Indiana Jones 2023 - Rumors & Discussion

[Legofan2001]

1 hour ago, Mandalorianknight said:

The pilot in the plane set is a Nazi though. 

Here's my theory, which is JUST A THEORY.

Lego began production, initially, of the 4 April sets and a later wave for Indy 5. At some point, someone with authority within lego decided that the ToD set was too controversial/ist/phobic, and snowballed it into cancelling the theme. Since the other 3 April sets weren't as controversial as the TOD set, and further along in production, they were allowed to release, just to recoup some money.

Now what I HOPE is the case is that the TOD set has a design flaw, and the DOD sets are just an example of lego managing to keep leaks secret. But lego has made enough baffling decisions recently, and I think it's honestly more likely at this point that something like the above is what happened.

That’s what I think is going on as well. I mean if you think about it you’d think lego would be making a big deal out of the return of Indiana Jones yet instead they’re burying the sets like they don’t exist. Like you’d think if Indy was important to lego they’d make a big press release announcing the return+announcing a wave based on DOD. Right now I’m expecting the Indy sets to be out for 6-12 months and that’s it with no future releases (which means these sets within 3 years are going to be worth a crapton all due to the incompetence of lego)

[RODDY]

Even if these three sets are all there is the to revival of the theme, I’m just happy we got an incredible Temple of the Golden Idol set. Had that one as a kid so getting another crack at that is great. This new one is a huge W. But still a wee bit disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to get a Grail set or a Shanghai Chase remake. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by RODDY

[The Stud]

Well, this is certainly a mixed bag.

 

On one hand, these sets we are getting look fantastic! I was someone who kinda had mixed feelings when we first got leaked pictures a while back, but these clearer pictures have reassured me. I thought the sets themselves looked good, I just felt that something was off about them but not anymore. I’m impressed with the detail and charm that these sets have. The fact that the TLC set has Henry’s umbrella and his journal as a printed 1x1 is great, and I also love how the plane has a function where the wings can come off like when it flies into the tunnel in the film.

The Temple of the Golden Idol in particular is just a masterpiece in my opinion. The original set is one of my white whales and while that one still holds a special place in my heart, this set is practically perfect in my eyes. It’s so well detailed, it perfectly represents every part of that scene from the film and the play features are just splendid. The way the boulder functions is just fascinating.

Really my only problem with these three sets is a problem I’ve had with a lot of Lego figures recently. It feels kinda silly to complain about because, well, these *are* toys, but I feel like a lot of recent minifigures have felt a little too… stylized or cartoonish? I don’t know how to explain it but it comes down to a lot of the facial expressions. The minifigures look good overall but some of them could have been better. I honestly feel like the Henry Jones Sr. figure is a step down from the 2008 one in detailing and especially with the weird way his beard looks on the new figure. This is just me nitpicking though.

 

On the other hand, however, I’m really disappointed with how Lego seems to be handling this revival. For starters, there’s zero fanfare at all. I know that up until this fifth film, Indy has been kinda irrelevant in the eyes of the public and kids especially, but it’s still one of the most iconic film franchises ever. And a Lego theme revival has been highly requested for several years. It feels like they’re just quietly dumping these sets onto shelves. Lego’s incompetence with leaks is not new or surprising, but it’s pretty sad that our first good look at these sets are from them showing up on store shelves early.

Now here we are, less than a month away from when some of these sets are supposed to be releasing and what’s happening? Outside of one retail catalog, Lego hasn’t acknowledged Indy at all.

And one of the four sets we were supposed to be getting next month is apparently getting cancelled, and I guarantee that Lego will try to sweep it under the rug since it was just a leak. Personally, I felt like the set did the best it could to avoid the problematic elements of TOD while still being a good representation of the film itself, so I’m pretty disappointed that all signs are pointing to it being cancelled, not delayed. I’ve touched on this before but I still think it’s downright idiotic that Lego designed and produced an entire set before changing their mind and deciding that now it suddenly crosses their arbitrarily drawn lines in the sand. You’re a multi-billion dollar company, how are you that inept? You couldn’t have thought of this before you green lit the thing?

And to make matters worse, the Indy 5 sets are also either getting cancelled or are in an otherwise questionable state? Specifically the sets related to Indy 5, which is the whole reason this theme revival is even happening? This revival that has gone from 8 sets to just 7 to potentially only 3 now? As great as the three sets we’re confirmed to be getting are, I feel that Lego has really dropped the ball here. Big time.

