Continuation vs. Reboot

[Makuta_of_Oz]

Ignoring all the evidence we've seen thus far, what kind of story would you prefer should Bionicle come back?

 

Close if dupe. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it was.

[dotcom]

Definitely a reboot. It's really the only logical course of action. A continuation to a ten year long story that will have been over for 5 years would be a remarkably terrible idea, especially considering that that was kind of the reason it ended in the first place. No, a reboot would be far better, especially if they take the opportunity to do away with some of the dumber aspects of the setting (gender-exclusive tribes and no romance).

[bonesiii]

I wish people would use more clear terms. Greg has used "reboot" to refer to Bara Magna (a leap to a new location), and the idea of a time-jump into the future, but a lot of people on here seem to tend to use it to mean going back and doing a new version of 2001+ plot. And some have used "continuation" only to mean "pick up exactly where we left off", which wouldn't really work.

 

I voted continuation because it seems clearer as meaning "set in the future", versus a re-imagining.

[Dapper-Sama]

Aw, I picked continuation instead of reboot on accident. I wanna re-vote.

[The Lorax]

I myself would love to see a continuation, but I think that some kind of reboot (a la bones's post) is much more likely.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

I chose reboot. Its the only realistic option I see Lego doing if Bionicle does come back.

[xccj]

I'd want to see a reboot, something of a Legend of Korra style, where they don't completely disregard the old continuity, but the focus is clearly on different character, different setting, ext. In that regards, the 09 Bionicle reboot was kinda okay, because there was only the one character from the old universe... but the whole conflict of the old universe was what drove Mata Nui. We need a new conflict too, I guess. Makuta better stay dead this time.

 

[Makuta_of_Oz]

OK, so what I meant by a reboot was one with absolutely NO ties to the original story. Different universe, different canon, different everything.

 

By "continuation" I meant a new story set in the future with the same canon. Not necessarily the immediate future, but still after the events of the Battle Of Bara Magna.

[NorikSigma]

Continuation.

 

The story still has so many places to go if it continued. A reboot would feel like discarding the old stuff for some reason.

[Makuta Miras]

Continuation. I want Velika to become a Toa and then, in a spark of perfect irony, be killed by Marendar. And if Velika takes Marendar with him into death, it would tie up two plot ends at the same time. Perfect.

[Alyska]

Voted reboot. Really hoping that they reconsider some aspects of the worldbuilding, particularly with regard to gender ratios.

[Toatapio Nuva]

Reboot, as long as they keep the general idea and species the same. A continuation would not work.

[Oroki]

At first thought, I would have liked to see something in-between, but then I was reminded of how TLR turned out and I went for reboot.  It would be nice if the old fandom wouldn't be completely ignored, though.

[AdaptingChaos]

I wish people would use more clear terms. Greg has used "reboot" to refer to Bara Magna (a leap to a new location), and the idea of a time-jump into the future, but a lot of people on here seem to tend to use it to mean going back and doing a new version of 2001+ plot. And some have used "continuation" only to mean "pick up exactly where we left off", which wouldn't really work.

 

I voted continuation because it seems clearer as meaning "set in the future", versus a re-imagining.

Completely agree with you! 

I voted continuation for the exact same reason.

Edited July 30, 2014 by AdaptingChaos

[fishers64]

Continuation. 

 

I'd be cool with a time-jump, but I think that the new SM has "Storyline Potential Unlimited" that I would like to see harnessed. 

Edited July 30, 2014 by fishers64

[Narglepuff the Protector]

Reboot

 

It makes little sense to go back to a convoluted storyline when you're trying to attract new fans. Though, of course, it wouldn't be hard to set the new story far enough into the future that only the most important aspects of the old story would remain relevant.

[Methaxx]

A continuation a bit into the future would be great.

I'd be ok with a reboot ONLY if they let Greg continue the story serials so we can find out what happens with the Toa Mahri, Gelu's team, Velika, etc etc. We can't just forget about all those stuff!

[MIY]

Reboot, the story got too complicated by the end, it wouldn't make any sense for Lego to start a line when half if not over half of the audience won't know what's going on.

[CeeCee]

If done right, a continuation. Though this doesnt seem the case, the best way to do this would be to make the Toa Mata Turaga, a new Toa Team the Toa, who have to save the Mahrii. Much like Vakama sent Jaller and co to look for the Nuva in 06. Sort of a parallel you know?

[Boidoh]

But the Mahri already got out of the illusion trap thing from the gold skinned being.

[ankyfdarkness]

Reboot, no question about it. A continuation (even one set in the "far future") seems like an unbelievably bad idea to me.

