LEGO Sci-Fi Ongoing - Rumors, Speculation, and Discussion

[Mr No]

10 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

Huh... that's surprising. I really don't feel that positive or negative about that—I saw the first movie once and it was okay but I wouldn't really consider myself a fan. And in terms of sets, if it's anything like the first movie then the spacecraft themselves might not be that different from what we tend to see with Star Wars—very industrial with a lot of grey. The alien landscapes on the other hand could be interesting and have some nice color to them.

Do you reckon they'll do like they did with Star Wars/The Hobbit/Indiana Jones/Pirates of the Caribbean and have a few sets based on the first movie before they launch the ones for the upcoming one?

The leaks say the sets are all based on the second film. Perhaps we get an AMP suit based on the final battle from the first film. 

[Maple]

8 hours ago, Mr No said:

Lego sets based on James Cameron Avatar 2 are happening

So, I guess this means the end for an original inhouse scifi theme. But I am hyped for these sets! Something more alien! 

First I don't know if I believe rumours of sets at the end of 2022. But more importantly, the ned of an original in house scifi theme was YEARS ago.  I'm hoping the rumours are wrong and we will get sets on Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

I think the LEGO Games 'theme' title is more just for LEGO's website. Kind of like the fact all Creator Expert sets are now 18+ but Creator Expert is still listened on the website.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Maple

[Mr No]

3 hours ago, Maple said:

First I don't know if I believe rumours of sets at the end of 2022. But more importantly, the ned of an original in house scifi theme was YEARS ago.  I'm hoping the rumours are wrong and we will get sets on Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

I think the LEGO Games 'theme' title is more just for LEGO's website. Kind of like the fact all Creator Expert sets are now 18+ but Creator Expert is still listened on the website.

Nope, it's James Cameron Avatar. Viacom doesn't seem to be on good terms with Lego. 

[danth]

I guess Lego is all in on licensing, and doesn't think it's worth it to have original and creative Sci-Fi themes if they can slap a license on sets instead. I mean, we don't even know anything about this movie or if it will be any good, but who cares right?

[Lyichir]

Just now, danth said:

I guess Lego is all in on licensing, and doesn't think it's worth it to have original and creative Sci-Fi themes if they can slap a license on sets instead. I mean, we don't even know anything about this movie or if it will be any good, but who cares right?

To be honest, almost EVERY licensed theme Lego does is a gamble on whether it will be "good", since most are based on upcoming movies and as such have to be in development well before release. What matters to Lego is that it's a big-budget sequel to a massively successful movie, and therefore odds are in its favor that it will be popular and drive a lot of demand for merchandise. As indifferent as I am to Avatar as a franchise and as skeptical as I am of whether James Cameron's full ambitions for it will ever be realized, I don't think a licensing deal like this is a particularly risky bet for Lego.

As far as "original and creative sci-fi themes" are concerned... well, Monkie Kid has not one but two space-focused sets this year, and City's got a pretty ambitious and futuristic space subtheme. That's in addition to the usual plethora of mechs and high-tech vehicles in Ninjago and even rumors of a space center set in Friends. I know they're not exactly what old-school space fans are hoping for from a space theme, but there's certainly less of a paucity of creative spacey sets to look forward to in 2022 than there was last year.

[danth]

46 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

To be honest, almost EVERY licensed theme Lego does is a gamble on whether it will be "good", since most are based on upcoming movies and as such have to be in development well before release. What matters to Lego is that it's a big-budget sequel to a massively successful movie, and therefore odds are in its favor that it will be popular and drive a lot of demand for merchandise. As indifferent as I am to Avatar as a franchise and as skeptical as I am of whether James Cameron's full ambitions for it will ever be realized, I don't think a licensing deal like this is a particularly risky bet for Lego.

Don't get too hung up on the word "good".

People are crazy for Star Wars, Harry Potter, Marvel anything, Disney cartoons, etc.

You really can't say the same for Avatar 2. It's much more of an unknown than any other Lego license of late. I don't think a "sequel" means anything these days when compared to franchises that have 9+ movies each, especially when it's a sequel to a decades old movie that you almost never hear about.

Most sequels are terrible, and after 13 years of nothing, Avatar 2 has to be pretty amazing to not feel like both unnecessary and disappointing. I think it's very likely to be just a colossal failure.

It feels far more risky than just, say, a Space themed Creator set.

