Rumor: Bionicle's return in 2015

[J46 Nui]

If comics are coming back, I doubt it would be like it used too. Last time I checked, they stopped carrying any sort of comics with the Lego Club Magazine, and somehow I doubt that they will start carrying them again. Considering how short, scarce, and incomplete the comics were getting '07 onwards, I would not want them to return that way anyway.

 

I do believe that, with the success that Ninjago has been having, the main story telling media for the relaunch will be a TV series. So I expect Bionicle comics will take a similar approach to the Ninjago ones. I predict that the new Bionicle comics will be released in collections by Papercutz and contain self-contained side stories. Greg would probably be the writer for these too.

 

 

Now there is another way that comics could return, but this is just wishful thinking on my part based on observations of other toy-lines that were relaunched. There could be a regular, monthly, retail comic book that caters to the older generation of fans. Now this may seem far-fetched, but there are good reasons why such a thing could come into existence. Long running toy franchises such as Transformers, G.I. Joe, and a ton of others have comic books, but the majority of their comics are targeted to the older generations of fans rather than the kids. It takes a much smaller audience to make a successful comic compared to other forms of media, and I am pretty sure I read somewhere that comic readers tend to be older these days. Also, another reason that I believe the free comics disappeared was that they were getting too expensive. But if the comics were sold at retail, Lego could actually make a profit from them. Plus, Lego now has a bunch of connections with the two biggest names in comic books. Lego also has a bigger presence in comic book stores these days with all the variant covers coming out and more collector-based licensed toys coming out.

[Nato G]

You know, I only shared my fears about Greg not being on the story team so you lot could tell me that I was wrong, and chastise me for being such an idiot. You have failed to do that, and now I'm really worried about what 2015 is going to be like...

[doodleloot]

You know, I only shared my fears about Greg not being on the story team so you lot could tell me that I was wrong, and chastise me for being such an idiot. You have failed to do that, and now I'm really worried about what 2015 is going to be like...

 

Greg isn't the only person in the world who is a capable writer for Bionicle. I like his work but I think the series could seriously use a little fresh air.

Edited August 20, 2014 by doodleloot

[Irrie]

 

You know, I only shared my fears about Greg not being on the story team so you lot could tell me that I was wrong, and chastise me for being such an idiot. You have failed to do that, and now I'm really worried about what 2015 is going to be like...

 

Greg isn't the only person in the world who is a capable writer for Bionicle. I like his work but I think the series could seriously use a little fresh air.

 

The community will need some time to get used to the new person. Even if they're better than Uncle G, they'll probably have a different style. 

[doodleloot]

 

 

You know, I only shared my fears about Greg not being on the story team so you lot could tell me that I was wrong, and chastise me for being such an idiot. You have failed to do that, and now I'm really worried about what 2015 is going to be like...

 

Greg isn't the only person in the world who is a capable writer for Bionicle. I like his work but I think the series could seriously use a little fresh air.

 

The community will need some time to get used to the new person. Even if they're better than Uncle G, they'll probably have a different style. 

 

 

Of course, but instead of holding onto the past for nostalgias sake, I think people should be more embracing to change and give it a chance instead of rejecting it simply because it's not what they're used to.

[NorikSigma]

Honestly, if the writer's good, I don't care if they're a convicted Martian felon or not. Pass me the books please.

[Nato G]

 

 

 

You know, I only shared my fears about Greg not being on the story team so you lot could tell me that I was wrong, and chastise me for being such an idiot. You have failed to do that, and now I'm really worried about what 2015 is going to be like...

 

Greg isn't the only person in the world who is a capable writer for Bionicle. I like his work but I think the series could seriously use a little fresh air.

 

The community will need some time to get used to the new person. Even if they're better than Uncle G, they'll probably have a different style. 

 

 

Of course, but instead of holding onto the past for nostalgias sake, I think people should be more embracing to change and give it a chance instead of rejecting it simply because it's not what they're used to.