 

Bionicle's story, for lack of better words, was a mess by the ending. Plot points were unfinished, characters were effectively discarded (Piraka and Toa Marhi in that terrible Golden Being side story, and the Makuta in Karda Nui), Tahu was randomly reverted into a Toa Mata (because the set designers wanted him in that form, and a poorly conceived story reason was tacked on as to why), and the Bara Magna "reboot" just ended up complicating the story unnecessarily. Three other planets, and a bloated backstory as to how they were all once "whole", in addition to introducing three new, and unneeded, species (Skrall, Agori, and Glatorian) who were essentially the same fare as Toa, Makuta, and Matoran. It all felt clumsy. 

 

A fresh start in a "reimagined" 2001 setting is much more preferable than tacking on more garbage to the behemoth that was Bionicle's 2001-2010 ongoing story. A behemoth that was crushing itself under its own weight. Basically, I want to leave that world behind so there's no baggage from the previous years.

None. At. All. 

 

Yes, I am a little bitter still at the way Bionicle ended in 2010. Yes, I love Bionicle's story dearly, but only someone oblivious would argue that there wasn't issues with the way the plot was handled. 

 

2015 fresh start, here we come!

Edited July 31, 2014 by ankyfdarkness

[boston100]

I want it to be a continuation but i think it will be a reboot. [bones: potential leaked content removed.] Also i cant see lego explaining 10 yeasrs of story to new fans just to keep the old ones happy. I think they will do what worked before.

 

Reboot, no question about it. A continuation (even one set in the "far future") seems like an unbelievably bad idea to me.

 

Bionicle's story, for lack of better words, was a mess by the ending. Plot points were unfinished, characters were effectively discarded (Piraka and Toa Marhi in that terrible Golden Being side story, and the Makuta in Karda Nui), Tahu was randomly reverted into a Toa Mata (because the set designers wanted him in that form, and a poorly conceived story reason was tacked on as to why), and the Bara Magna "reboot" just ended up complicating the story unnecessarily. Three other planets, and a bloated backstory as to how they were all once "whole", in addition to introducing three new, and unneeded, species (Skrall, Agori, and Glatorian) who were essentially the same fare as Toa, Makuta, and Matoran. It all felt clumsy. 

 

A fresh start in a "reimagined" 2001 setting is much more preferable that tacking on more garbage to the behemoth that was Bionicle's 2001-2010 ongoing story. A behemoth that was crushing itself under its own weight. Basically, I want to leave that world behind so there's no baggage from the previous years.

None. At. All. 

 

Yes, I am a little bitter still at the way Bionicle ended in 2010. Yes, I love Bionicle's story dearly, but only someone oblivious would argue that there wasn't issues with the way the plot was handled. 

 

2015 fresh start, here we come!

Also in my headcannon i never considered 2010 cannon. It just didnt fit in with the story. Also i agree with you, by the end bionicle was to complicated for its own good. ALso if there was a reboot i would want to see more non combat emphisis like 2001-3. The mata nui online game 2 was really amazing, after about 2005 all it seemed to be was fight fight fight. Edited July 31, 2014 by bonesiii

[Primis]

I'd prefer a continuation, if for no other reason than because I'd hate to see all the world building that Faber and the story team did go to waste.

[Element Lord of Milk]

I think I'd prefer a sort of "soft reboot" where it still takes place in the same continuity, but the events of the past are so far back as to be irrelevant to the new story, mostly just functioning as extended backstory.

[Toa R. Lih Nit]

A total reboot is more likely but in my heart I want a continuation (or just a closure in the serials)

[NorikSigma]

Continuation. I want Velika to become a Toa and then, in a spark of perfect irony, be killed by Marendar. And if Velika takes Marendar with him into death, it would tie up two plot ends at the same time. Perfect.

He's a Great Being. They don't transform into Toa.

[ToaKapura1234]

but hes possessing a matoran which could (and in the kingdom did) become a toa.

[bonesiii]

I'm surprised at how well the reboot option is doing. Still not sure if everybody means by that restarting in 2001, but since some people have made cases for that, here's a competing case for a (distant future) continuation:

1) The main secret is already out -- the giant robot. Its reveal will now have a much greater chance of being spoiled for new fans if they try to reimagine old story, no matter how all the more trivial details are changed, and it won't surprise old fans either. Bionicle was always built around this core premise, and the mystery revealing it.

2) But the story we got opened up vast potential for new mysteries that old and new fans alike could be mystified by. We now have a much wider world and I for one am very curious about what they could make of its tantalizing potential.

3) The end we got also set up the main setting now to be strikingly similar to 2001. Some of the same vibes of a total reboot can be there in a continuation. We have all the Toa "Mata" (the characters... there is that stickler about Tahu not being a Nuva like the others to confuse things, though, but they might just return to calling them Toa Mata as being more meaningful than Nuva), and we have a lush world of nature. "Robots" (biomechanical beings) in nature was the original draw of 2001, and that can be there in a future continuation.

