "consume" (buy, enjoy, play with, whatever) LEGO products as much as boys).  4 years of just research, then additional time for the actual sets. LEGO hit a cap of its growth, and the easiest way for them to grow was to go after additional consumers: girls.  200% growth if they could do it correctly because boys were already complete in terms of marketing, interest, how a boy "plays".
TLDR of that 4 year research: Boys play to build, girls build to play which means the enjoyment of the majority of boys is the building process itself.  coming up with the idea, executing, and then doing it all over again.  Girls tend to prefer keeping the build around for longer and then role-playing more.  Girls will also (not always, but frequently) get more upset if you wreck their build because "now i can't play with it" approach. 

So if the assumptions are being made correctly and connected...

• a brand that will only get more and more popular over time
• sells to the demographic that LEGO wants to continue to capture and grow into (point 4 about girls... I don't think I can over state how important growing the girls market has been to LEGO that people constantly forget and overlook)
• is here to stay for more than 1,2,3, waves... (might not be 20+ year like star wars, never know, but its def not going away this year or next year). Most people view shinny things on "time" and don't look at the scope of how much product can actually be pushed too.  There is a limit to spending habits of consumers. Even collectors have their bounds. 
• the brand actually doing the license (Universal Studio's Wizarding World) is involved in the process and has visions in mind of their brand and direction.  LEGO designers are not on 100% free build for a licensed set. It will have to go through multiple iterations checking in with both companies.

If everything planned in design doesn't fit into scope, you have two choices.  Make it fit (at the cost of overall quality potentially) or murder your darlings and make the necessary cuts to content.  I would wager that one of the presented builds created at some point included the bank.

Now separately, marketing: How many times have people seen an album released by a band and then the first single out of the gate is NOT the best song.  it will be the 2nd or 3rd single pushed from a marketing standpoint to maintain longevity of the album.  Take Linkin Park's very first album "Hybrid Theory".  For example: "One Step Closer" was their first single (decent song), but even the band commented it was not the best song on the album.  Next was "Crawling", Third and final single: their smash hit "In the End" rose the album to new heights.  To maintain longevity they opted for this marketing approach. Yes, this can backfire.  What happens if people don't initially buy and you put all your money into the first single (not the best one).  Quality products will hold up though and its worth it long term. TLG Harry Potter Line has a passion and care that I haven't seen in very many other themes over the last 15 years I've been collecting as an adult. It would appear its holding its old with sales/consumers.

Attention to detail with the figures overall has been 2nd to none and the sets have been well above average. I have absolutely loved both the figures & sets and am grateful they spread things out. I find it easier to purchase 300-400 here, rather than 700-800 up front.  I trust the company to do their best by them and am grateful to be able to purchase the sets from a financial standpoint (especially in today's world). Doesn't mean TLG is perfect (I REALLY want more of the other houses) and there aren't other alternatives to all actions, but overall, they've done a pretty good job so far.   They can't of done too bad if we're all here chatting about it, right? More than likely, if things go according to an internal plan, I would expect an separate compatible in size and style for Grintgotts at some point.  But, the future is always uncertain and shifting. Speculation is just speculation, just ask anyone their expected 2020 plans vs reality.

Now back to lurking....
 

[Metanoios]

Since dvt brought up the fitting comparison between the Star Wars brand and Wizarding World/Harry Potter, I realized how similar the successes and mistakes in the handling of both brands are:
 

1. The prequels

The succesful creator (JK, George) decides it's time for some prequels a few years after the original story is finished. They get complete creative freedom from the Studios and get on working. Both write their scripts completely alone. The first installment focuses on a young British protagonist (Obi-Wan, Newt). It introduces also a young boy who learns he has superpowers like no one before him yet he has problems controlling these powers and his emotions (Credence, Anakin). He is later on seduced by the dark side (Grindelwald, Palpatine) but there are also good forces who try to save him (Yoda, Dumbledore). Both prequels suffer from similar problems like pacing, character development, unneccessary side characters... I think Harry Potter is where Star Wars was 15 years ago and they are making the same mistake Star Wars did. Can't wait for old Harry throwing the Elder Wand away over his shoulder (that fell down a pit in the original movies just to magically reappear in the sequels) in ten years

2. The cursed child is the equivalent of the Star Wars Holiday Special ;)

 

Edited August 15, 2020 by Metanoios91

[Geertos13]

http://www.brickfinder.net/2020/08/15/lego-harry-potter-diagon-alley-75978-teaser/?fbclid=IwAR2s2dOedBeIx2KQlOG_xx36OEDLlf0GmWwbevi-pCEXPlT-ki3aCOZg78k

Quote

The Japan LEGO Shop@Home accidentally leaked the product listing for the highly anticipated set and it will clock in at 5,544 pieces and will retail for USD$/€399.99.

