Rumor: Bionicle's return in 2015

[RaidMaster Productions]

I was looking over this YouTube video on Bionicle's appearance in The Lego Movie, and I noticed a few coments talking about rumors saying that Bionicle would be coming back next year.

 

I personally, highly doupt this to be true, but I want to know from others, what do you think about this rumor? Do you believe this story to be true, or just a false rumor?

 

If Bionicle were to come back, in what capacity would you like to see it?

Edited July 18, 2014 by Makaru

[Toa Smoke Monster]

I haven't heard anything about this rumor until I read this topic. I, too, highly doubt it is true. Did any of those comments say anything that had any kind of evidence that this rumor might by true?

[Mr. Lightning Bolt]

TTV made a video insinuating it. Apparently there's supposed to be a new constraction theme next year and some are saying "LOLZOMG BINOCLE CONFRIMED!!!!1111one"

[Chro]

It is more or less common knowledge that there will almost definitely be a new constraction theme released by 2015.

Yes, quite a few people think this could be the return of Bionicle. However, the chances of that are very slim, for several reasons - one being the fact that it was stated that it'll be a new theme in 2015, and Bionicle returning would not, I think, qualify as new.

[Mesonak]

There is indeed a new constraction theme being launched in 2014. My channel, TTV, released a video regarding the subject where we broke down multiple different possibilities for said theme, and we ended up highly ruling out the likelihood of it being BIONICLE. I suppose anything's possible, but for now, it's looking much more like a new IP.

 

-Mesonak

Edited May 5, 2014 by Mesonak

[Sybre]

While I am a big BIONICLE fan, even I have my doubts about its return. Trust me, I check sources desperately a couple times a month to try and see if I could get any word on the return of the toyline that changed my childhood and maybe even life. Now, here are some theories I have regarding the situation.

• Hero Factory might end by 2015.
• The new constraction theme could be BIONICLE, or at least have relation to it
• BIONICLE could flat out return with a new paint job
• It could just be something new

I'm prepared for any and all of those theories, and we must regard the possibility that they may be true. Honestly, I really hope BIONICLE will return and hopefully bring up some old nostalgia, but I'll survive if it doesn't. All I can really do is just hope that it comes back.

[GSR]

It's also worth keeping in mind that just about every year since it was cancelled a "Bionicle will return next year" rumor has popped up. Don't put too much stock in them.

 

It sounds like LEGO's going to give a new constraction line a go, and 'new' doesn't really sound like "Bionicle reboot." That's not necessarily a bad thing, though - I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

[CeeCee]

It's also worth keeping in mind that just about every year since it was cancelled a "Bionicle will return next year" rumor has popped up. Don't put too much stock in them.

 

It sounds like LEGO's going to give a new constraction line a go, and 'new' doesn't really sound like "Bionicle reboot." That's not necessarily a bad thing, though - I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Although what I will say is that if it is Bionicle then I cant see them flat out stating it so thats really not a massive factor.

 

I will also say that I dont think it will return and I myself dont really want it to, unless they bring back the old building system.

[Aanchir]

BIONICLE has been rumored to return every year since it ended, just as Hero Factory has been rumored to end every year since it began. That's the thing about rumors — they don't necessarily have to have any substance behind them.

 

All we know now that we didn't know in previous years is that there is a new constraction theme coming out in 2015, confirmed on the LinkedIn page of an employee at Advance who has previously worked on various LEGO projects. It might be BIONICLE (though based on the way the original source was phrased, I think it's more likely to be something brand-new). It might be taking Hero Factory's place (this is a much more plausible conclusion than it being BIONICLE, but again, nothing is confirmed). Maybe it might even be something brand-new that turns out to be every bit as amazing as BIONICLE was.

 

But all that is speculation and it won't achieve anything besides raising certain people's hopes. Personally, I think it's best to wait until we see some more detailed hints or official teasers, rather than letting random guesswork shape our expectations.

