Lyichir

Am I the only one who kind of liked the brick-built flying monkey? They even managed to reference the golden cap from the books (and shown briefly in the movie) in one of the alt builds! I mean, don't get me wrong, the fig versions are nice, and good for people who want to use them as characters outside of Dimensions. But I appreciated the brick-built mini-model for what it was, and it made more sense as a rebuildable vehicle for the Wicked Witch than anything else I can think of...

I mean, this newly revealed vehicle splits into four, so it's essentially got vehicles for Robin, Batgirl. and even Alfred. Unless you were meaning something color-coded to them or something like that?

I don't expect the exact designs of the Lego Batman Movie theme to continue be used in the main Super Heroes theme, if that's what you're suggesting. Lego could very easily continue to use the new molds from the Lego Batman Movie theme on new interpretations of those same heroes and villains for Super Heroes or even on completely different characters or characters from other themes entirely. Few of the physical figure parts (besides perhaps Two-Face's partly melted hair) are so specialized that they couldn't be repurposed elsewhere.

An arm mold like that robot arm from the Agents and Monster Fighters theme but with a stud shooter built in could be pretty cool, I think.

Unfortunately, I imagine the parts in those diagrams are not any hint of actual physical parts to come. The one for the blue area features the old octagonal cone piece from Aquazone in a newer lavender color, and I certainly don't see that part being brought back any time soon. So chances are that they didn't pay any real heed to whether the parts they chose would realistically appear in those colors, instead merely choosing the parts and colors for show.

Yeah, weird to get such a small parts update. Hopefully there's another larger one in the pipeline to be released soon!

Realistically they wouldn't even need "a couple of years"—even one more small wave of sets (like The Lego Movie got in 2015) might be enough to cover many of the other villains featured in the movie if the number of figures per set is similar to some of the existing sets (like the Riddler's Riddle Racer or Killer Croc's Tail-Gator).

To hardcore Technic fans, the functionality can certainly be more important than looks. But to newer or prospective fans—kids just growing into the theme, for instance—looks can make a big difference in whether they pick a set up in the first place. It's hard to convey all of a sets functions in a single photo for the purpose of "shelf appeal", and the more complex the functions are, the harder it would be. Add in the fact that only a small percentage of buyers would be able to instantly recognize the pedigree of a revamp like this, and you could potentially wind up with a set that warmed shelves while more "complete-looking" models outsold it. That's certainly not a fate I'd wish on a model like this that's meant to pay homage to the theme's history. Making the car chassis into an online combi model seems like a great move to me, in part because it will be easier to include background information about the original Car Chassis online than it would be on a box on store shelves.

I'm really excited that Lloyd seems to use those pieces in gold on the end of his swords. It should be a great color for drapes, carpets, and other fancy details (I'm a little upset they didn't use it on the corners of the magic carpet in the Disney Castle set, but in future sets they won't have that excuse).

I think to view the live-action scenes as the only parts of the movie are "real" and the rest as merely an imagined story is to misunderstand the postmodern storytelling of the movie. An important thing to note is that despite the reveal that Emmet's world was shaped largely by the actions of Finn and The Man upstairs, the fact that Emmet still had some degree of movement, awareness, and self-determination in the decidedly live-action scenes implies that the Lego characters are still "real" to a certain extent and are meant to have their own agency independent of their creators. The movie's deliberate homages to the Matrix films are worth noting. Like that series' references to Plato, the actions of Finn and The Man Upstairs influence their world in ways that the Lego characters only perceive like "shadows on a cave wall". To the Lego characters, the human characters are like gods, creating their world and affecting their circumstances invisibly, but not necessarily subverting their own free will. Emmet is one of the only characters who is "enlightened" and has had a glimpse behind the veil, and the people behind The Lego Movie sequel have teased that that knowledge might lead him to start questioning a lot about the nature of his existence and have something of a crisis of faith.

I rarely ever Bricklink parts of sets I don't have to build, but I do often enjoy building sets I don't have (and even sets I have no intention of getting) on LDD just for the sake of learning the intricacies and techniques of the build.

You're not far off. The creators mentioned in an interview about the Lego Batman Movie that they see this one as taking place in more of a "backyard" space with real plants, dirt, and water.

Probably. The same was done for The Lego Movie and Lego Batman Movie (Emmett's Construct-o-Mech is a great example, being gigantic compared to the set).| Nonetheless these give us a good feel for the general structure of the ninja's vehicles if not their specific builds. And given that, I'm tentatively excited. Many of them feel like a mix between Ninjago and Exo-Force, and as a fan of both themes that sort of gives me chills. Probably. The same was done for The Lego Movie and Lego Batman Movie (Emmett's Construct-o-Mech is a great example, being gigantic compared to the set).| Nonetheless these give us a good feel for the general structure of the ninja's vehicles if not their specific builds. And given that, I'm tentatively excited. Many of them feel like a mix between Ninjago and Exo-Force, and as a fan of both themes that sort of gives me chills.