 

[BrickBob Studpants]

47 minutes ago, Metanoios91 said:

Can't wait for old Harry throwing the Elder Wand away over his shoulder [...]

Well, he already did that in DH part 2 after snapping it in half 

@dvt: Thank you for your insights! Them trying to appeal to all demographics with the HP theme is a good point as this seems to be one of the key ingredients to its success  They perfectly combine action play features with role-playing aspects as other themes rarely do.

Btw, I‘m warming up to the idea of a standalone Gringotts (partly because I have to ), but waiting is the thing that‘s going to suck the most. Incompletion just irks me

[Decat]

39 minutes ago, dvt said:

I normally stay out of the squabble and speculation, not my thing but since someone wanted my extra 2 cents on the current debate....  
 

I've read your analysis and it's very interesting; I have a few thoughts...

1. Harry Potter was only Lego's second licensed theme after Star Wars, and it wasn't proven like Star Wars was - the first HP sets came out alongside the first movie. It seemed it was one of Lego's most popular themes after Star Wars! As a female myself I can tell you that Harry Potter has always been very popular among girls, whereas Star Wars definitely isn't!

2. I'm continually amazed by how successful this theme is, but at the same time I don't want it to be overdone like Star Wars - one wave a year is enough!

3. Sorry, but I need to correct you here: Warner Bros owns Harry Potter, not Universal. Universal license the theme park rights from Warner Bros and J.K. Rowling. Also, with the theme park being in the US, it doesn't really have much impact in the rest of the world. The movies are definitely the main source for the Lego sets and other merchandise. The theme parks are closely based on the films too; I believe they even had the designers from the films work on the parks.

4. Since Friends first came out, Lego have certainly made more of an effort to make their products appeal to both genders across all their themes, and I love them for it. Girls love role play and acting out everyday situations, and Lego sets tended to be action oriented... girls aren't so interested in things like spaceships or knights battling or Police chasing criminals... the sort of things that dominating classic themes like Space, Castle and City. I've noticed City now has more sets based on everyday life, like the beach, camping, at the park etc. And not just Police, Fire and Rescue all the time.

So those are my thoughts, then!

[chrisincanada]

6 hours ago, ResurrectionBob said:

I feel you there - I also collect Star Wars, but keeping up with Potter takes priority right now. I figure I'll be able to spread out buying the wave of sets online, but since I'm not going into any stores for a while, I'm hoping to find a way to get the full set of CMF without buying a whole box.

The minifigures store in the UK www.minifigurestore.uk has a full set of 16 CMF figures available for preorder with very reasonable international shipping prices. I have mine preordered from there. 

[mark1991t]

7 minutes ago, chrisincanada said:

The minifigures store in the UK www.minifigurestore.uk has a full set of 16 CMF figures available for preorder with very reasonable international shipping prices. I have mine preordered from there. 

You mean THEminifigurestore.uk? Because your link goes to nowhere.

Edited August 15, 2020 by mark1991t
not intended to be offensive

[Roebuck]

12 hours ago, GoldenNinja3000 said:

 when it does release, there’s no guarantee that it’ll have the same amount of detail as the rest of the buildings in the D2C.

I think It is pretty safe to assume it will fit like a glove

11 hours ago, MaxHeadroom said:

If LEGO really cared about kids they would've released all of the DA as smaller, more affordable chunks like many have suggested. 
Excluding Gringotts may be a good business decision but it is not a good design decision.

Who say they won't release all the other famous shops that is not included, down the line?
Better wait and see what the set looks like first 

6 hours ago, ResurrectionBob said:

I feel you there - I also collect Star Wars, but keeping up with Potter takes priority right now.

I do not collect SW, but if I was and I had to choose between SW and HP, just by looking at the cost of the sets alone the choice should be easy

[chrisincanada]

6 minutes ago, mark1991t said:

You mean THEminifigurestore.uk? Because your link goes to nowhere.

Yes...that one too, thanks :) prepreorder is for 67.99 UK pounds with only 7.99 shipping to Canada so presumably US is same or very similar.

[lego_guyon02]

40 minutes ago, Geertos13 said:

http://www.brickfinder.net/2020/08/15/lego-harry-potter-diagon-alley-75978-teaser/?fbclid=IwAR2s2dOedBeIx2KQlOG_xx36OEDLlf0GmWwbevi-pCEXPlT-ki3aCOZg78k

Nothing we didn't know already 

[josh_a_123]

26 minutes ago, mark1991t said:

You mean THEminifigurestore.uk? Because your link goes to nowhere.

is this website a trusty way of getting these?