 

Sorry if this sounds overly cynical or whiny. It’s just incredibly frustrating how sloppy and disappointing Lego has been recently. This was something me and many others were looking forward to, and it feels like a lot of the excitement is evaporating with every update we get, especially since Lego is radio silent. I feel like they’ve been doing a half-assed job in a lot of areas in the last few years since the pandemic, especially this past year. It feels like they’re rushing a lot of things out, raising prices to such ridiculous amounts and I feel that their increased sales in the COVID era kinda encouraged this sloppiness. Their marketing has always been kinda underwhelming to me but even moreso recently. As someone who used to defend Lego on a lot of their decisions, I’m finding myself more and more baffled by a lot of what they’ve been doing.

Edited March 6, 2023 by The Stud

[Jenga Fett1]

I honestly cannot imagine the Indiana Jones line to sell very well to children. Indiana Jones has had nothing since 2010 all the hype will die off six months after the movie releases and the rest of the buyers will be doing so out of nostalgia.

[Brickroll]

13 minutes ago, The Stud said:

On the other hand, however, I’m really disappointed with how Lego seems to be handling this revival. For starters, there’s zero fanfare at all. I know that up until this fifth film, Indy has been kinda irrelevant in the eyes of the public and kids especially, but it’s still one of the most iconic film franchises ever. And a Lego theme revival has been highly requested for several years. It feels like they’re just quietly dumping these sets onto shelves. Lego’s incompetence with leaks is not new or surprising, but it’s pretty sad that our first good look at these sets are from them showing up on store shelves early.

Now here we are, less than a month away from when some of these sets are supposed to be releasing and what’s happening? Outside of one retail catalog, Lego hasn’t acknowledged Indy at all.

And one of the four sets we were supposed to be getting next month is apparently getting cancelled, and I guarantee that Lego will try to sweep it under the rug since it was just a leak. Personally, I felt like the set did the best it could to avoid the problematic elements of TOD while still being a good representation of the film itself, so I’m pretty disappointed that all signs are pointing to it being cancelled, not delayed. I’ve touched on this before but I still think it’s downright idiotic that Lego designed and produced an entire set before changing their mind and deciding that now it suddenly crosses their arbitrarily drawn lines in the sand. You’re a multi-billion dollar company, how are you that inept? You couldn’t have thought of this before you green lit the thing?

I mean...there is zero fanfare and explanation because the sets have not been revealed yet. We have no real idea as to why the Temple got canceled, and Lego will make a big deal about this when they reveal it--we've gotten a teaser already, so it isn't unreasonable to expect that. As for the sets getting put out, that certainly isn't limited to Indy. 

[The Stud]

15 minutes ago, Brickroll said:

I mean...there is zero fanfare and explanation because the sets have not been revealed yet. We have no real idea as to why the Temple got canceled, and Lego will make a big deal about this when they reveal it--we've gotten a teaser already, so it isn't unreasonable to expect that. As for the sets getting put out, that certainly isn't limited to Indy. 

That’s my point. The sets are due out in less than a month and we’ve heard nothing. The sets still aren’t revealed and Lego hasn’t said anything about Indiana Jones, outside of that one teaser you refer to which was from one specific retail catalog. That’s been the only acknowledgment at all. It’s incredibly strange, especially compared to Mario, Avatar or Minions, which got press releases far in advance. *That* is fanfare. Unceremoniously dropping them like they’re any other wave of sets does nothing to raise excitement or hype for the fans. That’s what I’m talking about with how lackluster Lego tends to be with their marketing.

Edited March 6, 2023 by The Stud

[Mandalorianknight]

3 hours ago, Kaijumeister said:

I sincerely hope this isn’t the case, but can also see it being true. One would think this sort decision-making would be done before even setting out to design any sets to begin with!

You’re definitely onto something there with the point about recouping costs by releasing at least 3 more or less finalised and ‘safe’ sets - get some mileage (…or years) out of that new hair / hat piece too. Very interested to see how Lego decides to spin the decision to release 3 Indy sets and retire the theme again after that.

Lego just seems to be dropping the ball more and more lately, or perhaps their mistakes are just becoming more transparent for those of us who are serious enough about collecting to congregate on forums about it. Let’s see how things pan out I suppose, the April wave press release should be pretty telling.