 

 

Okay, yeah, good point. I've just realised how hypocritical I sound, when I've been advocating acceptance of change in a few other topics yet fearing the worst on the off chance that Greg isn't involved with the new story. I'm sure you're right. Just because something is different doesn't mean it's bad.

 

I've decided to stop worrying too much about what Bionicle 2015 will be like, and just delight in the fact that it's coming back in the first place. 

[Liopleurodon]

Don't know if anyone's brought this up yet, but if Bionicle were to come back next year, I think it would also be really cool if they had Bionicle vans again like back in 2003.

[NorikSigma]

I'm on the other side of the planet.

 

It still wouldn't benefit me

[Flex Lord Splash]

 

 

Just a piece of info regarding their story direction for the reboot of Bionicle-

 

The story could very well be intended for a slightly older audience. Since the older children/teenagers will be interested in the theme, then the younger children will want to be a part of it. This means that instead of going the more childish approach that Hero Factory had, the new Bionicle could be more similar to the original in terms of maturity. However, it won't work the other way around.

 

Heard this from Farshtey himself.

 

Or, on the other hand-

 

It would be interesting to see two different constraction themes run side by side, both focusing on a different demographic. Maybe Lego will run the new theme (presumably Bionicle) alongside with Hero Factory and see how they do, and if their sales don't cannibalize maybe they could keep both running together at the same time.

 

I find this highly unlikely. I don't thik LEGO has the money to run 2 constraction themes at the same time. Besides, if one makes more success than the other, one of them will begin to suffer with low sales.

 

LEGO has run two constraction themes at the same time many times in the past when they had even less money than they do now:

• BIONICLE and Galidor (2002)
• BIONICLE and Knights' Kingdom II (2004–2006)
• BIONICLE and Ben 10: Alien Force (2010)
• Hero Factory and Super Heroes (2012)
• Hero Factory and Legends of Chima (2013–2014)

It's true that many of the secondary constraction themes the LEGO Group runs are offshoots of existing themes, and that they're generally very different than one another in terms of content (with one, either BIONICLE or Hero Factory, focusing on robot-like characters, and the other focusing on organic human, animal, or alien characters). However, the LEGO Group has stated multiple times that it is a goal of theirs to run multiple constraction themes side-by-side, and with their business booming like it is currently, they're more equipped to do it now than ever before.

 

I do not, however, think that BIONICLE and Hero Factory would coexist in the long term. There might be a year of overlap at best, and even that's being optimistic. It would be very easy for the similarities to confuse buyers and it might result in one theme cannibalizing the other's sales. Furthermore, I feel like the effect of demographic differences would be negligible. BIONICLE and Hero Factory might have targeted slightly different audiences in terms of story, but the sets have always been aimed at nearly the same age range. I do not expect that to change with the new constraction theme — not when the LEGO Group has had fifteen years to learn the buying habits of constraction fans and has scarcely changed their strategy one bit in that time.

 

 

danggg I remember Galidor. I had some of them. I feel like it was canceled quickly, I always wanted to remember the name for that line but it has always escaped me.

 

I feel like Lego has enough money after the Lego Movie to run two lines at the same time.

[Nato G]

I think I read somewhere (although I can't be sure, so please don't quote me on this) that Lego doesn't have plans to end HF this year, meaning it will still continue into the next. Perhaps HF will pursue the minifig/mech system they established this year with Invasion from Below, and Bionicle will take up the mantle of build-able figure. Then there's still two lines going at once, using the same pieces in completely different ways. '

 

Perhaps bringing back Bionicle is a bit of a test, to see which proves to be more popular: the HF minifig/mech layout, or the CCBS build-able figures. Didn't they do something similar with Galidor and Bionicle when it was first released? They both came out around the same time and the one with the more popular building system ended up surviving... for almost a decade after. 

[Irrie]

Don't know if anyone's brought this up yet, but if Bionicle were to come back next year, I think it would also be really cool if they had Bionicle vans again like back in 2003.

I'm not hardcore enough to drive one of those vans and not feel ridiculous. 

