JVM

I agree on the penny pinching. I wonder if the sets are making less money so the budget has been cut drastically? I know some of the less popular films resulting shelf-warming sets (although a couple of them were IMO great sets regardless) The thing is a lot of the earlier sets that had lower quality builds made up for it by either being packed with play features (several) or new character minifigures. The older Daily Bugle is overshadowed by its big cousin but it had Dr. Doom, Beetle and J. Jonah Jameson who remained exclusive for some years. Two of those characters are still exclusive to the set. It feels today the set would lose a play feature or two, have a smaller secondary building that would help increase the total price, a reused Venom to go with reused Spidey and probably swap Beetle and Dr. Doom for better-known Spider villains that have been done before. I don't mean to sound bitter, but this is how it feels as of late.

I absolutely love this. This is what I've always wanted if TLG actually made some kind of UCS Invisible Hand!

I'll always feel a nostalgia for the older designs (1998 - 2007) as it felt like everything fit together fairly consistently and they retained the simple LEGO charm. I used to mix and match my licensed and non-licensed characters a lot in the yellow skin era, too. Customization was really peak in this era as the less detailed designs could more easily be reused and switch around without feeling jarring besides the flesh change. The lack of detail also allowed for some cool LEGO-ifying of things - ninja hood Dengar was one of my favorite minifigures as a kid. LEGO SW: TVG worked in some ways because it acted as a love letter to the entire line as it existed at that point and brought everything together. There was no questions about using outdated minifigures etc. The transition period is a low point. Some figures had TCW designs which didn't gel with everything else, OT figures were the original pupilless look but in flesh - lacking the vintage charm of their older counterparts but also not really updated enough to feel fresh and different - and then newer, detailed figures only just starting to trickle in, so you have a lot of style clash between what feels like three simultaneous competing styles of mini-figure. This is also when OT sets started getting feeling a bit more recycled and feeling samey; a lot of vehicles saw huge leaps between their first and second variations and then the third would be 80% the same as the second. PT sets that weren't TCW-based also really dropped off for a while since they used the same rough crop of characters. Now there is a very solid roster of detailed modern minifigure designs so style clash is no longer an issue, although it does still feel like some changes are being done pointlessly at times (adding lines to faces, changing the shading of pockets, that stuff) while other appropriate changes are not made. The level of detail has improved considerably but it has harmed customization and smart reuse. Obi-Wan and Anakin got Mustfar detail for an appropriate set but then those designs were reused and felt out of place for example ,and you wouldn't reuse those to make new Jedi. It does feel like 'style creep' is becoming a problem. I've never felt like most character needed back, leg and arm printing, but it feels like some people think every character needs all of them.

Re: Thunderbolts, just want to register that I really wish we had a John Walker minifig. I don't feel beat up about Sentry for some reason but it feels weird to not have him for some reason. I guess because he was an existing character while Sentry was new for the movie. I kinda think LEGO should give us a Thunderbolts set even if it's late for it but also It's good for my wallet that there haven't been a lot of must buy sets this year (Fantastic Four vs. Galactus was the one) but also really miss being excited for the theme and new releases. A lot of it for me is that it feels LEGO isn't really doing all-new characters or really distinctive outfits on the level of previous years, but it's new characters that usually pull me in more than the existing ones getting tweaked endlessly. I also kind of miss the more comic book-y sets. I don't want to address the movies except that I liked all three of this year's releases enough, including Captain America 4.

Late to the party but the Barge is such a tough one for me. It took me ages to drop the money for the Cantina which was way more up my alley. I'd really like the skiff guards and Max Rebo to add to my 2013 Barge but seems like the aftermarket might stay high for ol' Max after all...

The mansion looks good for my taste, but my wallet isn't so sure yet - if not, eager to bricklink some of the minifigs at least. I'd say Xavier is a disappointing minifigure though. He deserved a new face print. I'm not the biggest X-Men fan, but I really hope they do more sets, or an X-Men focused CMF lineup. There's so many characters that would be fun to have (everyone wants Nightcrawler and Jubilee for a start) or could use improvement. (new Xavier, new hair for Rogue, green Phoenix, classic Storm with tiara...)

