GameyRaccoon

Moth light for scalpers. If you think Lego scalpers are bad, Pokémon scalpers are a million times worse.

Oh, I agree. Definitely one of the top 5 sets of the 21st century for me.

Keep spitting, Danth. I'm almost looking forward to the Amsterdam Canal Houses set because I'm a total sucker for all things Dutch, but judging by the Italian Riviera/Pirates of Barracuda Bay, it'll be shrunken down yet overpriced. Why spend parts budget on bricks and plates when you could spend it on tiny 1x1 tiles and a big black display pad?

TRUTH NUCLEAR. I've been saying all of this for years. To add on to the clout chasing, I would say they absolutely do this. It's long been the meta on Ideas to pump out ideas about popular nerd adjacent franchises and spam them on relevant forums and subreddits to get upvotes from fans of the IP, not necessarily fans of Lego.

For the record, I also really enjoy this era. I've just become bitter by the neglect towards in-house IP in recent memory. (Excepting large icons tributes)

I think this is nostalgia talking. If you and I are around the same age, these themes would have been out around when we were kids. Star Wars is responsible for killing space, as we know, (Nothing outside the solar system after 1999, and nothing at all after 2015) and I suspect it's the same with Castle (Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter) and Pirates (Pirates of the Caribbean). And while it didn't replace it, Indiana Jones never coexisted with Adventurers or its spiritual successor, Pharaoh's Quest. (an underrated theme that I quite love.) Whether it's in the contracts or just company policy, it's clear that TLG doesn't want licensed themes to coexist with unlicensed themes. That's not to say I'm not a fan of many licensed themes and sets, I am. But if you gave me the choice between more Indiana Jones sets or more Adventurers sets, I'm not picking Indiana Jones.

Here's one, though I don't know how unpopular it is. The official Lego color names are illogical and I hate how TLG is trying to slowly replace the Bricklink color names (which we have universally used for 26 years) It's not "medium stone grey," it's "light bluish grey." It's not "dark green," it's just "green." This one is especially infuriating to me because "dark green" is another color anyway. Brickset uses these new names now and with all the catalog changes to Bricklink, the writing is on the wall that they're going to phase out the color names in favor of the official ones.

When are the islanders even implied to be cannibals?

I kind of regret not buying two more at Walmart just for the alt builds/parts. That set was the best deal Lego has done in decades, even at full price.

I could legitimately see it. They'd call it a renaissance fair or something like that.

Why not make icons sets that don't cost so much money? Blacktron Cruiser/Forestmen's hideout-sized sets that aren't locked behind a GWP. You could mine out even more of the adult collector/classic theme fan demo who maybe is strapped for cash or space and can't justify the big sets. You aren't investing in the shelf space/marketing required for a whole theme, but you are more regularly saying "Hey, here's a little 30 dollar classic space/castle/pirates set." That seems like the perfect happy medium to me. You may consider that "reviving classic themes," though. @icm said it before I could finish typing it up. The 90th anniversary stuff was very good in my opinion and should be model for the future. Frighteningly, the 100th anniversary is not far off, and I would like to see more classic remakes then. The cynical part of me says not to hold your breath, though. As far as I know (and correct me if I'm wrong), the galaxy explorer and blacktron renegade did not sell well despite being priced and designed quite well in my opinion.

This is the part where I start dreaming about winning the lottery. 910031 in particular is really scratching that Red Dead Redemption/history nerd part of my brain.

There was a Legoredo BDP set? Damn. I miss out on a lot of these BDP sets because they come and go so fast. Does that mean there's no point in hoping for any icons offerings?

Completely putting aside the culture war/social issues for a moment, I have to say that it's almost part of the appeal for me. I enjoy the cartoonish pulp in Islanders and Western and Orient Expedition sets for the same reason I enjoy old movies and old books. It's because it's so pulpish. It's camp! It's quaint. I find that interesting. And I don't have any delusions that TLG would revisit islanders or Indians in a hypothetical pirates or western revival. (At least not in the same way) But let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater here.

It really does feel like an obvious omission, doesn't it? We got pirates, space, and castle, why not western? A Legoredo icons set ala Eldorado Fortress would be a no brainer.