[Sir Kohran]

 

 

If comics are coming back, I doubt it would be like it used too. Last time I checked, they stopped carrying any sort of comics with the Lego Club Magazine, and somehow I doubt that they will start carrying them again.

 

Is that definitely true?

[J46 Nui]

 

If comics are coming back, I doubt it would be like it used too. Last time I checked, they stopped carrying any sort of comics with the Lego Club Magazine, and somehow I doubt that they will start carrying them again.

 

Is that definitely true?

 

Nope. It is just a mix of my feelings and observation on how the Bionicle/Hero Factory comics ended and how Lego deals with the Ninjago comic.

[Aanchir]

danggg I remember Galidor. I had some of them. I feel like it was canceled quickly, I always wanted to remember the name for that line but it has always escaped me.

 

I feel like Lego has enough money after the Lego Movie to run two lines at the same time.

Well, it's not really a matter of how much money the LEGO Group has. It's more a matter of what they think the market can bear. If there's not enough demand for constraction to support two complete themes, then one might end up cannibalizing the other's sales, and neither theme would perform to its full potential. We've already seen that the US market couldn't support the Chima constraction sets as well as was hoped, hence why they didn't come to this side of the pond this year.

[Makaru]

The books by Hapka felt very odd. I was reading them and it just didn't feel interesting, it didn't feel like Greg.

This is particularly why I enjoy Hapka's books.

[Jakura Nuva]

 

The books by Hapka felt very odd. I was reading them and it just didn't feel interesting, it didn't feel like Greg.

This is particularly why I enjoy Hapka's books.

 

 

Agreed.

[Nato G]

Arg, I'm so tired of waiting. I need more fuel for my hype fire! 

 

Is anyone else feeling frustrated like this, or is it just me? I'd absolutely love some new information, even if it was just another blurry leaked image. But I'd really prefer it if Lego decided to give up hiding it, and just give us an official announcement, or better yet, release some decent quality pictures of the new sets.

 

The suspense is literally killing me. 

[Irrie]

Arg, I'm so tired of waiting. I need more fuel for my hype fire! 

 

Is anyone else feeling frustrated like this, or is it just me? I'd absolutely love some new information, even if it was just another blurry leaked image. But I'd really prefer it if Lego decided to give up hiding it, and just give us an official announcement, or better yet, release some decent quality pictures of the new sets.

 

The suspense is literally killing me. 

Hang on there. Its probably going to be released January of 2015, or something like that. Only a few months. 

 

 

The books by Hapka felt very odd. I was reading them and it just didn't feel interesting, it didn't feel like Greg.

This is particularly why I enjoy Hapka's books.

 

Forgive me for my ignorance (I haven't reread my books in a while), but I found Uncle G's books to be a little more fleshed out than Hapka's. 

[toa kopaka4372]

I prefer Greg's books largely because they were more exciting and most importantly, because they had better characterization and character development IMO. I just felt that Greg understood his characters better than Hapka, who rarely dug beneath the surface of the characters she was writing. I still like her books, as they are what inspired me to read the rest of the books and indeed read in general, but today I can't enjoy them as much as Greg.

 

Honestly, as long as Greg is still writing at least some books for a new BIONICLE line, I probably wouldn't mind him not being on the story team as much. 

[ToaDraco]

I may get backlash for this but I loved Greg's books. I would hope that he would be on the team again. I have been away from Bzp since Bionicle's demise and am just now returning at the prospect of Bionicle's return so I'm still rather confused at the animosity toward Greg in the past few years. Honestly, if Bionicle does indeed return I would HATE if it was a reboot, I would much rather have it set way into the future on Spherus Magna. 

[Jakura Nuva]

I may get backlash for this but I loved Greg's books. I would hope that he would be on the team again. I have been away from Bzp since Bionicle's demise and am just now returning at the prospect of Bionicle's return so I'm still rather confused at the animosity toward Greg in the past few years. Honestly, if Bionicle does indeed return I would HATE if it was a reboot, I would much rather have it set way into the future on Spherus Magna.