Yes and no. To clarify, I'm not opposed to the idea by any means and happy for anyone who wants it! It was just never a super interesting location to me to begin with on a personal level - but I've not seen the prelim and it's not uncommon for sets like this to impress me when I see the reveal! I didn't have high hopes for Gringotts and now I really wish I'd gone for it. I totally don't blame you. I still feel like the 2021-23 system stopped a little short of it's full potential - the lack of a Potions class or house common rooms really bugged me. The former was represented in the 2018-21 sets and is in the new system, too, while the latter were in the House Banners but have not been offered in a castle set since the revival. (I don't count the Dormitory sets.) Both previous systems could have gone for at least one more set, imo

Not wild about a UCS Burrow. I'd more likely grab one of the play scale versions instead tbh I've been filling in some of the holes in my collection via bricklink lately -- goblins, minifigs from sets I missed, more Hogwarts pieces. Of the new releases most looking forward to the Potions class but the new Great Hall includes the troll scene I've waited so long to see re-imagined!

Do you have specific plans in use for Goblin's legs? I acquired a second set of 2001 Goblin legs, but the slightly lighter shade of green makes me keep re thinking it... also hope we get black short sleeve reddish brown arms sometime to add to Electro someday. I had planned to bricklink those parts, had no idea they didn't exist. Also agreed on the sticker portal!

Yeah, it might make up for the NWH omission if they gave us a different set with Lizard for example, we could still really use comic Electro, here's no Kingpin, no Chameleon... still lots of room to get creative with the subtheme if we're inevitably getting more Spider anyhow.

My big want now is a Stegosaurus. That and a hadrosaur mold would seal us pretty much every major herbivore group and most classic herbivorous dinosaurs. That'd give us room for more new dinos -- Triceratops with a new head for Sinoceratops and maybe for Nasutoceratops and Parasaurlophus with new head for Corythosaurus. The carnivore molds get complicated faster. The small carns... I honestly prefer the older Raptor approach, the articulation is so nice, but I'm also just disappointed the Atrociraptors are small but Velociraptor still big. They don't look right together. A decision really needs to be made there and stuck with - scale accuracy with less articulation or full articulation at cost to scale. We're still really left wanting for the midsize carnivore category. The Indoraptor molds haven't been working great, but the Carnotaurus mold is Rex-sized! We need a good medium carnivore mold. I think arms and tail could be reused but new body and legs would be a must. As for large, I definitely want to see Spinosaurus, for one thing... I actually really like what they did with Giganotosaurus' body, making it noticeably longer than the Indominus or Rex, and it gives me a lot of hope for the large carns. I'd also really like to see Gallimimus return in a set that works better for flock building! ... Focusing on vehicles a moment though, the Mobile Command Center from TLW could make an incredible set and I hope it's in the pipeline. I can't think of much from JP3 I'd want to build.

I've just run through the movies for the first time in the last two weeks, and suddenly can place a lot of the old sets into more proper context. (mostly the Crystal Skull stuff.) I think Kig Fisto's reading is fairly accurate -- in general, a lot of Hollywood film franchise marketing I've heard is based around slightly longer-term success now, and it's often the sequel to the reboot that is most judged for merchandising purposes. Notice for example that while LEGO made Jurassic World sets in 2015, the line didn't graduate to "evergreen" until Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom -- this is in line with some of Universal's strategizing behind the scenes. Indiana Jones is especially hurt by this because we know there isn't going to be a sixth film; or rather if there ever is, it probably won't be a sequel to Dial of Destiny but something entirely different. I'm hopeful that LEGO may revisit the theme if DoD performs well. I don't expect it much, but hey, if we get three great sets like the ones we did this year, even just once more, I think it'd still be pretty spiffy. I'd be partial to them getting a Temple of Doom-based set out somewhere...

I thought the Batmobile set looked cool and then saw the pricetag. Yeeowch. I'll bricklink the new figs and call it a day.

I was thinking the same thing regarding Electro, and assumed that was an inevitability. I imagine it's possible they reasoned they couldn't do hair and a 'helmet' but it also chills my sense we may ever see a comic Electro, which is unfortunate as every other movie Spiderman villain we don't have a comic variant for... .except for Lizard, who we still have no representation for in the line. I realized he wasn't going to be in this set but I'm still disappointed. I hope LEGO has both of these characters in the pipeline if they ever do more mcu Spiderman sets or comic Spiderman sets. They could do a follow-up set with the FEAST truck and include Lizard, Sandman, movie Aunt May and an unsuited Spiderman or something. Maybe Jameson? Almost no overlap with the larger NWH set and completes the scenes and villain roster. Bonus if they can include a dumpster and a Goblin mask, haha. Pretty sure there's no way we see unmasked Garfield or Maguire Spideys at this stage. EDIT: I like the A-Force set in concept but I won't buy it for that. I really would've switched out Shuri for Wasp, given she's widely available in the BP2 sets. I'll probably bricklink Wanda and maybe Valkyrie, maybe the Thanos head? It's a odd set. Will definitely pick up the mini Hulkbuster and Iron Man, probably off bricklink, and make some modifications to the buster.