[Kopekemaster]

Rumors. Those things...

 

I doubt it, quite highly. It would be pretty cool if it was (providing they actually made it good, though), but I find that, more likely, it will be something different.

Let's just hope that that "different" thing can compare to Bionicle in some way, though.

[Akavakaku]

All I really want is for the aesthetic of Bionicle to come back. They can keep the Hero Factory system, but I want to see pistons and notches and grooves and pinholes.

[Stan McStudz]

"YouTube comments"...

 

Unless they link to a plausible source, I consider any and all YouTube comments to be lies until proven with damning evidence. The same goes with a lot of videos predicting later products (like the iPhone 6 leak videos which have been going round since the 5S came out).

 

From what we can understand here, there WILL be a new constraction theme in 2015. And that's all we can go on.

 

I'm not getting my hopes up that it's BIONICLE.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Well everyone knows what great reliable sources YouTube comments are.

 

People have been saying Bionicle's coming back ever since 2010. It ain't happenin'.

Edited May 5, 2014 by TheSkeletonMan939

[Hexann]

TTV made a video insinuating it. Apparently there's supposed to be a new constraction theme next year and some are saying "LOLZOMG BINOCLE CONFRIMED!!!!1111one"

Just grab a thing of popcorn. Noobs are so much fun to watch.

 

Personally, it is for the best that you deny, unless made official by LEGO, all instances of being told that Bionicle will be revived.

[Pomegranate]

If Bionicle was to be back in the near future, I think we'd be among the first to hear about it directly from the source as soon as an official decision was made. No point in keeping it a secret, nothing markets better than hype.

Edited May 5, 2014 by Pomegranate

[fishers64]

 

TTV made a video insinuating it. Apparently there's supposed to be a new constraction theme next year and some are saying "LOLZOMG BINOCLE CONFRIMED!!!!1111one"

Just grab a thing of popcorn. Noobs are so much fun to watch.

 

Personally, it is for the best that you deny, unless made official by LEGO, all instances of being told that Bionicle will be revived.

 

This.

 

If Bionicle was to be back in the near future, I think we'd be among the first to hear about it directly from the source as soon as an official decision was made. No point in keeping it a secret, nothing markets better than hype.

This.

 

Personally. I have big doubts that it is Bionicle. If it was Bionicle, wouldn't they have come out and said so by now? Also I haven't heard any HF cancellation announcements going around either, although logically they would be keeping that under wraps, as that could hurt HF sales.

 

I also think it is something entirely new. Hopefully it has a decent story.

[Pomegranate]

Whatever the new constraction line is, I just want pins and axles back Forget Bionicle, we're compromising now.

[Akavakaku]

Just out of curiosity, do you guys think it will be sci-fi or fantasy? Back in the day we had the fantasy Technic Bionicle alongside sci-fi System Exo Force. Now Chima is a fantasy System line and HF is sci-fi Technic, so will they replace HF with more sci-fi so it can coexist with Chima? Or go back to fantasy Technic and sci-fi System?

[fishers64]

Forget pins and axles. HF has those, albeit in a less prominent role. I want a story.

 

I want a mix of SF and Fantasy that can coexist with Chima and HF, therefore ending neither but pulling attention away from HF storywise here. If it replaces HF, I want a good sci-fi replacement.

[Waaja]

I kind of started a topic similar to this, about the starting of a new constraction line in 2015, insinuating the possible return of Bionicle, a few months ago on the Lego discussion section. That, though, seemed to have disappeared with age.

 

So here's the link, for anyone who wants to know more details and follow up on older discussion...

