LEGO Star Wars 2021 Set Discussion - READ FIRST POST!!!

[Mandalorianknight]

42 minutes ago, Kit Figsto said:

Agree, I think the internet skews it to where some corners of the net may say that the PT may have reached OT levels of popularity, but the OT is definitely still on top.  

I attribute the internet popularity to two major factors:
The majority of people who were kids when the prequels came out are now in the age that has the most people actively opining on star wars on the internet (or just being on the internet in general). Lots of sets are bought by people in their 30s-40s who don't spend their lives on r/prequelmemes.

speaking of r/prequelmemes, that's another part. The memes of the hilariously poor dialogue, which started as poking fun at the trilogy, have gradually turned into genuine fandom for the prequels (and from personal experience, some vicious hatred of the other films). The widespread popularity of the memes leads to more internet discourse of the prequels.

In 10 years or so, we'll see people loving the sequels and relentlessly trashing Taika's film or whatever movie is new at that point.

To attempt to relate this back to topic, I think that the gunship hype is a vocal minority that aren't all even going to buy it. Hopefully enough of the older, non internet-active demographic will buy it, because it would be nice to get more prequel UCS sets like an ETA-2 or ARC-170.

3 hours ago, necrochasm said:

Definitely agree with that, also gotta remember, the 4 they DID make are... a darth maul head, a small naboo starfighter, a weird looking general grievous statue aaaaaand an Obi Wan starfighter that got overshadowed by the UCS shuttle

and when people say they want prequels, they mean clone wars vehicles. Republic Gunships, ARC 170s, Venators, AT-TE's

the sets were gonna fail no matter what

Actually they're all pretty good models IMO, even if the naboo fighter isn't really a UCS set as much as a system set with chrome elements. Maul was the one thing most people liked about TPM at the time (and still now tbh), and again even though everyone hated the prequels at the time, grievous was pretty popular. By the time of the delta they already were realizing prequel UCS didn't sell, so it was a bit on the smaller side, but it was still a pretty standard UCS based on a vehicle that had more screen focus than any of those republic vehicles in the films.

10 hours ago, Agent Kallus said:

Come on New Zealand  TLG try something new!

Ah, the legoland spa. (There's no jango emoticon? )

Edited July 21, 2021 by Mandalorianknight

[Brikkyy13]

2 hours ago, Clone OPatra said:

 

I also wouldn't say that the PT has swung to OT levels of popularity.

 

I’m in two minds about this statement. On one hand whenever I check out Star Wars stuff in a store it’s nothing but OT characters and ships. On the other, whenever I talk to people (across multiple age groups) in those stores, in movie theatres, or anywhere else I meet Star Wars fans (I somehow meet a LOT of Star Wars fans in my day to day life), the consensus about the movies is that the prequels were never as bad as some people made them out to be and Revenge of the Sith is the film cited as most people’s favourite, even among older fans.

Of course I don’t speak for everyone everywhere but I thought my anecdotal experience might contribute something here. I have a feeling this gunship is going to perform very well and we’ll see things like the Eta-2, ARC170 and Venator within the next few years.

[Clone OPatra]

31 minutes ago, Brikkyy13 said:

...the consensus about the movies is that the prequels were never as bad as some people made them out to be...

This is pretty much exactly what I said just put another way . The statement "not as bad as they were made out to be" doesn't equal "as good as the OT". What I said was that the PT has become more popular than it was, but still not as popular as the OT.

For my part I've loved RotS since the first time I saw it, but I don't buy UCS sets because display pieces and very expensive sets aren't the LEGO things I'm into.

[Ozkabot]

15 hours ago, samsz_3 said:

Do UCS sets tend to ever go on sale in the UK? 