I don't keep track of enough themes consistently to answer this reasonably. I'm going to expect future waves and if they don't come, I'll be fine.

Has TLJ actually said the Temple of Doom set was "cancelled" in that exact word? Is it not possible they could revise it and release a set based on the same scene in a future wave? Even if it were really structurally different, if it had the same minifigs and depicted a similar scene I imagine 80-90% of people would be satisfied.

The Guardians sets look cool. Definitely more I'd like to have seen done, but not nearly as disappointing as the multiple single-film sets we've had to deal with. I can probably skip the ship and bricklink some Peters to make Mantis, Nebula, and Drax, maybe some more side characters in uniforms, grab Adam and do the two smaller sets. I feel like we'll probably get a spoiler Guardians set later. I dunno why but I have a good feeling about it. I still think there's potential for revisiting the previous Guardians films, with Kraglin much needed and Ego sorely missing from the lineup, and a non-exclusive Collector, not to mention I'd love a comics Gamora or Drax. Might be nice to see a gray Rocket using the new molds. The Ant Man set is disappointing. I mean, constraction Antman looks cool, but it feels too much like a set that could/should be part of the 'normal' lineup instead of a sole tie-in for a major film. I realize that the Ant Man films are not as beloved as other Marvel properties, but there are still plenty of opportunities for interesting sets there -- oversized everyday objects would have a charm and appeal outside the superheroes theme, and there's plenty of cool minifigs... it'd be nice to just have a great Wasp minifig using the new helmet mold tbh :/ The rumors of a No Way Home set are absolutely welcome, but if they exclude the Lizard I'll be let down a lot. I've been waiting since the Superheroes theme relaunched ten years ago for a Lizard minifig. We all want the villains and the three Spideys, and some people missed out on Ned, and MJ and Strange are... fine, but not exciting. Unlike every other character though, there is no version of the Lizard in LEGO form to date. I really wish if LEGO seems to be getting even less material for sets, they would just embrace toyetic appeal and go back to making some 'comic' (or cartoon, whatever you prefer to call them) sets so we could get some interesting new minifigs. I'm enjoying the Infinity Saga stuff but I do to see some not-previously-attempted designs and characters.

That new hairpiece looks great on Riddle and Lockhart -- I really think it has some uses in the Superheroes theme too, hope LEGO makes it a mainstay.

I think you've hit the nail on the end. Most of DC's output and effort to break out in the superhero movie world is leaning for darker themes and adult audiences, which LEGO has avoided. Even the lighter-hearted Wonder Woman films still dealt with some heavy themes. You can't put a LEGO logo next to a Suicide Squad logo, so to speak.... and unfortunately LEGO has avoided Marvel/DC sets that aren't film tie-ins over the last several years besides Spiderman and Batman. Even the Avengers, while a proven moneymaker for LEGO, seem to have been reduced to strictly film-based sets now with the non-film/game ones totally dropping off. A friend and I tried to discuss ten new DC set ideas today and both of our lists sounded like D2C sets more than anything for general release. I could list my ideas but it's easy to tell even beyond size why so many of them are unlikely to happen.

Unlikely as heck at this point, but the Green Drax minifig has made me really crave a Comic-inspired Guardians of the Galaxy set. The short hair/white armor Gamora and Green Drax would both make pretty neat minifigs.

I really wish LEGO would give us another 'foundational' set with gray instead of tan arches and bricks. I think a Potions classroom or (unlikely given the Banners) Slytherin common room would be perfect. It just feels weird in my modular display to put regular Hogwarts rooms on the same level as the Chamber of Secrets and Devil's Snare! The banners look lovely but I am disappointed we aren't seeing common rooms in the modular format.