[Lenny7092]

We may not know if Bionicle would return in 2015 or not because I see no evidence about that, but let's hope that it is because we desperately want Bionicle back. I cried in sadness over our beloved Bionicle when it was four years ago. Sorry for the feelings that I showed. I was just nostalgic about Bionicle. Anyway, back on topic, the comments in the YouTube video could be false rumors of any kind, like lies and jokes. These are some of my theories, and there are others that are:

1. It may be a completely different Lego contraction theme

2. Hero Factory would still continue

If Hero Factory discontinues, like Bionicle did, there would not be the rumored live-action movie for it. And it is impossible to have two major contraction themes in one half of a year, with the Ultra-build sets as an exception possibly.

[Makuta Miras]

Well, it could be a kind of "far-future" Bionicle, so it would start on Spherus Magna thousands of years in the future, with a whole new threat. This threat might possibly be the Bota Magna Vorox, the remnants of the Skrall, Marendar and the Baterra, or something else... Something with only two words to it's abominable name... And those two words would begin with a H and an F. Guess what that would be!!! Or maybe Teridax survived, seeing as Antidermis can only be destroyed by intense heat or intense cold. In fact, 2010 left so many loose ends, almost anything could happen in a theme continued from Bionicle. And setwise, I think something with Slizer/Roboriders building style would be very welcome, especially if you compare the 2008/9 vehicles to the 2001 Rahi. Muaka and Kane-Ra: Giant functions where their heads snap forward to tear off masks; Thornatus V9: A few guns and a function where the wheels snap out. Functions need to return.

[PlatinumApple]

I'd like if they polished up Bionicle, tweaked it (FIX THE DARN CRACKED JOINTS), simplified the story, just a little, so that newer fans could jump right in without having to read everything that came before. And then give it a better ending (in my opinion, the ending just didn't feel epic enough to compliment such an epic story-line). I don't think its return is likely, but then again, that could just be the nagging little voice in the back of my head.

 

Hero Factory and *insert name of new theme here* could both run at the same time, Hero Factory staying how it is, to appeal to the "younger" audience, and *insert name of new theme here* could lean more to the dark, gritty, mature side of things. On a common sense side of things, I think it'd be the optimal decision, but then looking at it from the business perspective, I don't think that's gonna happen.

 

 

Above all, I hope that it'll be the line we've been waiting for since 2010. With a real story-line, real characters and a real setting.

[Bluest-of-Jayys]

Forget pins and axles. HF has those, albeit in a less prominent role. I want a story.

 

Yes story. I want story. Story good.

 

While Bionicle's storyline did get crazy complex towards the end, it was overall very engaging, kept me riveted, and encouraged me to be creative in my thinking as I was growing up. It'd be nice for younger kids to have something like that they can grow up with as well.

 

If they were to bring the sets back, I'd want to see the gears that made the sets move. I really miss those. Poseability is cool, but so is flicking my brother with Tahu's flame sword with a simple twist of a gear.

[Indigogeek]

We have these rumors of bionicle coming back every year. And while it is an option, I highly doubt it. Personally, I really hope these new constraction theme is bionicle, as do most probably on this fourm, but we probably won't know for a while. :/

[Black Six]

I'm excited to see what LEGO does next with its constraction lines.

 

Rumors are just rumors though, and I wouldn't want to get my hopes up that it's Bionicle and risk being bummed out when it's not.

[Aanchir]

All I really want is for the aesthetic of Bionicle to come back. They can keep the Hero Factory system, but I want to see pistons and notches and grooves and pinholes.

That'd be cool. I loved BIONICLE's high-detail mechanical aesthetics, even if having to think so hard about stylistic consistency made building something aesthetically pleasing (or drawing the characters in a way that looked aesthetically pleasing) a lot more difficult at times. If the LEGO Group could come up with CCBS shells with a high-detail aesthetic and could keep new parts consistent with that aesthetic, it'd be a great way to maintain many of the benefits of the CCBS while still creating something with a uniquely BIONICLE-ish aesthetic.

 

Whatever the new constraction line is, I just want pins and axles back Forget Bionicle, we're compromising now.