Around November-ish last year I believe both the UCS Falcon and ISD were on sale for about £100 off each at John Lewis

Edited July 21, 2021 by Ozkabot

[Brikkyy13]

3 hours ago, Clone OPatra said:

This is pretty much exactly what I said just put another way . The statement "not as bad as they were made out to be" doesn't equal "as good as the OT". What I said was that the PT has become more popular than it was, but still not as popular as the OT.

 yeah I guess we were saying the same thing there. I didn’t intend to say that people think the PT are better movies, my point was more that Revenge of the Sith is favoured over ESB or any of the OT films, I just used too many words to say it.

[THELEGOBATMAN]

8 hours ago, Clone OPatra said:

I also wouldn't say that the PT has swung to OT levels of popularity. Though a number of factors have certainly elevated the PT's standing and appreciation of it, I don't think it will ever command the type of widespread love that the OT has. Even people who liked it as children can change their position on it in light of its flaws.

Whatever happens with sales of the Gunship, people are going to make a LOT of claims in the next couple of years about how it has impacted the future of the UCS line.

OT is legendary. Nothing can beat it in popularity, and they are actually REALLY great and innovative (for their times) movies.

PT, on the other hand, is not. It's appreciated more nowadays because of ST and people's mixed feelings towards it. They are also terrible movies in terms of filmmaking. What elevated it to its popularity are actually memes, it's the biggest factor.

[Archer]

I think the prequels have always had two things going for them. The story is interesting conceptually even if the execution of that story was less than stellar. I think a lot of fans are able to see what was intended over what was actually put forth if you get what i mean.

Secondly, I don't think anyone can say the ship design's in the prequels aren't unique and interesting. Since we are buying sets that are easily 75% vehicles that really adds to what we as lego fans get out of the PT. I'm not a sequel basher by any means, but how many unique and interesting ships were in that trilogy, Bomber, Quad jumper, kylo's Shuttle, Ski Speeder, Silencer and maybe a few more. The AT-Te may be hinting at the AT-AT but they are definitely their own things.

[TeddytheSpoon]

14 minutes ago, THELEGOBATMAN said:

PT, on the other hand, is not. It's appreciated more nowadays because of ST and people's mixed feelings towards it. They are also terrible movies in terms of filmmaking. What elevated it to its popularity are actually memes, it's the biggest factor.

I agree that the PT will never be as popular as the OT, simply because without the OT it wouldn't exist. I'm not sure the ST has made the PT more popular, though. They have issues as films (wooden scripting being the big one, IMO), but some of the CGI used on them was pretty advanced for the time, even if it looks dated now. I think the PT's increased popularity comes largely from the Clone Wars - that fleshed out the stories of a lot of characters in a way that couldn't really fit in three movies. The memes probably didn't hurt, but I'd wager fleshed-out storytelling was a bigger draw.

The prequels also had a ton of world building - new species, new planets, new ships with some really interesting designs. Granted the budget and technology wasn't really there for that in the OT, but even the two anthology movies we got have been better than the ST in that regard.

Edited July 21, 2021 by TeddytheSpoon

[THELEGOBATMAN]

19 minutes ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

I agree that the PT will never be as popular as the OT, simply because without the OT it wouldn't exist. I'm not sure the ST has made the PT more popular, though. They have issues as films (wooden scripting being the big one, IMO), but some of the CGI used on them was pretty advanced for the time, even if it looks dated now. I think the PT's increased popularity comes largely from the Clone Wars - that fleshed out the stories of a lot of characters in a way that couldn't really fit in three movies. The memes probably didn't hurt, but I'd wager fleshed-out storytelling was a bigger draw.

The prequels also had a ton of world building - new species, new planets, new ships with some really interesting designs. Granted the budget and technology wasn't really there for that in the OT, but even the two anthology movies we got have been better than the ST in that regard.

The thing is, The Clone Wars are for people who are already into Star Wars. It's not like a random person decides to watch TCW, and then gets into Star Wars, with a special love for PT. Not that it doesn't happen, but it's a really small percentage of actual TCW viewers. 

What made PT popular are how bad, and mainly meme-able they are. Even people who aren't into Star Wars at all recognise memes from those movies, they are legendary in that aspect. 