 

[Robert8]

Well, yep. this happened. I dont really care about Avatar so this license does nothing for me

And if the Avatar 2 sets do really good, they will go back to the first one and release sets from it

Now with 2 SciFi licenses, there is pretty much 0 chances for an in house space theme

 

At least Castle and Pirates are somewhat flatlining with LEGO IDEAS here and there. But In house space seems to be dead and buried

I guess we'll have to wait to see what Series 23 bring us

Edited January 2, 2022 by Robert8

[icm]

I'd be happy to have a $130 version of the RDA Space Shuttle or a microscale version of the RDA Starship from Avatar, but those don't seem likely to me. Has the leaker said anything about set numbers and prices?

[Mr No]

15 hours ago, danth said:

Don't get too hung up on the word "good".

People are crazy for Star Wars, Harry Potter, Marvel anything, Disney cartoons, etc.

You really can't say the same for Avatar 2. It's much more of an unknown than any other Lego license of late. I don't think a "sequel" means anything these days when compared to franchises that have 9+ movies each, especially when it's a sequel to a decades old movie that you almost never hear about.

Most sequels are terrible, and after 13 years of nothing, Avatar 2 has to be pretty amazing to not feel like both unnecessary and disappointing. I think it's very likely to be just a colossal failure.

It feels far more risky than just, say, a Space themed Creator set.

 

JAMES CAMERON IS A GENIUS. 

I laugh at his doubters, because he knows how to make a great sequel. Avatar 2 will be great, he even got the Apes trilogy writers to help him write the story.  And Disney owns it, so it makes sense Lego would make sets. 

 

And for an original space theme, it's time to accept the truth, it's not going to happen. 

 

Avatar 2 will be the biggest film of the year and even Disney knows it. 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Mr No

[Mr No]

15 hours ago, danth said:

 

We also have 3 Lightyear sets which might not be 4+. 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Mr No

[Lyichir]

Any spacers picked up either of the Monkie Kid space sets (80032 and 80035), or taken a closer look at reviews/instructions? Any thoughts?

I recently built the two of them and was seriously impressed. 80032 is a solid build but doesn't bring that much new to the table apart from its humorous bunny/carrot theming. 80035, on the other hand, I honestly felt ended up being one of my favorite spaceship builds ever (certainly a cut above the Space Police III sets I had a decade ago, which was the last "space theme" that I collected in earnest unless you count The Lego Movie 2). The detail is just off the charts and I love features like the complex rocket array, interior crew cabin, and rotating vehicle bay/engine room. The build was incredibly enriching throughout and I feel like even without stickers it'd look fantastic (though if you're not opposed to stickers, they do add nice details to the wings and to the holo-screens and control panels in the interior). I also really like how good it looks displayed either in a vertical orientation (ready to launch) or a horizontal one (cruising/in space).

If you're not a fan of the brightly-colored Monkie Kid color scheme, a creative spacer might be able to modify it to change the colors out and replace theme-specific details like the metallic gold highlights and brick-built cloud motifs to make something that could feel at home in another theme/faction. The toughest bit to substitute currently might be the heavy use of this part for some of the details, since until Monkie Kid started using it heavily it had fallen a little out of use and doesn't come in a very wide variety of colors. Still, I bet a MOCist like @Murdoch17 could maybe find some sort of workaround if they were interested!

Edited January 10, 2022 by Lyichir

[Murdoch17]

On 1/3/2022 at 4:13 AM, Mr No said:

JAMES CAMERON IS A GENIUS. 

I laugh at his doubters, because he knows how to make a great sequel. Avatar 2 will be great, he even got the Apes trilogy writers to help him write the story.  And Disney owns it, so it makes sense Lego would make sets. 

 

And for an original space theme, it's time to accept the truth, it's not going to happen. 

 

Avatar 2 will be the biggest film of the year and even Disney knows it. 

If James Cameron is a genius and good with sequels then where is my Titanic 2?  To be honest, this is Hollywood we are talking about: they can ruin anything with a simple touch: just ask "John Carter of Mars" which was, as a book a hundred years ago, magnitudes more popular than the author's other famous work: "TARZAN".. or what about putting Treasure Island (one of the greatest fiction books written about pirates) in space? Treasure Planet was a horrible flop for Disney. Beloved figures such as The Lone Ranger or Loony Tunes? The 2013 Johnny Depp film was very badly done and about 60 years too late, while Loony Tunes: Back in Action is indescribably horrid. Do I need to mention the original 1980's DUNE film, or the Batman film starring George Clooney?

