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Should LEGO Reboot Themes?


aldero

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Remakes and reboots are kinds of buzzwords for disaster these days, aren't they? But... they sometimes work. Just look at Dredd and Batman Begins. The only thing is that you have to both respect the property and do something different with it. So, without further ado, I will purpose a few ideas for beloved themes that should be rebooted.

 

#1: Alpha Team

 

Yeah, Ultra Agents would eventually have to move out of the way for this to be welcome, but I still believe that this theme deserves to see the light of day again. After all, it was the original Agents theme. The original story is nothing special and is frankly quite dated, but that's why I think it deserves a reboot. LEGO could breath some fresh new life into this theme that has been discontinued for eleven years as of now.

 

#2: Exo-Force

 

Now, this is a beloved theme. This one may be the youngest of the very small batch, but it probably has the most potential. I don't even need to explain why this is a good idea. It's EXO-FORCE: The LEGO series starring mech suits, a mountain split in half and a golden robot, all in an anime style. Make it happen.

 

#3: Knights Kingdom

 

Yeah, we kinda sorta need this theme to be rebooted. It is, without a doubt, the best Castle theme ever. And hey, it has a story. It's at the very least digestible. 

 

Those were just some classics that I immediately thought of. Do you think LEGO should reboot younger themes like Atlantis, or really old themes like Adventurers? Tell me what you think.

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I don't think adventures would be rebooted any time soon, Lego has the rights to produce Indiana Jones sets, which adventures was always based off of. I'm all for rebooting all the others you suggested however. I would also like to see Slizers, but Bionicle kinda puts them out of the market, unless the Slizers are included into the Bionicle mythos or become the hero factory like replacement when G2 finishes.

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I don't think adventures would be rebooted any time soon, Lego has the rights to produce Indiana Jones sets, which adventures was always based off of. I'm all for rebooting all the others you suggested however. I would also like to see Slizers, but Bionicle kinda puts them out of the market, unless the Slizers are included into the Bionicle mythos or become the hero factory like replacement when G2 finishes.

 

Oooo... a Slizers reboot? I'd like to see that. Maybe even Galidor. Fair point on the Indiana Jones thing though. I mean, the new movie is two years from now, no point in cramming an Adventurers reboot in there.

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I think LEGO could be at least somewhat successful with any reboot they make—including Galidor. The thing is, I just can't see any big holes in their lineup of themes that could be rectified by bringing back some old lines.
 
Exo-Force may yet make a comeback just because it's very different, and CCBS gives more possibilities than those click-joints ever did.

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i don't see an Exo-Force reboot happening. it was one of those things that Lego tried once, and while it was pretty successful, the concept was so far out of left field that it probably won't happen again, at least not in the exact same form. especially not now, because Ninjago is currently filling a somewhat similar role in Lego's lineup, and it's way more popular than Exo-Force ever was.

 

Knights Kingdom is a definite possibility, i think, because Lego tends to cycle through various incarnations of their medieval lines, and KK seems like it's due for being the next one. the story and characters would definitely help it in Lego's post-Bionicle G1, story-centric lineups.

 

Alpha Team? nah. every few years Lego puts out another secret agent line, each with no relation to the rest and all pretty derivative. IMO just because AT was the first doesn't really mean it deserves a reboot.

 

Sumiki is right that Lego technically could reboot just about any theme and make it successful at this point (biggest toy company in the world etc etc), but i think right now Lego is more focused on creating new lines, and that's a good thing. currently, they have three majorly story-driven lines, each with an original concept, and it's not unlikely that the number of these themes could increase in coming years. i'd much prefer that over a reboot of, say, Exo-Force (a line that i adored in its heyday) with a shoddy story that would likely die out quickly.

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They already do reboot themes occasionally. Space Police, Pirates, and Castle have each been rebooted several times. Granted, those aren't as story-driven or character-driven as the examples you listed.

In my opinion, the decision to reboot a theme depends heavily on the circumstances. How popular was the theme when it was new? Are the things that made each theme what it was timeless (will kids today still enjoy them as much as kids back then)? Does the theme stand out sufficiently from the themes that are already currently on the market?