I really, really want to see a few legacy Thor sets. I'm not the biggest fan of the movies in specific but there are so many characters I think would make super cool minifigs, whereas I think Iron Man's cast is pretty rounded by now and Cap's missing a few First Avenger characters but still has more options overall. Odin's Vault ($19.99) Build Odin's Vault! Artifacts include the Tesseract, an Infinity Gauntlet, the Eternal Flame, the Casket of Ancient Winters, and the Crown of Surtur. Prevent the frost giant Laufey from ruining the Asgardian ceremony and robbing the Vault! Includes Odin, Heimdall, Laufey, and Thor minifigures! Dark Elf Attack the Throne Room! ($29.99) Build Odin's Throne Room! Secret weapons hidden under the throne! Includes Thor, Jane Foster, Frigga, Kurse and Malekith minifigures! [ I am imagining this being a larger, more complicated build than the vault despite how simple it sounds here.] Destroyer Attack on Earth ($69.99) The Destroyer from Asgard as a buildable, articulated figure! Also includes Jane Foster's research vehicle! Includes Thor, Dr. Selvig, Darcy, Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun and Sif minifigures! Fall of the Valkyrie ($99.99) Valkyrie vehicle with room for one pilot minifigure and at least one standing minifigure and a bombing feature plus firing missiles Very small build for the Control Tower. Includes Captain America, Red Skull, Peggy Carter, Chester Phillips and Howard Stark minifigures! Alternate heads for Steve Rogers and Johann Schmidt. I couldn't come up with a fake set description but a set with Bucky Barnes, Gabe Jones, Dum-Dum Dugan, and Armin Zola would be great to finish off the First Avengers characters; you could use the train sequence to justify those characters, tempted to add Zemo for fun since he was in that sequence in the comics but not the film... A set based on the battle in Harlem with Betty Ross, General Thaddeus Ross, Emil Blonsky and Samuel Sterns minifigures plus Hulk and Abomination bigfigs would be great as well. Alexander Pierce and Brock Rumlow (Shield), Baron Zemo, Janet van Dyne, and Everett Ross are also characters I'd like to see but can't imagine fitting more than any one of them into the same set unless we did a time Heist set with the first two.

So, as someone who has collected Hasbro's Star Wars figure line just as long as the LEGO sets, I think seeing the 187th Legion in a set is pretty dang cool, and I take it as a welcome signal that LEGO will be diving deeper into clone troopers over time. I've never picked up a previous Fighter Tank so no comparison to the old ones is of interest to me. It's a must-buy. I definitely feel for those who are hoping for more film and animation-accurate designs but I'm happy about this.

This is my new favorite Batman film (although I'm deeply nostalgic for the two Burton films) but it's relevance to LEGO is pretty light... even if the film were a spectacular failure, there would still be more LEGO Batman, and unlike some other superhero films, it wasn't toyetic enough to leave open for additional sets much. It certainly gave me a taste for more though... looking forward to the Batcave set. (Already have the other two.) Dying a bit for some villain-based sets though.

Everyone else is trying to replace their green roofs with gray, and here I am wondering about replacing my gray roofs with green again! I used gray roofs on my Great Hall as a kid, actually (the fabric pieces on 4709 didn't last) and kept sand green on the turrets, so I am personally not very concerned about mixing them around between sets as most. 4709 is still my favorite set of all time. I am loving the new module system and already looking into rebuilding some previous sets to use it, hopefully including the Clock Tower as well as Dumbledore's Office, though I am debating going off the excellent 2010 design I love or trying to make it into the Great Tower. Still, it's exciting and it makes me want to MOC which I've not fully done in quite a while. I love what @vorkosigan did up there, for example, I'd like to do more like that! I do think people need to chin up though. Yes, they redid the Great Hall, but many of these recent sets are still new locations. The Chamber of Secrets and Forbidden Corridor weren't included in the 2018-20 range, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom is evergreen enough to be reused. We hadn't seen the Girls' Bathroom for CoS before either. It's not like they are doing a whole wave of remakes of 2018 sets imo. People are angry about the PS/COS sets because they feel like they were robbed Deathly Hallows sets, but I'm sure they are coming later on, just like Hogsmeade finally arrived, and I personally grew a little sick of Goblet of Fire sets especially with the Yule Ball figures in both the Clock Tower and the Advent Calendar at the same time and Cedric Diggory just everywhere. I'd prefer if LEGO kept several years in flux at once than tried to theme every wave on one or two movies. We still need a Second Task set and a Durmstang ship isn't necessary but couldn't hurt. A lot of Dealthy Hallows is set away from the castle and I think that's a pretty practical reason why LEGO hasn't visited it as much. You wouldn't see a lot of fanfare for Xenophilius' House, Godric's Hollow or the middle of the forest. I'd love to see Malfoy Manor and people deserve a Gringotts I won't afford. We've also never seen a LEGO set based in any way on the Ministry of Magic. PS/CoS could still use the Troll scene and the Chamber of Winged Keys though, nothing says they need to be avoided now. I'm really surprised we haven't seen a decent Gryffindor or Slytherin Common Room though. I don't count the really lame, half-thought dormitory from the Whompiing Willow set. The 2010 Hogwarts had nice if small representations of both common areas. I kept thinking a Gryffindor Tower was an inevitable addition to the 2018-20 modular Hogwarts, and I'd still like to see a Bell Tower.