 

Why would you get backlash? I think a lot of us agree

[Willess12]

A writer understands their own characters best.  I often find, when writing Bionicle fanfics, that I do better with characters with no pre-development, like the MNOLG II Matoran, or my own characters, than with, say, Tahu or Kopaakaa. And this is being said by a human who is not good at all at describing personalities.

 

Off-topic: is Cathy Hapka still a writerr?

 

~W.12.~

[Aanchir]

A writer understands their own characters best.  I often find, when writing Bionicle fanfics, that I do better with characters with no pre-development, like the MNOLG II Matoran, or my own characters, than with, say, Tahu or Kopaakaa. And this is being said by a human who is not good at all at describing personalities.

 

Off-topic: is Cathy Hapka still a writerr?

 

~W.12.~

Yes, absolutely. She was never a LEGO employee to my knowledge, though — she's a freelance writer. She has recently resumed writing chapter books for LEGO, though, this time for the LEGO Friends theme (the second and third chapter books were hers, as is the sixth which is coming out next year).

[toa kopaka4372]

 

A writer understands their own characters best.  I often find, when writing Bionicle fanfics, that I do better with characters with no pre-development, like the MNOLG II Matoran, or my own characters, than with, say, Tahu or Kopaakaa. And this is being said by a human who is not good at all at describing personalities.

 

Off-topic: is Cathy Hapka still a writerr?

 

~W.12.~

Yes, absolutely. She was never a LEGO employee to my knowledge, though — she's a freelance writer. She has recently resumed writing chapter books for LEGO, though, this time for the LEGO Friends theme (the second and third chapter books were hers, as is the sixth which is coming out next year).

 

She's resumed writing for LEGO? That's news to me. I'm curious as to whether or not her writing style has changed over the past decade...

[Aanchir]

 

 

A writer understands their own characters best.  I often find, when writing Bionicle fanfics, that I do better with characters with no pre-development, like the MNOLG II Matoran, or my own characters, than with, say, Tahu or Kopaakaa. And this is being said by a human who is not good at all at describing personalities.

 

Off-topic: is Cathy Hapka still a writerr?

 

~W.12.~

Yes, absolutely. She was never a LEGO employee to my knowledge, though — she's a freelance writer. She has recently resumed writing chapter books for LEGO, though, this time for the LEGO Friends theme (the second and third chapter books were hers, as is the sixth which is coming out next year).

 

She's resumed writing for LEGO? That's news to me. I'm curious as to whether or not her writing style has changed over the past decade...

 

Well, I'm sure her writing style for the LEGO Friends chapter books is very different than her writing style for the BIONICLE chapter books simply on account of what she's writing. There are some traits that all of an author's works tend to have in common, but it's a mistake to assume that the way an author wrote at one point is the only way they were capable of writing. As an example, Greg Farshtey's Legends of Chima storybooks have an entirely different tone from his Hero Factory chapter books, even though they were released relatively close to one another (the Hero Factory chapter books started in 2012 and ended in 2013, while the Chima storybooks started in 2013 and are still continuing this year).

 

Even Neil Gaiman, one of my favorite authors, not only writes dark, eerie fantasy stories for all ages like Coraline, a children's chapter book, The Sandman, a critically acclaimed comic series, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, his most recent adult novel, but also lighthearted and whimsical kids' picture books like Crazy Hair, Chu's Day, and Fortunately, the Milk. And he has written other books that don't quite fit into either of those categories, like Marvel 1602 (literally a Marvel superhero story set in the seventeenth century).

 

Sometimes, the better an author is, the more versatile they are. So if the new BIONICLE does feature stories by Greg Farshtey, it's a mistake to assume that they'll have the same assets and flaws that characterized his older stories. And if it's not, well... you can never be sure just how much any author is capable of until you give them the reins.

Edited August 21, 2014 by Aanchir

[Squill da squid]

i think as long as its good story im absaloutly fine if Greg is on or off the story team.... altough i do think Greg was a good part of the story team.