My guess is lego either is very, very silent about these sets or tries to tout it as some sort of moral victory that they cancelled the others. (Not that it would be in any way, but I can literally see the press release in my mind)

I think it's a mix of both. Part of it is the concept along the lines of "when you buy a new car, you start seeing more of that type of car on the road because you've got it in your mind", but I do think that lego's made a variety of very baffling decisions from QC, to the ideas sets they pick up, to entire themes being botched. I think even if they turn this around, someone's out of a job.

1 hour ago, Legofan2001 said:

That’s what I think is going on as well. I mean if you think about it you’d think lego would be making a big deal out of the return of Indiana Jones yet instead they’re burying the sets like they don’t exist. Like you’d think if Indy was important to lego they’d make a big press release announcing the return+announcing a wave based on DOD. Right now I’m expecting the Indy sets to be out for 6-12 months and that’s it with no future releases (which means these sets within 3 years are going to be worth a crapton all due to the incompetence of lego)

Exactly. This is a BIG DEAL. They trumpeted the returns of many other things, they did lots of press for stuff like Rivendell, minions, avatar, etc, but nothing for Indy? We're less than a month out!

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, RODDY said:

Even if these three sets are all there is the to revival of the theme, I’m just happy we got an incredible Temple of the Golden Idol set. Had that one as a kid so getting another crack at that is great. This new one is a huge W. But still a wee bit disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to get a Grail set or a Shanghai Chase remake. 

Have to agree. If you started with nothing and asked for just one Indy set, it would be the temple run scene. It's the most iconic thing in the entire franchise, and they've done it really well. Obviously it would be nicer to have more, and having something taken away is much more painful than being given something unexpected, so it's hard to view it like that. But you're right.

35 minutes ago, The Stud said:

That’s my point. The sets are due out in less than a month and we’ve heard nothing. The sets still aren’t revealed and Lego hasn’t said anything about Indiana Jones, outside of that one teaser you refer to which was from one specific retail catalog. That’s been the only acknowledgment at all. It’s incredibly strange, especially compared to Mario, Avatar or Minions, which got press releases far in advance. *That* is fanfare. Unceremoniously dropping them like they’re any other wave of sets does nothing to raise excitement or hype for the fans. That’s what I’m talking about with how lackluster Lego tends to be with their marketing.

8 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

My guess is lego either is very, very silent about these sets or tries to tout it as some sort of moral victory that they cancelled the others. (Not that it would be in any way, but I can literally see the press release in my mind)

I think it's a mix of both. Part of it is the concept along the lines of "when you buy a new car, you start seeing more of that type of car on the road because you've got it in your mind", but I do think that lego's made a variety of very baffling decisions from QC, to the ideas sets they pick up, to entire themes being botched. I think even if they turn this around, someone's out of a job.

Exactly. This is a BIG DEAL. They trumpeted the returns of many other things, they did lots of press for stuff like Rivendell, minions, avatar, etc, but nothing for Indy? We're less than a month out!

On the reveal, the sets are still a month away and most sets don't get press releases until a few weeks beforehand. Rivendell was revealed just under four weeks before release, so it could be any time now for Indy if they follow the same pattern. But equally I could see their plan to reveal and release the first wave of sets as the way to build excitement ahead of the movie release, and then release the second wave with the movie. If the second wave has been cancelled, I suspect that they'd still stick with that same plan anyway. All of which is to say that if they were taking it seriously, I can totally see them not revealing much before release. And if they're not taking it seriously, LEGO just lists loads of new sets for sale with no fanfare anyway, so it's hardly surprising.

I don't usually buy sets day 1, but I might have to get all of these April 1st, just in case they decide to pull them early in their run...

 

[Brickroll]

1 hour ago, The Stud said:

That’s my point. The sets are due out in less than a month and we’ve heard nothing. The sets still aren’t revealed and Lego hasn’t said anything about Indiana Jones, outside of that one teaser you refer to which was from one specific retail catalog. That’s been the only acknowledgment at all. It’s incredibly strange, especially compared to Mario, Avatar or Minions, which got press releases far in advance. *That* is fanfare. Unceremoniously dropping them like they’re any other wave of sets does nothing to raise excitement or hype for the fans. That’s what I’m talking about with how lackluster Lego tends to be with their marketing.