 

As much as I loved Exo-Force, I'm not sure it meets all those qualifications. The theme's futuristic Asian-inspired world and focus on battle machines mean that it might not stand out sufficiently from LEGO Ninjago, which I don't see going away in the near future.

 

I'm not sure how popular Knights' Kingdom was in the first place, to be honest. It was certainly never popular with AFOLs, and the next iteration of LEGO Castle did everything it could to distance itself from its cartoony, character-driven predecessor. Granted, LEGO Castle has diminished greatly since then. Maybe a more story-driven Castle theme is what LEGO needs to breathe new life into that category. But even so, it might be safer to craft a new story with an entirely new name and mythos than to try re-imagining a theme that never made a big positive impression in the first place.

 

I don't know if Alpha Team was ever particularly successful, since it came out at a time when the LEGO Group as a whole was struggling and had very few profitable themes. Obviously, the LEGO Group saw enough promise in the theme to keep it going for three story arcs. But was its appeal really something unique to it, rather than to secret agent themes in general? Also, LEGO Ultra Agents has not met sales expectations, which has led the LEGO Group to cancel the theme's final wave in Europe and Australia. While that means that a rebooted Alpha Team theme would not be competing with another secret agent theme, it also could be an indication that the popularity of character-driven secret agent themes in general has diminished.

I don't know if I dare make a guess at what LEGO themes might merit a reboot. Bionicle is one of the few story-driven themes I know of that was exceptionally successful. And with other themes, their probability of success depends heavily on whether their subject matter is trendy. Part of the reason LEGO Ninjago came out when it did is that the LEGO Group observed a spike in ninja-related toys and media. I don't really have my finger on the pulse of pop culture, so even if I knew a theme that was successful enough in its day to merit revisiting, I doubt I'd have a sense of what would be appropriate and timely for today's pop culture climate.

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Lego hasn't done any real robotic-y things other than Mindstorms lately.  I'd love to see Spybotics come back--I'd totally give my money for a revamped one of those.  The cost for technology wouldn't make it uber-expensive either (reference: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1598272670/chip-the-worlds-first-9-computer/ ).

 

Granted they'd probably find some people modding them and making Frankenbots, but still...

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The legacy themes (Space, spies, pirates, knights, and sometimes mining) always come back in some form or another.

I don't mind that.

 

Now that that's out of the way, I'm rather disappointed that BIONICLE is back, or at the very least, so soon.

It feels like LEGO just wanted to cash-in on fans of the series instead of bringing back a beloved theme.

Plus, BIONICLE had a good ending. A moon rock straight to the brain-bucket.

Awesome!

 

On another note, I never really got into Exo-Force when it was out, but I'd love to see it come back!

 

I'd also like to see Mars Mission and a Crystalien Conflict 2!

 

And the #1 thing I want back? The fantasy novel style Castle theme! With Orcs, Dwarves, and Skeleton armies!

That was awesome!

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As said above about Lego Indiana Jones, they own the rights to that...but I would LOVE for the Adventurers/Orient Expedition to return. I loved that theme. I liked Lego Island/Extreme Stunts as well (mainly for the computer games).

 

Lego has done the castle theme, pirates, etc.

 

What if they did a wave of the Roman Empire or the Greek Mythology? Or even some sets based upon Percy Jackson & The Olympians (which would include the previous 2 ideas)?

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The legacy themes (Space, spies, pirates, knights, and sometimes mining) always come back in some form or another.

I don't mind that.

 

Now that that's out of the way, I'm rather disappointed that BIONICLE is back, or at the very least, so soon.

It feels like LEGO just wanted to cash-in on fans of the series instead of bringing back a beloved theme.

Plus, BIONICLE had a good ending. A moon rock straight to the brain-bucket.

Awesome!

 

On another note, I never really got into Exo-Force when it was out, but I'd love to see it come back!

 

I'd also like to see Mars Mission and a Crystalien Conflict 2!

 

And the #1 thing I want back? The fantasy novel style Castle theme! With Orcs, Dwarves, and Skeleton armies!

That was awesome!

 

A Mars Mission reboot? YES. YES. YES. That must happen. I've been itching for a space theme for a couple of years now. Probably because I (regrettably) missed out on Galaxy Squad. 