[BrickBob Studpants]

1 hour ago, THELEGOBATMAN said:

It's not like a random person decides to watch TCW, and then gets into Star Wars, with a special love for PT. Not that it doesn't happen, but it's a really small percentage of actual TCW viewers. 

Of course I don’t have any numbers to back this up, but I think it’s not unreasonable to assume that there is a sizable amount of younger fans who got into SW via TCW. By that I mean kids who never had any contact with the movies before and used the show as a jump-in point  After all, there are kids that only watch animated content up to a certain point…

I know because I was one of them. Back in the 90’s, I barely watched any live-action films before my parents convinced me to watch the OT in preparation for TPM. I first refused, having trauma caused by the brain-worm scene from Star Trek II, but once I reluctantly sat down I was a changed person 

Edited July 21, 2021 by BrickBob Studpants

[TeddytheSpoon]

11 minutes ago, THELEGOBATMAN said:

The thing is, The Clone Wars are for people who are already into Star Wars. It's not like a random person decides to watch TCW, and then gets into Star Wars, with a special love for PT. Not that it doesn't happen, but it's a really small percentage of actual TCW viewers. 

What made PT popular are how bad, and mainly meme-able they are. Even people who aren't into Star Wars at all recognise memes from those movies, they are legendary in that aspect. 

I agree on the first point, I more meant that existing Star Wars fans often gain a new appreciation of the prequels after having watched TCW. That is another benefit of the OT - if you're going to introduce someone to Star Wars, that's where you start. Unless you're a monster.

To the casual I think the memes have given them a cult status, but from what I've seen the prequels' increased appeal is coming from existing Star Wars fans as well as the casual meme fan, hence my point about storytelling. It's nigh on impossible to tell how much each contributes though.

Edited July 21, 2021 by TeddytheSpoon

[Clone OPatra]

Folks I think this is getting decidedly out of the realm of LEGO discussion at this point, but there's always the Stat Wars topic down in Culture & Multimedia to carry it on if you wish.

[hondohnaka]

I’ll have a…lack of Lego Star Wars News

How original

with a side of unending UCS Gunship arguments that leads into yet more discussion about the merits of various Star Wars eras

daring, aren’t we. 
 

(Checks notes) yup it’s a Wednesday on Eurobricks. 

[McMurder_them_softly]

Any thoughts on the discussion of the AT-AT from one reddit user with LEGO customer service? Seems...intriguing but also don't think there is really much there. 

[Mandalorianknight]

2 hours ago, hondohnaka said:

(Checks notes) yup it’s a Wednesday on Eurobricks. 

Add "three people take obviously fake list as absolute fact" and "person asks why their pre-order hasn't arrived yet". Maybe we need a Eurobricks bingo?

[soarux]

1 hour ago, McMurder_them_softly said:

Any thoughts on the discussion of the AT-AT from one reddit user with LEGO customer service? Seems...intriguing but also don't think there is really much there. 

This was me lol - I had been on asking about replacement parts for my Imperial Shuttle that had cracked. I just happened to ask out of curiosity to what they would say. I find it very suspicious as I wouldn't expect LEGO customer service representatives to have any knowledge on sets that haven't been publicly announced or not on LEGO.com - don’t take this as confirmed - that’s not my intention, in fact there is nobody who disregards rumours and leaks more than I do. I miss the excitement of seeing sets for the first time through public release or in store visits. Could be a human error, I just thought it was weird they didn’t refute the set number invalid.

Read it, and make whatever you want from it. One line that did make me raise an eyebrow, was then I asked if they had a release date for it, they replied:

Quote

We won't have that information until it's available to the public. We are not allowed to announce it.

Of course this could have been a painfully long and poorly worded way of saying we don't know anything about that set number, I just found it strange they didn't initially say to me first question they were unaware of any set with that number or name.

[mirkwoodspiders]

6 hours ago, McMurder_them_softly said:

Any thoughts on the discussion of the AT-AT from one reddit user with LEGO customer service? Seems...intriguing but also don't think there is really much there. 