That’s my point too. They haven’t been revealed yet. It’s not that strange that they haven’t revealed it yet, there’s a massive degree in variance in how long before release sets are revealed—sometimes it’s one week, sometimes it’s months. This isn’t particularly unusual. There’s no consistency or pattern to look at here, but it’ll surely be a big deal when it’s revealed.

[BrickBob Studpants]

3 hours ago, Brickroll said:

There’s no consistency or pattern to look at here, but it’ll surely be a big deal when it’s revealed.

True. There are no real patterns to reveals
While it may be wishful thinking, there could be a good reason they‘ve been holding back on the reveal. Perhaps they intend to announce the entire range at once, which wouldn‘t be inconceivable. In that case, it would make sense to wait until the first wave is (almost) on shelves

[DrHenryJonesJr]

Unfortunately I can't post the link directly, based on community guidelines, because the ToD leak can be seen in the background, so I'm just referring to it.
On instagram a post appeared a few minutes ago (#LegoLeaks - @reallegoleaks), with the following content:

LEGO has released an official statement regading the rumoured "Temple of Doom" set:

"At LEGO wie always care when fans petition!
Especially when they petition for a set we haven't even officially revealed oder cancelled!"

" mean thats definitely what was holding us back from releasing the set: Fans complaining!"

I don't know if the post is real

Edited March 6, 2023 by DrHenryJonesJr

[sammy_zammy]

8 hours ago, Legofan2001 said:

they’d make a big press release announcing the return

Why are you saying this as if they’ve been officially announced yet? They’ve just been leaked. Of course there hasn’t been a big press release yet, in the eyes of the public these sets don’t exist yet. The lack of fanfare for a theme that has not yet been announced is not a surprise, nor does it indicate a lack of fanfare in the future.

13 minutes ago, DrHenryJonesJr said:

I don't know if the post is real

It’s obviously sarcastic…

7 hours ago, The Stud said:

It feels like they’re just quietly dumping them on shelves

In what shops have you seen them on shelves?? They’ve not been announced yet let alone released. Some employee has accidentally put the product out early hence the leak, but that’s it - obviously shops get the sets prior to the release of them.

[BrickBob Studpants]

2 minutes ago, sammy_zammy said:

The lack of fanfare for a theme that has not yet been announced is not a surprise, nor does it indicate a lack of fanfare in the future.

Sure. The surprising thing is more that the return of the theme hasn’t been announced yet, even though the sets are already on shelves. Trolls, Minions, Avatar etc got fancy press releases months in advance, and Indy hasn’t gotten anything beyond a teaser in a Smyths catalogue

They can still do it of course, it’s just a bit of an odd strategy in my opinion. For instance, they could’ve capitalised on the debut of the DoD tailer like other merch partners did. Or during the toyfairs, like they did with the Harry Potter return in 2018! …If they still announced anything to the public there, which they don’t 

[RichardGoring]

2 hours ago, DrHenryJonesJr said:

I don't know if the post is real

1 hour ago, sammy_zammy said:

It’s obviously sarcastic…

To be fair, the post is real - I've seen it myself. The content is obviously sarcastic... 

There's another Instagram post just gone up saying:

Quote

Source: LAN is in tears and shambles after random instagrammar acquires LEGO Indiana Jones sets before them.

One LAN member: "NOOOOOO it's OUR job to be the first reviewers of new sets!! WE'RE the ones who are supposed to get the clout!! It's not fair!!!!!!"

- @fakelegoleaks

I do appreciate what LAN members do, but it tickled me. 

[Whovastron]

If the theme is just these 3 sets, I’m happy with the Raiders idol set, it was the only one of the first original wave I never got and I’m so happy that we’re getting a remake

[Legofan2001]

Wait a minute if the theory is that “kids don’t care about Indy” why didn’t they just make all the sets 18+ in that case?

[The Stud]

4 hours ago, sammy_zammy said:

Why are you saying this as if they’ve been officially announced yet? They’ve just been leaked. Of course there hasn’t been a big press release yet, in the eyes of the public these sets don’t exist yet. The lack of fanfare for a theme that has not yet been announced is not a surprise, nor does it indicate a lack of fanfare in the future.

In what shops have you seen them on shelves?? They’ve not been announced yet let alone released. Some employee has accidentally put the product out early hence the leak, but that’s it - obviously shops get the sets prior to the release of them.

