Zeb

I don't think Bionicle can co-exist with Ninjago (a story-based theme with 6 main heroes who use elemental powers that is so popular it has both a TV series with 9 seasons and a theatrical movie) and the Star Wars Buildable Figures. Actually, the latter appears to be ending, and no mention of a new Constraction theme exists in any rumors, so it looks like Constraction itself may be on its last legs. Additionally, thanks to videogames, there are many ways for kids to play as characters and/or play out stories without having to use physical figures. And don't forget sandbox games like Minecraft and Roblox. Now, LEGO (or at least one of the LEGO Twitter accounts, if I remember correctly) said that Bionicle generation 2 sold okay. However, for LEGO, okay sales are not good enough. I think the motto of the LEGO Group is "Only the best is good enough". Bionicle was not selling above average, so it was cancelled. Perhaps cancelling it was actually an attempt to save it for the future, similar to the first time it ended. If it ends while it is selling poorly, retailers may not accept it next time. But if it ends while it is selling well, they probably will accept a new batch of sets. I know some people think that Bionicle generation 2 was poorly advertised, but so was Elves, and yet Elves is still around. The difference is that clearly Elves was successful enough to justify more advertising. I guess LEGO thinks that if a line does not sell really good with minimal advertising, there is not enough to be gained by advertising it a lot. I can't say I disagree. It sucks for Bionicle fans, obviously, but from a business perspective it makes sense. As for using the original building system? That will definitely never happen. The original Bionicle system was far less LEGO-like, in my opinion, and I think that is part of the reason why CCBS was created in the first place. But maybe even CCBS is a bit obsolete these days. With the existence of both System ball-and-socket joints using the same connectors as CCBS pieces, as well as the introduction of the Mixel joints, you can do a lot with just System and Technic parts. CCBS is still used in some System sets, but it is mostly just the smaller bone and shell elements, which are usually connected to a System ball/socket joint. Whatever the case, the old specialized everything-has-greebling-molded-into-it Bionicle building system is definitely not coming back. Is there a chance for Bionicle to return in the future? Maybe, but I would not bet on it happening until Ninjago is gone, and there are no current System themes that overlap the market that Bionicle would be trying to target. But given System themes seem to be more successful than Constraction ones right now (which is the opposite of how things were back in 2001), why would LEGO bother making a Constraction theme when they can just make another System one, especially given the continuing success of other LEGO themes, such as Creator, City, DC/Marvel Super Heroes, Friends, Star Wars, and so on... and don't forget Technic. I think the best that Bionicle/Constraction fans can hope for are continued cameos and references in other themes, as well as the continued use of CCBS parts in sets. The latter may end up being the only source of recolors for the next several years, since there are no signs of a Constraction theme/subtheme coming to replace the Star Wars Buildable Figures.

And I thought the release of the movie soundtracks was surprising! WOAH! Time to see if I can get this running through Wine on my Linux partition and/or running on my Windows 10 partition...

At the end of Season 2, we can clearly see the elemental blades are still in the ninjas' possession. (They do disappear off their backs in some scenes, but they come back during the final shot.) The Ultra Dragon is also there, and clearly not dead or anything. Then at the start of Season 3, the ninja are wishing they still had their powers... so... where did the Elemental Blades go? Did they destroy them? Hide them? Did Ronin steal them or something? What happened to them? And what about the Ultra Dragon? One of the students of Sensei Wu's Academy mentions it, and the way that he & Cole talk about it seems to imply that it is both still alive and still in the ninjas' possession. So where did it go? It's been a while since I saw season 3, but as far as I can remember, the Elemental Blades & Ultra Dragon are never heard of again, and no explanation is ever given as to what happened to them. It's obvious there's a time gap between season 2 & season 3, and it is certainly plausible that the ninjas simply destroyed the Elemental Blades during this time. But that doesn't explain the missing Ultra Dragon. Any ideas or theories? Have I missed or forgotten something? Has anyone asked the writers about this... particularly the Ultra Dragon? NINJA EDIT: Oh... I guess I should have done this before posting this topic, but apparently someone DID ask about the Ultra Dragon... https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/790868102946951169

What I want to know is why Kai, Zane, Jay, & Cole lost their elemental powers when they lost the golden weapons, but literally every other elemental user can use their elemental powers with no strings attached. The 4 original ninja only have elemental powers now because Lloyd gave up the rest of his golden power to give it to them or something at the Temple of Light. And as we saw in Season 5, the ninjas' powers are still tied to Lloyd.