4) The old story had the trouble of sets that HF solved with the ability to upgrade, but the Toa Nuva near the end were given a way to do the same sort of thing -- the adaptive armor. This could be built into the world more to keep using those characters, and/or others if the same sort of thing is done for them. This solved the problem that the old years often had of the oddness of Toa needing transformed all the time just to keep having sets of those characters. The adaptive armor instead would make it odd if we didn't keep getting new sets for them, and has a built-in collectability factor for roleplayers.

5) It's often brought up that there were problems in old story, but LEGO's learning from those problems should help future story regardless of what form it takes, and some mistakes could still happen either way.

6) And with a time jump into the future, there would really be no need to explain old plot to new fans. There's these beings and they live on this world, and bad stuff starts. From there we only really need explore the new features of new story; the rest can just be taken as the world that is. Also, remember that 2001 also came with a lot of backstory, and we didn't need to know that then either. Some of the basics could be included as cultural enrichment if they want, but new fans wouldn't actually need to know it.


Are there still problems with this? Sure, but there's also problems with every alternative. Of course, all of this could be moot if in fact it isn't returning. But that's some of why I'm excited about the possibility of a 'continuation' and I hope a lot of fans will share that enthusiasm.

(On the other hand, if it's a reboot, I wouldn't entirely mind. It just seems more like that comes out of nostalgia of old fans, which new fans wouldn't have, rather than really being a wiser move for LEGO. )


FTR: Personally I suspect Velika, Marendar, etc. would not be involved, except maybe in side plot or if Greg ever does finish the current serials as a side project. I get why people suggest that kind of thing, as it's what we know now, but basing theories on a future-set return on what we know isn't really reliable, since new story would probably be new to all of us. I think that would all be distant past at the point of a return plot. Could be wrong, though.

Edited July 31, 2014 by bonesiii

[Adventurer]

Fresh start (reboot) with links to the old stuff - I took that as the first option. However, thematically and canon wise I'd definitely want it to remain consistent with the original series.

[tomdroidser]

I would like a continuation because there are many serial cliffhangers, but I wouldn't mind a reboot as long as the Olmak excuse can be used.

 

-Tomdroidser

[Wazdakka]

Continuation for sure. Why squander all the beautiful work and lore that we've gotten so far by simply ditching it for a reboot?

[NorikSigma]

Continuation for sure. Why squander all the beautiful work and lore that we've gotten so far by simply ditching it for a reboot?

Exactly. A reboot would discard all the well-crafted story that's been in the making for ten whole years.

 

A continuation is, in my opinion, better.

[doodleloot]

Definately a continuation, but set far enough in the future to make what happened before unimportant to the story. Things like the reawakening of Mata Nui could still be referenced as legends or tales.

[Boidoh]

Continuation in the far future. It can begin something like this:

 

In the time before time, on our wonderful home, there was a great war that destroyed the entire planet and had it split into three. Then the Great Beings constructed a massive 40 million foot robot to observe the stars and planets and find a way to fix the shattered world. During that time inside the metal giant were outrageous robot wars, beings dying and risking them selves to save others. The Great Being had unknowingly created a new species. A powerful evil then put the metal giant to sleep and had him slumber for a thousand years. Brave Toa heroes from inside the robot fought their way through for the only solution, the Kanohi Ignika, to save the dying spirit of the robot. Brave Toa Matoro selflessly gave his life to resurrect the great form, but as Turaga Dume was giving his speech in the great city of Metru Nui, everyone heard a voice they thought they would never hear again. The evil Makuta replaced the great spirits mind with his own version as he was about to awake and now ruled the body of the great spirit, forgetting his true destiny. He shot the Ignika along with the great spirit's mind out into Solis Magna and thought he would never hear from him again. Mata Nui then formed a new body with the help from the Ignika, found new friends and found his history on the planet of Bara Magna. He then gathered shattered remains of an old prototype of the Great Beings and fused them back together to make Spherus Magna whole. Then Makuta came, the two robots battled but the true great spirit was the victor. Makuta accidentally had the two moons get back onto the path of Bara Magna and had not noticed. Then on the ground brave Toa Tahu used a special weapon and decimated almost all of Makuta's forced. Distracted, Mata Nui pushed Makuta into a fragment of a moon of Bota Magna, and that was the end of his tyranny. Mata Nui blessed the land of Spherus Magna with life and vegetation, and went dormant into the Mask of Life.

 

Something like that could be explained at the begining of a TV show, comic, novel or anything. If in a TV show it wouldn't take longer than 10 minutes and thats the only real necessary information. If you want the specifics, then you could go read that 10 years of story. If not, it wont affect you at all.

But obviously if it takes place far into the future, there has to be something in between.

 

You know what should happen?

 

Wait for it....

 

Aliens!