Yeah, obviously stores get sets before they’re officially released. They don’t magically appear on store shelves on release day. My point is that Lego waited so long to reveal these sets that at least one of these stores that got them early has already began to sell them. These kinds of things happen all the time when Lego waits until the last minute to reveal things, but they never seem to learn.

The difference between this theme and something like the launch of Avatar is that they announced the Avatar theme months in advance, even if they waited to announce most of the sets themselves until closer to their release date. With Indiana Jones, Lego hasn’t officially said anything about the theme coming back less than a month before said theme is coming back, outside of one advertisement in a catalog in one region. As @BrickBob Studpants pointed out, other recent Licensed themes got press releases months in advance. To me, it just feels like they’re waiting until the last minute to announce the theme and reveal its sets at the same time. That’s what I mean with a lack of fanfare. That, plus the rumors we’ve had to operate with (TOD getting cancelled and the Indy 5 sets being up in the air), while we wait for Lego to officially acknowledge the theme are just giving me bad vibes all around.

[BrickBob Studpants]

2 minutes ago, The Stud said:

[…] while we wait for Lego to officially acknowledge the theme are just giving me bad vibes all around.

Yeah, the whole thing’s just weird. I still have some hope that there’s a good explanation for all of this, but the future of this theme ain’t looking too bright  

I’m bracing myself for these three sets being all there is to this theme  Not saying that’s definitely the case as we still have no concrete information, but I just want to avoid further disappointment

[DrHenryJonesJr]

However, this dealer also announces the availability, but only at this shop.

"We are fully stocked with 2023 new Legos! The March 1st release - and Indiana Jones - are on the shelves!"

[Madcapbricks]

3 hours ago, Legofan2001 said:

Wait a minute if the theory is that “kids don’t care about Indy” why didn’t they just make all the sets 18+ in that case?

Right?!

[BrickBob Studpants]

So, Mario gets a big reveal this Friday and Mando sets are also rumoured to be announced this week, probably after the new episode airs, i.e., Wednesday or Thursday.

So, if they plan to do it this week, there aren’t too many options left as they don’t usually make multiple announcements on the same day.

Fingers crossed for Tuesday or Wesnesday!

[Madcapbricks]

4 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Yeah, the whole thing’s just weird. I still have some hope that there’s a good explanation for all of this, but the future of this theme ain’t looking too bright  

I’m bracing myself for these three sets being all there is to this theme  Not saying that’s definitely the case as we still have no concrete information, but I just want to avoid further disappointment

Lego looks to be dropping the proverbial giant boulder on this theme. 3 sets based on 2 films of a 5 film franchise. Way to go Lego 🙄

Edited March 6, 2023 by Madcapbricks
Too wordy, didn't effectively strengthen my point

[Mopasali]

39 minutes ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

So, Mario gets a big reveal this Friday and Mando sets are also rumoured to be announced this week, probably after the new episode airs, i.e., Wednesday or Thursday.

So, if they plan to do it this week, there aren’t too many options left as they don’t usually make multiple announcements on the same day.

Fingers crossed for Tuesday or Wesnesday!

I'd bet next week actually.  We already have teasers for Mando and Mario, so I don't think they'll announce another release in between those teasers.

As much as I want info, I can't really order the sets until April, and this forum and the leaks in general are doing a lot for hype.

I am curious about the licensing for the original trilogy.  Avatar, Star Wars, Marvel all stream exclusively on Disney, but the trilogy is available on other platforms.  Disney may be driving the PR for the other themes more strictly under their control.  Indy being in April doesn't have a connection, other than the reopening of Indy ride at Disneyland in late March.  And an initial series to hype for the sequel, like Avatar, makes sense when the two are under the same control on streaming.  

[empiresperish]

42 minutes ago, Madcapbricks said:

My cart on lego.com is filled with over $1500 worth of items from various themes I planned to purchase a couple weeks ago........

.....offerings that interest me are fewer and fewer, or just non-existent...

Needed a good laugh today amidst all this temple of gloom. I'm here for this scorched earth energy over leaks no one was supposed to know about. 

[DrHenryJonesJr]

echoalive122_ has now posted a video on instagram showing all the functions of the sets.

The diorama might actually be one of the best LEGO sets of all time