This is neat, but I wish they were using USB-C for everything instead of a proprietary connector. The choice to use proprietary connectors may be to avoid liability for anything going wrong as a result of a kid connecting their LEGO products with non-LEGO products. Sort of like how Bionicle launchers were carefully designed so kids couldn't use them to fire sharp or dangerous objects like nails. While for adults it would be cool to open up those kinds of possibilities, a kids' toy has to put a bigger emphasis on safety. That's a good point!

All you have to do is know that I have a wiki page on the LMB wiki to know that I was VERY active on there at one point. I didn't see this coming at all, but since I haven't been very active there lately, how could I have seen it coming? This is kind of sad, but I'm not too upset about it, seeing as that BZP, EB, and all the other Lego-related community sites are still there. Anyway, I strongly recommend that everyone use the "Save Page Now" feature on http://archive.org/web/ to archive anything they want to preserve. I'm currently trying to archive every single page of the Chat with Greg Farshtey topic, and I could use some help.

Well, just found out that apparently the new WeDo 2.0 connectors will apparently be replacing the current Power Functions conenctors as well: https://community.lego.com/t5/TECHNIC/End-of-LEGO-Power-Functions-1-0-Start-of-PF-2-0/td-p/13472482 https://education.lego.com/en-us/support/wedo-2/faqs#core This is neat, but I wish they were using USB-C for everything instead of a proprietary connector.

Neat! This looks to be essentially the successor to the Mindstorms Robotics Discovery Set and Droid Developer/Dark Side Developer Kits from a decade and a half ago. http://brickset.com/sets/9735-1/Robotics-Discovery-Set http://brickset.com/sets/9748-1/Droid-Developer-Kit http://brickset.com/sets/9754-1/Dark-Side-Developer-Kit Also, no mention of the app being available on Win10? There are quite a few people with Windows tablets as opposed to Android/iOS, and Lego's already released multiple apps for the universal Windows platform... not to mention the fact that this would allow for easy programming from a laptop, which some kids may occasionally have instead of a tablet. Well, I guess they might have just forgotten to mention it? Also, it looks like this may be using the WeDo 2.0 connectors... I wonder if they're compatible.

What if Ekimu was originally intended to be the 7th Toa in the original 3-year plan, but the plot was modified when Lego decided to cancel the theme? We already know the ending of Journey to One was rewritten because of the cancellation... maybe that has something to do with it? *shrugs*

Not until someone else pointed them out, but yes. That's pretty neat, and (at least to me) really unexpected as well!

Not sure if anyone has discovered this before, but check this out! https://soundcloud.com/mikeraznick/heroic-theme https://soundcloud.com/mikeraznick/bionicle-the-journey-to-one-makutas-theme

This is just too cool... uh... I mean, this is too hot! Well done! Great job! This animation captured the Templar Studios/2001 feel perfectly, and I really hope you do more! This animation was truly a treat to watch! Thank you for making this, and good luck on your future animation projects!

"Revive X Theme" projects (and projects for more than one set in general) are no longer allowed on Lego Ideas. Someone will definitely try, but it probably won't make it past moderation.

*Insert inspiring post about how Bionicle will always be alive if we as a fandom keep on MOCing and writing and discussing and etc.* But anyway it's really too bad we'll never get that Mask of Ultimate Power. (Someone please create a 3D model and sell it on Shapeways or something! ) I only wish the theme could have lasted just one more year so as to complete its 3-year story arc in the originally intended way. But hey, at least we got 2 years of really amazing sets, fun discussions, competitions, gold masks, and other great Bionicle stuff! And who knows? Perhaps in 5-10 more years, the theme will return again. After all, that is Umarak the way... of the Bionicle. Rest in Pieces Bionicle Gen 2 Leaked Thursday July 2, 2015 Ended Friday, July 29, 2016

Well, it was fun while it lasted, and that's really all that matters, right? It may have only been 2 years, but it was 2 years of some really great sets and some really great times. Too bad we'll never get the Mask of Ultimate Power in brick form though. I wish Lego would have allowed it to last just one more year so we could have completed the 3-year story arc. It's going to be very interesting to see where CCBS goes from here onward... Going to watch the last 2 episodes of Journey to One now... And who knows? 2025 sounds like a reasonable date for another shot at rebooting the theme...