Not even George Lucas and Steven Spielberg can make things right 100% of the time... THX-1138 is George's first feature film and might have well been his last! Jaws in 4-D is widely regarded as one of the worst films in history, and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull made a new Hollywood phrase with "nuke the fridge". The film made money, yes, but it just as horrible plot-wise as Transformers under Michael Bay. (oddly, a certain actor was in both franchises)

I'll believe Avatar 2 when I see it. I hope it succeeds, because they have already started making 3 AND 4. Disney will not take it lightly if it fails as "You Don't Mess with the Mouse".

 

(Sorry MODs for the slight-off topic post, but I just can't stand fanboy-ing, and no Director is beyond mistakes of any kind, including James Cameron, whose first film from 1982 was called "Piranha II - The Spawning" and had pitched Titanic (this is the whole pitch) as "Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic")

[Mr No]

8 minutes ago, Murdoch17 said:

If James Cameron is a genius and good with sequels then where is my Titanic 2?  To be honest, this is Hollywood we are talking about: they can ruin anything with a simple touch: just ask "John Carter of Mars" which was, as a book a hundred years ago, magnitudes more popular than the author's other famous work: "TARZAN".. or what about putting Treasure Island (one of the greatest fiction books written about pirates) in space? Treasure Planet was a horrible flop for Disney. Beloved figures such as The Lone Ranger or Loony Tunes? The 2013 Johnny Depp film was very badly done and about 60 years too late, while Loony Tunes: Back in Action is indescribably horrid. Do I need to mention the original 1980's DUNE film, or the Batman film starring George Clooney?

Not even George Lucas and Steven Spielberg can make things right 100% of the time... THX-1138 is George's first feature film and might have well been his last! Jaws in 4-D is widely regarded as one of the worst films in history, and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull made a new Hollywood phrase with "nuke the fridge". The film made money, yes, but it just as horrible plot-wise as Transformers under Michael Bay. (oddly, a certain actor was in both franchises)

I'll believe Avatar 2 when I see it. I hope it succeeds, because they have already started making 3 AND 4. Disney will not take it lightly if it fails as "You Don't Mess with the Mouse".

 

(Sorry MODs for the slight-off topic post, but I just can't stand fanboy-ing, and no Director is beyond mistakes of any kind, including James Cameron, whose first film from 1982 was called "Piranha II - The Spawning" and had pitched Titanic (this is the whole pitch) as "Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic")

Whatever. Btw, I am not a fanboy, but Cameron being doubted by people then exceeding all expectations has been all of his career. See you in December. 

Edited January 10, 2022 by Mr No

[Lord Insanity]

5 hours ago, Mr No said:

Whatever. Btw, I am not a fanboy, but Cameron being doubted by people then exceeding all expectations has been all of his career. See you in December. 

Cameron's last movie Terminator Dark Fate bombed badly, and that was advertised as a direct sequel to one of his best movies Terminator 2 Judgment Day.

Honestly I find the rumor of Lego sets based on Cameron's Avatar 2 to be rather baffling.  It's not like the first movie was really all that good or had an impact on pop culture the way Star Wars or even Terminator did.  It made a lot of money in the box office because a whole lot of Titanic fans went to see it because it was Cameron's new movie.  Considering their response was a collective: "Meh, whatever."  (hence the no real impact on pop culture)  I seriously doubt the sequel will pull those kind of numbers.   This just screams The Lone Ranger style Lego clearance sales to me.  (of course that could be really useful as parts packs to us builders)

Maybe I will be surprised and the sequel will have something good going for it.  However, based on the first movie I am struggling to even think of more than a few Halo wanabe style sets Lego could even make.  Perhaps some blue Elves and an enchanted forest chunk.  (That could be useful for Fantasy Castle fans.)  It's just weird, I really do hope they know something we don't.

 

Now all those awesome classic Space style City space sets, those are amazing.  Except for the trans light blue windows, I would have preferred literally any other trans color at all.  I have despised trans light blue as a window color since I was kid.  The rest of the sets are so good I will buy them anyway in the hope that all the window parts (especially those new dome pieces) eventually come in a more useful trans color.

[Mr No]

Sigh. 