Hero Factory still uses pins and axles. Furno Jet Machine, Rocka Stealth Machine, and Evo XL Machine all have lots of them. It just doesn't use them for connecting everything to the extent that BIONICLE did, and the result is shells that are considerably more versatile. For sheer building potential, I'd take a 3M or 5M Hero Factory shell (three connection points, including a ball snap that can be connected at all sorts of angles) over a Toa Metru or Piraka thigh shell (one or two connection points, which can only attach to the front or back of a beam and require an additional pin to do so) any day of the week.

 

And it is impossible to have two major contraction themes in one half of a year, with the Ultra-build sets as an exception possibly.

What makes you think that it's impossible? Frankly, the LEGO Group has stated multiple times that it is a goal of theirs to be able to support multiple constraction themes running concurrently. But at the same time, you're right, BIONICLE and Hero Factory would probably be too similar to run concurrently. Even with their aesthetic differences, they're both basically robot-building kits based on futuristic action-adventure stories. Knights' Kingdom, Chima, Super Heroes, and even Ben 10 all focused mostly on creating more lifelike armored heroes rather than robotic-looking ones, so they did not run into the same problem.

 

And setwise, I think something with Slizer/Roboriders building style would be very welcome, especially if you compare the 2008/9 vehicles to the 2001 Rahi. Muaka and Kane-Ra: Giant functions where their heads snap forward to tear off masks; Thornatus V9: A few guns and a function where the wheels snap out. Functions need to return.

Functions are still around in many Hero Factory sets. In last year's HF sets, Bruizer had a swinging arm just like the Toa Mata or Knights' Kingdom action figures — not gear-driven, but still activated with a switch on the back. Dragon Bolt had a flapping wings function much like the 2003 Gukko set. Jet Rocka had a gear function that would adjust the angle of its wings and blasters. This year, Evo XL Machine has a gear-driven waist very similar to that of the 2003 Makuta set, and Surge & Rocka Combat Machine appears to have folding wings that work similarly to the various flex-rod-driven functions of the 2004 titan sets. This year's Chima constraction sets also include wing functions similar to that of the Nivawk. Overall, functions like this are not a universal feature of the sets like they were in BIONICLE between 2001 and 2005, but they're arguably even more common in today's constraction sets than in similarly-priced sets from 2006–2010.

 

(FIX THE DARN CRACKED JOINTS)

That's already been taken care of, so no matter what the new 2015 constraction theme turns out to be, that shouldn't be a problem. There are not any of the brittle pre-2011 joints still in production, and any new joint pieces will almost certainly be designed according to the standards established with the 2011 sets. Edited May 7, 2014 by Aanchir: Rachira of Time

[Just A Dot]

#HalfLife3Confirmed

 

But really, I don't see it happening, and if it does, I probably won't care all that much.

[CriticalMOCer]

I personally think that it is possible, but I am currently not old enough to help them create the sets, or help them restart the story, two things that I can do.

[NorikSigma]

Unless Bionicle's return is well-though-out, I'd rather not have it return.

 

Anyway, rumours are rumours and speculation is speculation. We'll have to wait and see. I'm excited for LEGO's future either way.

[25K Now!]

Its chances at returning are miniscule at best.

 

Don't take these rumours into account without reliable sources, especially if they originate from the dark bowels of the Internet known as "Youtube Comments".

 

It's true that I hold a pretty soft spot in my heart for BIONICLE (I grew up lying on the floor building sets and pulling them apart to make weird looking creatures, after all), but I'm not really too big a fan of its return these days. Mostly because I can't enjoy it like I could back when I was in primary school. I can't just stop what I'm doing and construct sets anymore. I can't just randomly pester my parents to shell out cash to buy overly expensive action figures.

 

I'd be happy if it returned, but for now, I'd prefer it didn't.

 

(Because I have waaaay too many things to distract me already.)

[Wazdakka]

No. There is no reason for it to return over a brand new IP, sadly.