I don't know where to find this post; would you please direct me to it?

[Bc5]

3 minutes ago, mirkwoodspiders said:

I don't know where to find this post; would you please direct me to it?

 Here is the link to the post I saw. Definitely some promising information.

[mirkwoodspiders]

2 minutes ago, Bc5 said:

 Here is the link to the post I saw. Definitely some promising information.

Thank you! And yeah, definitely promising and exciting. It seems like it's been awhile since we've had anything leak-wise for this set. I was beginning to worry it might not be a thing at all.

[soarux]

Do you guys reckon they may have mistaken it for the Republic Gunship?

[McMurder_them_softly]

9 minutes ago, azhbricks said:

Do you guys reckon they may have mistaken it for the Republic Gunship?

It's possible, that is my leading take on it. They also could have been careless and just punched in the number into their system and didn't realize it was confidential info at the time. Interesting to consider!

[soarux]

My thoughts too, time will tell! They can hold off for at long as possible on a potential UCS AT-AT because after August 1st I'm gonna be cold broke!

[kidtheboss611]

9 hours ago, THELEGOBATMAN said:

What made PT popular are how bad, and mainly meme-able they are. Even people who aren't into Star Wars at all recognise memes from those movies, they are legendary in that aspect. 

That's just not true. While AOTC and TPM are horrible and only there for the memes, ROTS is a fantastic movie that stands up over 15 years later. Blind hatred of the first two is what makes alot of people believe all the prequels are bad. The prequel love doesn't just come from memes because while they did help a little, the majority was TCW success and younger kids who are now adults giving the movies a chance AFTER the watching the cartoon. For example, the fist SW media I ever watched was the Clone Wars Movie. I then went back to watch the rest of the saga and watched TCW as a I grew up. The fandom for TCW is evidence enough that people love the prequel era and people asking for things like CW7, Kenobi, the Ahsoka Show shows that prequel era characters and movies are widely loved (Not as much as OT but still appreciated by the Ogs).

On another note, After the relative success of the BB do we think TLG will have to change the P2 helmet to give Crosshair and other special clones rangefinders. At least IMO his rangefinder is used extensively in every episode he is in and is his go to "perk". I would think they'd watch the show and take that into account and make a change. I was disappointed it wasn't there to begin with but I guess TLG wouldn't have know how important it was since they were going of concept arts. I just think for future clones in the series and SW it would be cool to get a helmet like the original p1. 

Edited July 21, 2021 by kidtheboss611

[THELEGOBATMAN]

19 minutes ago, kidtheboss611 said:

That's just not true. While AOTC and TPM are horrible and only there for the memes, ROTS is a fantastic movie that stands up over 15 years later. Blind hatred of the first two is what makes alot of people believe all the prequels are bad. The prequel love doesn't just come from memes because while they did help a little, the majority was TCW success and younger kids who are now adults giving the movies a chance AFTER the watching the cartoon. For example, the fist SW media I ever watched was the Clone Wars Movie. I then went back to watch the rest of the saga and watched TCW as a I grew up. The fandom for TCW is evidence enough that people love the prequel era and people asking for things like CW7, Kenobi, the Ahsoka Show shows that prequel era characters and movies are widely loved (Not as much as OT but still appreciated by the Ogs).

RoTS is fantastic when compared to the other 2. It's all opinions, but RoTS is the least bad movie out of those 3. It's still bad imo.

[Fuppylodders]

Attack of the clones wasn't that bad either. Sure, not as good as ROTS, but jesus, it's certainly not from the depths of hell like people are exaggerating it to be. 

TPM... Well... It had its good points, and.... At minimum, equally bad points too... 

But it was fresh, gave us new vehicles, the start of anakins life story, kept the star wars feel while being different, good locations and backdrops. 

 

On the ucs atat, that's excellent news! Can only hope they did blindly type in that number rather than mistake it for gunship info, but given the gunship set was revealed, I can't imagine why it'd still be secret info about being an exclusive or not...