Jump to content

Mata Nui was a Robot?


Firebolt391d

Recommended Posts

I realize that I'm a little late in finding this out, but... Mata Nui was a Robot? I have so many questions! 

So, the other day I saw a video on youtube of Michael Dorn narrating the full story of Mata Nui (...and, yes, I have known that Dorn starred in the film The Legend Reborn, but apparently I did not look into the plot of the movie enough to know about there being a GIANT ROBOT!), but I heard this video where he explains how Mata Nui was a giant robot, and how a Makuta took over his entire body, and it fell over (and many other details such as its face becoming the island of Mata Nui, and all of the Matoran forgetting about their original purpose of keeping the robot under control).

Was this voice narration by Dorn some kind of deleted content that was never actually used in the series? Where did it come from? (I knew about the film they made called The Legend Reborn, but all of this about a giant robot was way over my head.) 

Is all of this extra stuff about the "Great Beings" and "Spherus Magna" fan fiction, or is it official to the series? And when did this happen in relation to the Bionicle series ending? Are there / were there any lego sets of these so-called "Great Beings" ever sold?

This also makes me wonder things like: was this part of the story line created from the beginning, and hidden from the viewers until like 2009? When they mentioned Makuta casting Mata Nui into a "deep slumber" in first generation Bionicle media, did they actually have this storyline in mind the whole time, or was this some last-minute expansion of the story? Is this something anyone could guess?

Thanks for reading this. The whole extra story line kinda blew my mind!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://biosector01.com/wiki/Great_Spirit_Robot

https://biosector01.com/wiki/Great_Beings

Mata Nui being a giant robot was the big plot twist of '08, as was Terry taking over his body. "Mata Nui" is actually Maori for "big face," and the name was intended to foreshadow that the island was just covering the GSR's face from year 1.

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1

Rule #1: Always listen to Kek.

Rule #2: If you break rule #1, kindly don't.

Rule #3: EVERYBODY TYPE IN THE CHAT "AVAK IS A STUPID TRIGGER"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recommend watching this playlist to get the main story of Bionicle. For a much more thorough take, I also recommend reading the Biological Chronicle compilation, which has all story material in the ideal reading order. These two are great ways to get into the lore.

To answer the questions themselves:

Quote

Was this voice narration by Dorn some kind of deleted content that was never actually used in the series? Where did it come from?

After The Legend Reborn came out, Bionicle was cancelled. As part of a last wave, they released these Dorn narration bits to provide a bit of exposition regarding the overall story, and its (hasty) ending. But it's canon.

Quote

Is all of this extra stuff about the "Great Beings" and "Spherus Magna" fan fiction, or is it official to the series? And when did this happen in relation to the Bionicle series ending? Are there / were there any lego sets of these so-called "Great Beings" ever sold?

It's official, and it happened right at the end. No Great Being sets were sold, though they're officially the same species as the Glatorian, so they might as well have been.

Quote

This also makes me wonder things like: was this part of the story line created from the beginning, and hidden from the viewers until like 2009? When they mentioned Makuta casting Mata Nui into a "deep slumber" in first generation Bionicle media, did they actually have this storyline in mind the whole time, or was this some last-minute expansion of the story? Is this something anyone could guess?

As previously mentioned, it was all planned from the beginning. It's one of the biggest reasons most of us hold Bionicle to such a high regard, as it was a mind-blowing plot twist that was built up for 8 years, and wonderfully executed. Again, I recommend watching the playlist I linked and reading Biological Chronicle to get an idea on the build-up.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To recap:

The twist was planned out for sure from BIONICLE's inception. Among my favorite hints is the two "suns" closing like eyes in the Legends of Metru Nui film. The Great Beings have been present since the beginning of BIONICLE, too. Nothing was ever said of them except that they were the only beings above Mata Nui. The details about Spherus Magna and the Shattering probably were not as fleshed out so early.

It must be so strange seeing The Mata Nui Saga for the first time without proper buildup. I can see why you thought it was fanfiction. The twist was handled very well for those who witnessed it, but it must seem totally out of left field to take the whole story in as a whole now.

  • Like 1

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

nichijou2.jpg

Click here to visit my library!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you, Toatapio Nuva. You answered all of my questions! This was incredibly helpful.

And Master Inika, I had followed Gen1 and Gen2 Bionicle pretty closely when I was younger, but I must've stopped following the story around Gen3. Some of these details you mentioned are really cool to me - in particular the two "suns" closing up in the Legends of Metru Nui - as I did not remember noting this detail back then.

Anyways, it is nice to know that these are legit to the story and canon, and really quite cool to see that it was planned since the beginning. Thanks for all of your answers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Firebolt391d said:

Thank you, Toatapio Nuva. You answered all of my questions! This was incredibly helpful.

And Master Inika, I had followed Gen1 and Gen2 Bionicle pretty closely when I was younger, but I must've stopped following the story around Gen3. Some of these details you mentioned are really cool to me - in particular the two "suns" closing up in the Legends of Metru Nui - as I did not remember noting this detail back then.

Anyways, it is nice to know that these are legit to the story and canon, and really quite cool to see that it was planned since the beginning. Thanks for all of your answers!

Gen1 ran from 2001 to 2010, while Gen 2 ran from 2015 to 2016, and had absolutely nothing to do with the story of G1 at all. What Gen3 are you talking about? Or are you referring to "generation" as "a year?"

~Your friendly, neighborhood Shadow

 

sotpbanner.png

~Credit for Avatar and Banner goes to

NickonAquaMagna~

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, The 1st Shadow said:

Gen1 ran from 2001 to 2010, while Gen 2 ran from 2015 to 2016, and had absolutely nothing to do with the story of G1 at all. What Gen3 are you talking about? Or are you referring to "generation" as "a year?"

Oh, you are right. Pardon my terminology, I am not very well acquainted with the specifics.

Yes, when I referred to "gens 1 and 2," the closest interpretation of this would be "films" 1 and 2 (but also film 3), or more specifically years 1-4 (2001 to 2005). Somewhere I thought I had read something about those three films being grouped into two set collections... (in my mind, I had grouped them into "Mata Nui" and "Metru Nui" distinctively). But alas, I obviously do not know the specifics or the technicalities of the actual sections of set or media releases. Thank you for pointing this out.

Edited by Firebolt391d
Link to comment
Share on other sites

No worries. We usually just refer to the story arcs by their year of release (i.e. Metru Nui is '04-'05, Bara Magna is '09-'10, etc). But anyway, as mentioned above, if you want more info, definitely give BS01 a lookthrough, or read through the Biological Chronicle compendium. Both good sources, one if you want loads of interconnected information, the other if you want a nice, streamlined approach to the story. Highly recommended.

  • Like 1

~Your friendly, neighborhood Shadow

 

sotpbanner.png

~Credit for Avatar and Banner goes to

NickonAquaMagna~

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/2/2019 at 5:20 PM, Firebolt391d said:

Oh wow. The mask of Life... the mask itself looks like it has an image on its face of the robot standing up, with its arms outstretched. I had noticed that this mask resembled a humanoid figure... but didn't make this connection until now. That's cool. 

I remember how blown my mind was when I noticed it. It's based on the Vitruvian Man, a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci.

  • Like 1

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

nichijou2.jpg

Click here to visit my library!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...