Why did Macku get bumped?

[Jalajohn]

Okay gang, I used to be hella into Bionicles since the beginning when the first McDonalds toys came out.

I truthfully stopped being into it much in about 2007 or so, but in the last few years there’s kind of been a memetic nostalgic remembering of Bionicles that ripples around the Internet occasionally, and everyone once in a while in moments of boredom I’ll browse old Bionicle wikias and marvel at how complex the story got post 2003.

One strange little thing I’m very curious about after these adventures into the lore is how did Macku end up getting dumped by the plot line in favor of Hahli? 
 

I recall how the old McDonald’s Matoran eventually became major characters and Toa, but I found it kind of funny and strange how Hahli kind of replaced Macku out of that set of characters.

I can’t find anything really on the internet that talks about Macku getting demoted in favor of Hahli over the years, and it seems more or less arbitrary to me, as none of these characters are particularly “deep” (I’m sorry).

 

[TERIDAX941]

Couldn't say for certain, however, Hahli was a minor character in MoL, and the main character of MNOG II, which may have raised her popularity in the fan base. Macku certainly seems to be more popular in the early days of BIONICLE, with her being one of the first characters you meet in MNOG. They both were part of the 2003 matoran sets, but perhaps Hahli sold more, and so they decided to include her in the Inika instead of Macku. Who can say?

[TuragaNuva]

Hahli was likely chosen to become one of the Toa Inika because she was more widely known due to her significant presence in the Mask of Light movie. Similarly, Nuparu was likely chosen over Onepu due to Nuparu having had more of a presence in story material post-2001 (particularly in the Bohrok animations).

[Lenny7092]

I believe Hahli and Nuparu are chosen to be Toa Inika and then Toa Mahri because they, Jaller, Matoro, Kongu, and Hewkii all wear the same masks as the Toa Mata. Lol. Also, Hahli is the main character in the Mata Nui Online Game 2, and she has a special friendship with Jaller. Nuparu is an important character in the 2002 story arc, as he is the one who invented the Boxors, which are useful tools for the Matoran to fight the Bohrok themselves. It’s a pity that Macku and Onepu did not become Toa Inika because they were among the first Matoran sets, but they are always Nokama’s and Whenua’s right-hand Matoran, respectively. Hafu, Taipu, Kopeke, Kapura, Tamaru, and Macku could have become Toa Inika because they were the Chronicler’s Company, but like I said about Macku being Nokama’s right-hand Matoran, and Hafu, Taipu, Kopaka, Kapura, and Tamaru are the other ex-Toa-Metru Turaga’s left-hand Matoran. 

[Alyska]

IIRC there was an official poll asking about favourite Matoran from each element, and Hahli was more popular than Macku, probably because of Mask of Light and MNOG 2. 

[Lorentz]

When did Macku ever have the spotlight? MNOG?

[TERIDAX941]

3 hours ago, Lorentz said:

When did Macku ever have the spotlight? MNOG?

That and the Bohrok animations.

[chuckschwa]

I thought it was always interesting that all of the McDonald's Tohunga had the kanohi of their respective Toa in a new color, except Maku. She didn't have a Kaukau like Gali, and her color was blue, just like Gali. The reason for this? I'm not entirely sure. My theory is that Maku was supposed to have blue-violet feet (2002 Jango Fett, Galidor Egg vehicle color) with a transparent blue-violet Kaukau, based on an old LEGO part inventory list. Why they never went with this color and mask? Perhaps it was one of the many items canned during the mid-late 2001 production line (not sure if it had to do with new management, LEGO putting more materials towards other themes in case Bionicle failed to save them from bankrupty, or the economic/social disruption of the September 11th terrorist attacks).

Why Hahli replaced Maku? I believe that, initially, Maku was meant to go on the Mask of Light quest with Jala and Takua in the movie because early drafts of MOL had Hahli traveling with Jala and Takua as well. She was one of the first Tohunga introduced to us in MNOG, so it would only be fitting that Takua's closest/oldest friends would go on his quest with him. Between the Miramax producers, the script writers, and perhaps LEGO designers, it became clear that it was easier/better to create a new Ga-matoran character in place of Maku. The reason for this? Again, no clear idea. Hahli literally "pops up" in the last couple 2002 Bohrok animations, and then gets put through tests with kids under the Templar Studios staff to see if they would still play a MNOG sequel if the player was a girl "with a purse or satchel".

Understanding why Hahli exists as a character you need to also understand why Takua, Ahkmou, and Nuparu exist. I think the initial plan with the Tohunga was that there were only 2 named characters per tribe: Kapura and Jala, Kotu and Maku, Hafu and Huki, Taipu and Onepu, Kopeke and Matoro, Tamaru and Kongu. All of these names are based on Pacific islander languages like Maori, Hawaiian and Rotuman. Takua, Ahkmou, and *arguably* Hahli and Nuparu are not, since their names were introduced after the Maori lawsuit with LEGO. Takua exists because of MNOG and the GBA game; he was a player character that became a character. Ahkmou was retconned as the unamed Koli ball salesman in MNOG much later. Nuparu was made for the Boxor set, which is why his colors are unique compared to early depicitons of Onu-matoran. Also, according to the LEGO inventory list I mentioned earlier, there could have been 2 additionally named/unnamed matoran in sand green and sand violet that were never produced. The prodcut comes first, the story and name of the character is second, and everything else follows after.

I think Hahli may be the exception though. It possibly hinges on the idea that the writers/producers wanted a female character that was "sweet on Jala" and since Maku and Huki were already an item, a new character or a rewrite was in order. It could also be since LEGO and Miramax planned to turn Takua into the 7th Toa, that a new Chronicler was needed, and that Hahli was created to fill that role. I highly doubt that LEGO planned to do anything major with the Inika matoran back in 2001-03, since the initial plan was to end the Bionicle story in 2003. And then even when the decision to continue the story after the Mask of Light was decided, they focused on Vakama and the other Turaga for the next 2 years. You have to remember that while one toy is being released, the next one is already well into development. When the time came to continue the story moving forward, Hahli and Nuparu were fresh on everyone's mind at LEGO. The mask colors may have had some play in this too (especially with Nuparu, since Onepu's old purple color was discontinued).