[Nato G]

I hope Greg still does the serials, at least. They were fun. Maybe he went a little far, at times, but I liked the way he threw together characters from different years and forced them to work together (Federation of Fear was a favourite of mine). I'd still like some sort of conclusion be made to those unfinished serials, too. 

[Jakura Nuva]

I hope Greg still does the serials, at least. They were fun. Maybe he went a little far, at times, but I liked the way he threw together characters from different years and forced them to work together (Federation of Fear was a favourite of mine). I'd still like some sort of conclusion be made to those unfinished serials, too.

 

If we get the serials, that is.

[Toa Zaz]

Greg's books were genuinely good, and certainly improved over time. Even though the output diminished, some of his later stuff like Journey's End was great. It was the web serials where the story became awful because he didn't plan in out ahead of time and was unwilling to update them on a reasonable basis. But Greg's prose had an efficiency to it while delving deep into the mythology and exploring characterization on occasion, which the Hapka books really lacked.

 

I agree that the comics were definitely not ideal mediums for telling the story. Really, they were just a few illustrated versions of scenes from the books. As a reader of the books I did enjoy them a lot, however.

 

Lego has shown in the past that whenever they "replace" something, typically it's for cost reasons or whatnot and the new one is inferior (Tinseltown Toons was worst than Miramax, but far better than Ghost). Maybe a new author could be as good or better than Greg, but I doubt it, especially as Lego seems reluctant to maintain a complex and sophisticated storyline for their contraction figures.

 

What I'm REALLY worried about is that there's not going to be ANY books, or comics, or media through which the story is told whatsoever. Lego might just put out the sets, no marketing or anything, and when the sets don't sell they'll pull the plug.

Edited August 22, 2014 by Toa Zaz

[Nato G]

It was all the different media outlets that made Bionicle so well-known and widespread. It was the theme that saved the company, and one of their longest-running and most popular themes ever. I doubt Lego would bring it back but not advertise it in any way whatsoever. 

[ToaDraco]

I certainly hope we get plenty of books, comics, videos, and maybe even more movies. That is what really fleshed out the story and made it so great. I also hope to get an awesome new Bionicle video game from TT, maybe one in the style of the system LEGO games. Also I would love it if new movies were more like the first 3 miramax ones, those were great and I loved how they altered the character designs to make them feel more like living things and not walking toys like the 4th one. Plus the 4th one just didn't have the soul of the first 3.

[believe victims]

 

I hope Greg still does the serials, at least. They were fun. Maybe he went a little far, at times, but I liked the way he threw together characters from different years and forced them to work together (Federation of Fear was a favourite of mine). I'd still like some sort of conclusion be made to those unfinished serials, too.

If we get the serials, that is.

 

 

God, I hope not. The serials were the worst offender as far as making Bionicle's story a gnarled mess.

[Nato G]

I honestly didn't mind the serials. They gave me something to do in-between reading the novels and buying the sets, and the way they forced diverse characters from different years to work together was really inspiring. Admittedly, it did go a little too far in some cases, but I never saw Bionicle becoming a "gnarled mess". I understood it all perfectly, and I was still only in primary school at the time. I think it's a matter of opinion. Some people like certain character,s others don't. Some people like Hapka's books, others don't. Some enjoyed the serials, others didn't. 

 

Personally, I did, although there were some things (*cough, alternate universes, cough*) that I could have lived without, so I would love to see more serials in the future.

[J46 Nui]

I posted this in another topic recently: I believe that it was a mistake to make the least newcomer-friendly story media the easiest one to access.

 

I did enjoy the serials, for the most part, but I do feel it would have been better if the content in the serials were flipped with the books. That way, the easier to understand main story that also promoted the sets would reach a larger audience, while the side stories that catered to existing fans would be presented in a format that only existing fans were buying anyway. Plus, this is basically what Lego does with its story centered themes nowadays; the main story is presented in an easily accessed media (television), while side stories are presented in comics and books.