Isn't that already what some of the spin-off movies are doing, though? I mean, the Batman and Ninjago movies only really feature one character each from The Lego Movie (and the latter was a non-speaking background character). There's nothing wrong with introducing new characters but for a true sequel, some sense of continuity is desirable. I'm sure that there are still plenty of great stories that can be explored with characters from the first movie as the focus.

Absolutely! Jay Vincent and Mike Kramer's work on the series is really outstanding. There are a number of ways you can listen to the score from the series. Jay Vincent's Soundcloud has a selection of a few stellar tracks from the series. His YouTube channel has even more, including more recent ones. A physical or digital soundtrack CD is available as well, and if you really like the music I'd recommend getting that if only to support the composers and hopefully encourage the release of further soundtracks down the line. It also includes some of the tracks that are more the work of Mike Kramer than Jay Vincent, such as the amazing "Falcon Chase".

A lot of that music is sourced from elsewhere, so there's unlikely to be an official soundtrack release (especially considering that the rights to different soundtracks may be tied up with all sorts of different labels). I'm pretty sure the Ninjago adventure world medley comes from the Shadow of Ronin 3DS game. Not positive but if you can track down someone who has ripped the music from that they might have what you're looking for.

You mean... like just about every Batman movie? Pretty much every single one has reinterpreted its characters in one way or another. It's the same deal with this movie. The characters might not have identical backstories, appearances, or personalities, but that doesn't mean there's no similarities at all. If anything, a lot of these new appearances of the characters seem more in line with their original personalities. Look at Jay, for example. Gone is the uncharacteristically trendy shaved eyebrow in favor of a somewhat "geekier" look, fitting for his insecure personality as well as his love of inventing and science fiction.

It's hard for me to answer this question because in general I feel like Lego sets have gotten more accessible to me, not less. When I was first starting out as a KFOL there were any number of large, impressive sets that were out of my reach—Enchanted Island, Monorail Transport Base, Royal Knight's Castle... the list goes on and on. As I grew older and better at building my parents became more willing to get me more expensive sets, while at the same time I became much more selective about which sets I wanted—looking past just "which set was the biggest" and deciding whether I really needed a set as part of my collection or would be satisfied with something else. So I don't think I can narrow it down to any single first set that was "the one that got away".

It's worth pointing out that we don't yet know what sorts of new characters might be introduced in this movie. Even if the lead roles remain occupied by the same characters from TFA, judging by Star Wars' history I wouldn't rule out some new breakout characters—just look at Lando Calrissian, Yoda, and Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back, or Jango Fett and Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones. Anyway, I do think it would be probable that at least some of the main characters would get rereleased, especially if they get new costumes. I also wouldn't rule out a figure of older Luke, assuming that he has a major role this time around.

Not a CMF, but don't forget about Tartan Batman from one of the activity books! I imagine the tartan leg printing might be useful for anyone looking to add some scottish flavor to their historic or fantasy figs, and the dark brown cape could be useful for all sorts of purposes. Heck, someone might even find use for the torso if they use some short armor piece to cover up the bat-symbol!

Most free posters Lego gives away come folded, likely just as a matter of convenience for distribution (in general you can't be picky with something that's being given away free at events or with purchases). However, for actual movies like The Lego Movie (or even some Lego video games) you can probably find the actual advertising posters available for sale in un-creased formats.

To answer your broader question of why Lego stops services in general, the main reason is that they have limited resources and by stopping some services they can redirect those resources to new ones. Technically speaking they never technically ended LDD, though, just made it a lower priority. The idea that they were ending all support for it was a miscommunication, and it still got two full parts updates last year after that news originally broke. I wouldn't be at all surprised if another update rolls around this month or next. There's also Lego Worlds, which is getting its full release in the near future. It's a paid game and as a building tool it's not as full-featured as LDD, but then again neither was Build with Chrome (which always struck me as an experiment more than anything else).

I'm still curious whether other figures might be saved for a third wave of sets (or even another CMF series). The Lego Movie got a small third wave in 2015, but didn't really have enough content to stretch the theme farther (since even if there were still unreleased brick-built subjects, most of the unique figure designs had already been released). The Lego Batman Movie doesn't look like it'll have that problem (what with the many unreleased villains, Batsuits, and Justice League members left to depict), and that might be a deliberate choice so that if the theme is successful enough to maintain for longer, there will still be plenty of content left to draw from.

I don't think the rate at which it's gained supporters is that out of the ordinary compared to many of the other niche projects that have done so. More niche fandoms tend to be passionate about the subject of their interests, and non-AFOL fans are less likely to think critically about the likelihood of a project's success than they are about whether they just want to have it. Neither of those are bad things (since one of the points of Ideas is bringing new Lego fans into the fold), and the quality of the models in question isn't bad either. Do I think the project stands a chance of success? Heck no—it's a fairly controversial program, with critics from all walks of life. But that's no reason to read ulterior motives into its support base. Most likely, they just saw something they thought was neat and decided to give it their vote of confidence.

Or perhaps they simply wanted a different, more comedic take (like they did with most of the lead roles), or to avoid double-casting one of their lead actors. There are plenty of reasons to opt for a different actor even if the original is available.