[Underscore]

Huh. I DID hear about these rumors, from TTV. If I remember correctly (which happens rarely), the news cam from a EuroBricks post that had a link to an entry on Christian Faber's blog. I don't have time to look it up now, but if it is, I would consider it a reliable source. For the news that a new constaction line is starting, that is, and not necessarily Bionicle returning.

 

The continuation of Bionicle is, unfortunately, a rumor, and we all know how rumors are.

[Aanchir]

Unless Bionicle's return is well-though-out, I'd rather not have it return.

I hear this opinion a lot. My opinion is slightly different. Considering how much more difficult a successful BIONICLE revival would be than creating a new theme from the ground up, I am confident that BIONICLE wouldn't be brought back unless the LEGO Group were prepared to devote the appropriate thought and care into doing so.

[Tahu3.0]

If Bionicle were to come back good for us but hero factory has been alive for 4 years and that is the set that kids from this generation buy well if the story was continuing from the ending now imagine a 6 year old buying a bionicle he wont know the story i bet that the 6 year old wont know watt is the island of mata nui.

[Aanchir]

If Bionicle were to come back good for us but hero factory has been alive for 4 years and that is the set that kids from this generation buy well if the story was continuing from the ending now imagine a 6 year old buying a bionicle he wont know the story i bet that the 6 year old wont know watt is the island of mata nui.

That's one of the challenges, yes, but it IS possible to tell a new story in an existing universe without requiring people to know any backstory. It can be difficult, since you have to try and keep all your fans on the same page, but it's not impossible.

 

The Legend of Korra (which started in 2012) is one good example. It exists in the same universe as Avatar: The Last Airbender (which ran from 2005–2008) and references the events of that series regularly, but it can still be enjoyed without having seen the earlier series, since it fills you in on whatever backstory happens to be important. Of course, A:TLA can potentially be easier for new fans to discover than classic BIONICLE, since its story was largely consolidated in one medium rather than spread out across a bunch of disparate media.

 

Alternatively, a series can go with a full reboot. My Little Pony Friendship is Magic has borrowed some characters and other story elements from earlier My Little Pony toys and cartoons, but it does not share a universe or a timeline with any of its predecessors. However, I don't think this would be appropriate for BIONICLE, because so much of its appeal came from how deliberate much of its story was. If you completely reinvent the franchise while only keeping a sparse handful of details from the original series, it stands to lose a lot of what made the BIONICLE brand name mean something special in the first place. And since today the LEGO brand has a much stronger reputation than the BIONICLE brand anyway, there's no sense in calling a brand-new, unrelated theme BIONICLE when it could just be marketed as a new and independent LEGO theme.

[Tahu3.0]

and if bionicle were to come back it wont be the same because i bet that it will have the hero factory 2.0 body.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Makaru

[Kelanich]

Seriously, people still can't get over the end of Bionicle?

 

The series is dead, deal with it.

 

Like one wise man said:

 

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

 

So let's try to keep our favorite toyline alive in our hearts.

 

(God it's so cheesy, I'm going to puke.)

[Ziontyro Metalhead]

The problem with bionicle coming back is that it needs a story. The story was one of the main reasons why people got into the line and once it ended, there was no way to bring it back easily.

With themes like Castle and other lines that get rebooted so often they don't need very much if any story behind them.

Unless they have come up with a good enough story to be both nostalgic and not too complicated, then I say that this rumor is very unlikely.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

 

Unless Bionicle's return is well-though-out, I'd rather not have it return.

I hear this opinion a lot. My opinion is slightly different. Considering how much more difficult a successful BIONICLE revival would be than creating a new theme from the ground up, I am confident that BIONICLE wouldn't be brought back unless the LEGO Group were prepared to devote the appropriate thought and care into doing so.

 

 

How is your opinion different exactly? You're both saying you wouldn't want it back unless it had a good story.

 

Something I agree with entirely.