WHATEVER

Btw, Cameron did not direct Dark Fate or Alita. Classic space is never coming back and we have to accept this, I am looking forward to the Avatar 2 sets. You guys get City space sets instead. 

And, I get it, lots of you guys got something against Cameron. It's ok, but if you got something against him then I DO NOT CARE. Jim has not doubted me once, so I trust him on the sequels and I think Avatar 2 will be the highest grossing film of 2022, not 3 billion but I think it might get to 2. End of this, I will not reply anymore to these posts, if you hate Avatar 2 or Cameron, keep it for yourself or post it, but do not bring me up. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by Mr No

[Maple]

22 hours ago, Lord Insanity said:

Honestly I find the rumor of Lego sets based on Cameron's Avatar 2 to be rather baffling.  It's not like the first movie was really all that good or had an impact on pop culture the way Star Wars or even Terminator did.  It made a lot of money in the box office because a whole lot of Titanic fans went to see it because it was Cameron's new movie.  Considering their response was a collective: "Meh, whatever."  (hence the no real impact on pop culture)  I seriously doubt the sequel will pull those kind of numbers.  

Really? You think a movie that made 2.85 BILLION dollars was 'meh whatever'?  
I think the story was 'meh whatever' but it's the first movie I've ever seen twice in a cinema (only other one was Jurassic World) because of the 3D. It was the most popular 3D movie of all time, it looked stunning.  You think Titanic fans are the only reason it did well? That only Titanic fans waited 12 years is the reason it did so well is a bit loony. 

Anyways. If anyone wants the new orange / teal City Spacesuit it's on Bricks and Pieces along with the new Ice Planet torso.

[Lord Insanity]

20 hours ago, Mr No said:

Classic space is never coming back and we have to accept this,

What?  There is a whole wave of classic Space style sets coming out in the form of the new City space sets.  Maybe that is not to most AFOLs preference but that is very much the modern version of classic Space for today's kids.  We have been "20 years away from permanent bases and routine flights to the Moon" for over 40 years now. 

 

As far as Avatar 2 goes I never said I hate Avatar or Cameron.  I don't know where that idea is coming from at all.  I found Avatar entertaining but completely average.  I would rank it higher than Jupiter Ascending but lower than Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.  I have no doubt Avatar 2 will make money but I suspect it will wind up like Lone Ranger and John Carter and waste so much money on marketing that they "didn't make back their budget."  After all it can't count on the Titanic fans to come out a watch it like what happened to the first one.  I hope I am wrong, a sci-fi movie doing well can only lead to more sci-fi being green lighted by Hollywood after all.  Most importantly we would be more likely to get more cool sci-fi Lego sets. 

16 minutes ago, Maple said:

Really? You think a movie that made 2.85 BILLION dollars was 'meh whatever'?  
I think the story was 'meh whatever' but it's the first movie I've ever seen twice in a cinema (only other one was Jurassic World) because of the 3D. It was the most popular 3D movie of all time, it looked stunning.  You think Titanic fans are the only reason it did well? That only Titanic fans waited 12 years is the reason it did so well is a bit loony. 

Anyways. If anyone wants the new orange / teal City Spacesuit it's on Bricks and Pieces along with the new Ice Planet torso.

The story is exactly what I was referring to as being "meh whatever".  That is what the collective audience did too.  Avatar didn't become a modern pop culture icon the way Star Wars or even Terminator did.  Considering the marketing campaign for the movie was all about "From the director of Titanic" I absolutely believe it's box office take was directly related to people that would not normally care for sci-fi going to see it because "Titanic".  That won't happen with the sequel because the Titanic fans know what it is now.  I really do hope I am wrong because I would love to see some quality sci-fi getting Hollywood executives' attention.

[Celloguy]

New parts for 2022 are available on bricks and pieces by the way, for anyone interested. Quite a few space related things for people to enjoy....

[danth]

14 hours ago, Lord Insanity said:

The story is exactly what I was referring to as being "meh whatever".  That is what the collective audience did too.  Avatar didn't become a modern pop culture icon the way Star Wars or even Terminator did.  Considering the marketing campaign for the movie was all about "From the director of Titanic" I absolutely believe it's box office take was directly related to people that would not normally care for sci-fi going to see it because "Titanic".  That won't happen with the sequel because the Titanic fans know what it is now.  I really do hope I am wrong because I would love to see some quality sci-fi getting Hollywood executives' attention.