 

And with the Fantasy-style Castle theme, there's talk of a Fantasy Era castle theme returning in 2016. Not the Castle theme itself, but still in the vein of dwarves, skeletons, dragons and such.

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As mentioned somewhere above, Lego typically reboots the "legacy themes" every once in a while. Along with this, they also seem to continue the "spirit" of certain themes; Alpha Team-Agents-Ultra Agents, Life on Mars-Mars Mission, Rock Raiders-Power Miners, etc. 

Even if a theme isn't "rebooted" per se, there's a good chance that the main concept will recur sometime in the following decade. 

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Anything space! There are so many rich space themes that have their own unique styles and such that together they would create an amazing universe. I'd like to actually see a new simple "Space" theme where they sell ships from different factions and such, so in one wave you could find something from Spyrius, Blacktron, Space Police, Classic Space/Federation, etc...

 

I feel like there are so many stories that can be told, and I've been tying together timelines and ideas in my mind. It'd be open enough for kids to make their own stories, yet can come with books and comics to tell separate ones (Flippin' Jim Spaceborn, c'mon!).

 

In addition to this, I've found that Lego benefits heavily from having shared universes/themes in the same timeline. Knights Kingdom and Alpha Team are connected through Vladek and Ogel. I like this especially because they're such radically different themes, but it tells a story that no matter how much time, technology, people, the world, and so much more changes, there will always be a force of good and evil in this Lego world. The themes can be independent and have totally different styles, but have little easter eggs that give a little smile/chuckle. (I'd also like to mention my fan theory that Kazak is leader of Blacktron from the Jim Spaceborn comic and that the Blacktron Space Villain fron Collectible Minifigs series 3 is an updated version of him. He's also either a genetic or spiritual successor to Vladek/Ogel considering the red eye and claw.)

 

Knights Kingdom has a real special place in my heart, and there's no way I could say no to it. I loved the story as a kid, and it was just plain cool for me.

 

I'd love to see Exo Force come back some time in the future, after Ninjago. It just has too much potential in my eyes to be ignored. If not Exo Force, at least a spiritual successor that has a similar concept.

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I'm not sure how long the contract to make Indiana Jones sets was, and considering that they started in 2008 I could easily imagine it being void.

 

Interesting choices all around, considering Exo-Force and Knight's Kingdom (II, I'm assuming?) were some of my favorite themes. You could decently remake KK with the void of Castle sets as of recent (since it wouldn't be a huge stretch to make them).

 

Exo-Force is a different story because a story line reboot might not work very well. I'd love to see modern Exo-Force designs, though to be honest I was not a fan of how the designs evolved over time. The Golden City arc had decent sets but I missed the interior technic build, and the Jungle sets were a good idea that didn't work out too well in my opinion. Not that they were bad, I just really enjoyed the first year a lot more.

 

Also, like someone said earlier, the similarities between it and Ninjago thematically might be too much for it to work. I feel like they're reasonably different enough, but I'm just doubtful it'd happen.

 

I'm glad someone jokingly mentioned Galidor, because unlike many themes, Galidor could actually be redone very well. I feel like it would have benefited from a series of system sets (such as a brick built TDN module, a Dreejal Vin playset, or even an escape from Kek set) with a supporting series of larger action figures. It'd take a bit of figuring out to create a better series of figures (that honestly would benefit from being similar to BIONICLE sets in that they're primarily stand alone models meant to be one character). Printing and parts design is finally at a place where accurate pieces could be made as well, which would make their designs less uncanny valley (coughsNICKcoughs).

 

Plus they could actually resolve character arcs and finish the story. Brick built sets would definitely work well, although the glinching aspect would be left more to the action figures rather than the minifigs.

 

There's the rant on Galidor none of you guys probably wanted, but I've always been behind the idea that Galidor was a good idea that was poorly executed (almost entirely on Lego's part too, I may add)

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I'm down for a new space Multiverse a la the 90's.

 

But dude, I really want a new Exo-Force thing. Except maybe move away from the anime-inspiration towards something more like Pacific Rim. Gimme multinational teams fighting giant AIs or Kaiju and I am so there.

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