 

Another thing of note is that I do not believe that the worst parts of the serials were Greg's fault. The story team required Greg to end every chapter on a cliffhanger, which lead to a lot of the more pointless deaths and developments. I feel that the serials would have been much better without that requirement.

[Nato G]

I think another problem was that the main story did still have some impact on the progression of the serials. Greg only wrote them when he had the time between working on other projects anyway, but I imagine that the larger story team would have made decisions that would have impacted the serials as well.

 

That said, I like your idea about presenting the man story in the potential TV series and the serial style serials and side adventures being presented in book form. That's a cool idea, and I think it might work better than the previously existing system. 

[Irrie]

I've never been a big fan of TV shows. Usually the scripting and dialogue is terrible, and the concept is campy. 

Plus, whenever I've seen Bionicle portrayed in a movie, all of the Matoran sound like children. That really bugs me, since most of them are several thousands of years old. 

[Boidoh]

 

 

The books by Hapka felt very odd. I was reading them and it just didn't feel interesting, it didn't feel like Greg.

This is particularly why I enjoy Hapka's books.

 

 

Agreed.

 

 

What do you have against Greg?

[fishers64]

 

 

 

The books by Hapka felt very odd. I was reading them and it just didn't feel interesting, it didn't feel like Greg.

This is particularly why I enjoy Hapka's books.

 

 

Agreed.

 

 

What do you have against Greg?

 

Liking Hapka's books doesn't mean that people have stuff against Greg (as in, opposing him). They simply prefer Hapka to Greg - as in like Hapka better, but that doesn't mean that they have a personal beef with Greg.

 

Just because I like steak better than chicken, doesn't mean I'm going on a personal campaign to eradicate chicken from the markets or whine about chicken farmers or otherwise oppose the production of chicken.

 

I do like Greg better than Hapka, but I like 2004 much better than 2001-03, so I figured that was clouding my judgement a little. I did like Tales of the Masks much better than the other Mata Nui books, but I generally felt it was a side-story type that could be developed as more fun as opposed to the dry events Hapka had to tell. While I did enjoy the MoL novelization and some of the events of the other books, in the end I give a slight edge to Greg.

 

* * *

As for the serials/TV containing the main story and books telling side stories, I'm inclined to agree. Some of the side-story-telling books are actually the most fun (Voyage of Fear and Time Trap, anyone?) so I agree that storytelling approach could work well for that. 

 

I'm not sure they would do online serials with the main story, though, seeing as it has not been done before. I'd think they would be more likely to do a TV series than do that.  

[Jakura Nuva]

 

 

 

 

The books by Hapka felt very odd. I was reading them and it just didn't feel interesting, it didn't feel like Greg.

This is particularly why I enjoy Hapka's books.

 

 

Agreed.

 

 

What do you have against Greg?

 

Liking Hapka's books doesn't mean that people have stuff against Greg (as in, opposing him). They simply prefer Hapka to Greg - as in like Hapka better, but that doesn't mean that they have a personal beef with Greg.

 

Just because I like steak better than chicken, doesn't mean I'm going on a personal campaign to eradicate chicken from the markets or whine about chicken farmers or otherwise oppose the production of chicken.

 

I do like Greg better than Hapka, but I like 2004 much better than 2001-03, so I figured that was clouding my judgement a little. I did like Tales of the Masks much better than the other Mata Nui books, but I generally felt it was a side-story type that could be developed as more fun as opposed to the dry events Hapka had to tell. While I did enjoy the MoL novelization and some of the events of the other books, in the end I give a slight edge to Greg.

 

* * *

As for the serials/TV containing the main story and books telling side stories, I'm inclined to agree. Some of the side-story-telling books are actually the most fun (Voyage of Fear and Time Trap, anyone?) so I agree that storytelling approach could work well for that. 

 

I'm not sure they would do online serials with the main story, though, seeing as it has not been done before. I'd think they would be more likely to do a TV series than do that.  

 

 

This. I have nothing against Greg - in fact, I love his work. But something different isn't something bad.

Edited August 22, 2014 by Jakura Nuva