This is pretty much my take as well.

[Maple]

It didn't make nearly 3 billion dollars because it was the director of Titantic. It made that much money because of the 3D, people wanted to see it over and over again in theaters. If people only saw it because of Titanic, they would see it only once. I don't remember anyone I know watching it only once in theaters or because it was from the director of Titanic.

Is some of the money from that, sure, but no where close to all of it, or even most of it. I have no idea how people will take the 2-4 sequels, more so because 3D isn't a thing anymore.

[tomfow]

On 1/12/2022 at 4:06 AM, Lord Insanity said:

As far as Avatar 2 goes I never said I hate Avatar or Cameron.  I don't know where that idea is coming from at all.  I found Avatar entertaining but completely average.  I would rank it higher than Jupiter Ascending but lower than Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.  I have no doubt Avatar 2 will make money but I suspect it will wind up like Lone Ranger and John Carter and waste so much money on marketing that they "didn't make back their budget."  After all it can't count on the Titanic fans to come out a watch it like what happened to the first one.  I hope I am wrong, a sci-fi movie doing well can only lead to more sci-fi being green lighted by Hollywood after all.  Most importantly we would be more likely to get more cool sci-fi Lego sets. 

The story is exactly what I was referring to as being "meh whatever".  That is what the collective audience did too.  Avatar didn't become a modern pop culture icon the way Star Wars or even Terminator did.  Considering the marketing campaign for the movie was all about "From the director of Titanic" I absolutely believe it's box office take was directly related to people that would not normally care for sci-fi going to see it because "Titanic".  That won't happen with the sequel because the Titanic fans know what it is now.  I really do hope I am wrong because I would love to see some quality sci-fi getting Hollywood executives' attention.

Well, it will be interesting if Cameron will be able to make "better" second part (not evens tarting about 3rd, 4th, 5th). I can imagine bigger "water" focus this time and that´s it. Plus the original characters weren´t so interesting. Well we will se soon (TM).

[JamesBenjamin]

On 1/12/2022 at 2:01 PM, Maple said:

It didn't make nearly 3 billion dollars because it was the director of Titantic. It made that much money because of the 3D, people wanted to see it over and over again in theaters. If people only saw it because of Titanic, they would see it only once. I don't remember anyone I know watching it only once in theaters or because it was from the director of Titanic.

Is some of the money from that, sure, but no where close to all of it, or even most of it. I have no idea how people will take the 2-4 sequels, more so because 3D isn't a thing anymore.

This is the answer. Avatar made a ton of money because it was the first very big, very colorful, 3D movie (modern 3D, not old red/green glasses). Thats why it made money. The story was terrible. If he has a good story for 2,3, &4 they may do well, but if the story for 2 sucks it'll be a colossal waste of money.

[Maple]

2 hours ago, JamesBenjamin said:

This is the answer. Avatar made a ton of money because it was the first very big, very colorful, 3D movie (modern 3D, not old red/green glasses). Thats why it made money. The story was terrible. If he has a good story for 2,3, &4 they may do well, but if the story for 2 sucks it'll be a colossal waste of money.

That's why the first plan was to do two more movies and if they did well do two more, but now it seems all of them will be filmed by the time the 2nd comes out. That is dangerous. If the second didn't do well you can fix it in other movies, but not if they were all filmed.

Either way, not my money. I won't be watching the sequel anytime soon but look forward to seeing the sets. We rarely get sci-fi ships outside of Star Wars and the plants should be fun. I'm hoping for some glow-in-the-dark leaf pieces.

[TeriXeri]

For me the Monkie Kid spaceship this year is the best sci-fi spaceship set since a long time, especially if looking for something with non-standard colors and colored windscreens.

I wouldn't go as far as calling it Galaxy Explorer 2.0 (despite the name), but it does have some elements from that set like the big engines, and mini radar base that comes with it.

It doesn't have a real ramp to load/unload the included vehicle tho.

Monkie Kid Dragon Horse jet is still a very good single seater.

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by TeriXeri

[danth]

I just ordered the Chang'e Moon base set. It's too cute to pass up.

I can't get over the weird factor on the Galactic Explorer though. I do like the windscreens (which I'll Bricklink) and the radar base. Also the set has me wondering how cool a grey & teal spaceship would look with trans red windscreens...