 

During Mata Nui's journey in the cosmos he observed several planets which had living forms and they observed him. Some races decided to follow him and then launch an attack on where ever he came from. Then one day the did attack.

 

Aliens Vs. Robots. That will get the kids' attention!

[V-N]

I think only a reboot would work. Not of the original story- a completely new one, with new characters and plot, with only some aspects (i.e. the concept of Matoran and Toa) remaining. It breaks my heart if we have to leave behind some of our dear beloved characters. But I don't think BIONICLE can not come back with the same complex story, several years removed from the last update. Nor can TLG bring back a bunch of characters that don't have sets on the market; the whole point of the story is to promote the sets, and I don't see (or want) all the major characters undergoing another plot transformation so as to be re-released again.

[bonesiii]

Something like that could be explained at the begining of a TV show, comic, novel or anything. If in a TV show it wouldn't take longer than 10 minutes and thats the only real necessary information

See, that's the kind of argument that I think is actually turning people off to a continuation. None of that information, other than maybe that some of the people you see now are artificial lifeforms and others predate those, and that there was a great conflict/trouble in the past that was resolved, is actually necessary for new fans, and why spoil all of it by recapping it anyways? (Better to let them explore old story on their own time, I think, and not know what happens next as they do, if they choose to.)

 

I think instead that they should do occasionally nods toward it sprinkled throughout the story, but no massive paragraph-block type recaps like what you just put up there. I dunno if that looks short to you, but it's pretty looooong.

[Kaxix]

A continuation is something that most of the Bionicle fans (just like me) would prefer. However if I had to be realistic, I'd say that the only possible way for a return is a reboot. That means going back to the Mata or something similar since I don't see the point of calling "BIONICLE" a completely new story.

[Ballom Nom Nom]

Reboot, all the way. Ignore the bloated mess of the previous story and start fresh.

 

~B~

[Jakura Nuva]

I stand for continuation 98%. I had no problems with the previous story, and I'd like to see it continue.

 

However, though I'd like to see it return as a continuation, a reboot in the future wouldn't be bad.

[toa kopaka4372]

I'm surprised at how well the reboot option is doing. Still not sure if everybody means by that restarting in 2001, but since some people have made cases for that, here's a competing case for a (distant future) continuation:

 

1) The main secret is already out -- the giant robot. Its reveal will now have a much greater chance of being spoiled for new fans if they try to reimagine old story, no matter how all the more trivial details are changed, and it won't surprise old fans either. Bionicle was always built around this core premise, and the mystery revealing it.

 

2) But the story we got opened up vast potential for new mysteries that old and new fans alike could be mystified by. We now have a much wider world and I for one am very curious about what they could make of its tantalizing potential.

 

3) The end we got also set up the main setting now to be strikingly similar to 2001. Some of the same vibes of a total reboot can be there in a continuation. We have all the Toa "Mata" (the characters... there is that stickler about Tahu not being a Nuva like the others to confuse things, though, but they might just return to calling them Toa Mata as being more meaningful than Nuva), and we have a lush world of nature. "Robots" (biomechanical beings) in nature was the original draw of 2001, and that can be there in a future continuation.

 

4) The old story had the trouble of sets that HF solved with the ability to upgrade, but the Toa Nuva near the end were given a way to do the same sort of thing -- the adaptive armor. This could be built into the world more to keep using those characters, and/or others if the same sort of thing is done for them. This solved the problem that the old years often had of the oddness of Toa needing transformed all the time just to keep having sets of those characters. The adaptive armor instead would make it odd if we didn't keep getting new sets for them, and has a built-in collectability factor for roleplayers.

 

5) It's often brought up that there were problems in old story, but LEGO's learning from those problems should help future story regardless of what form it takes, and some mistakes could still happen either way.

 

6) And with a time jump into the future, there would really be no need to explain old plot to new fans. There's these beings and they live on this world, and bad stuff starts. From there we only really need explore the new features of new story; the rest can just be taken as the world that is. Also, remember that 2001 also came with a lot of backstory, and we didn't need to know that then either. Some of the basics could be included as cultural enrichment if they want, but new fans wouldn't actually need to know it.

 

 

Are there still problems with this? Sure, but there's also problems with every alternative. Of course, all of this could be moot if in fact it isn't returning. But that's some of why I'm excited about the possibility of a 'continuation' and I hope a lot of fans will share that enthusiasm.

 

(On the other hand, if it's a reboot, I wouldn't entirely mind. It just seems more like that comes out of nostalgia of old fans, which new fans wouldn't have, rather than really being a wiser move for LEGO. )

 

 

.

This all the way. Excellent summary of why a continuation, one set after a long time skip, is preferable. It'll keep the old, epic more of original BIONICLE while still keeping it new for both old and new fans. Spherus Magna is an entire PLANET that remains largely unexplored. There could literally not be a better set up for future story.