Bionicle 2016 Story Discussion & Rumors

[TwistLaw]

I don't have a specific cast in mind, but let's try:

Tahu: Roberto Draghetti (same VA from the MoL dub)

Kopaka: Francesco Bulckaen

Onua: Alessandro Rossi

Pohatu: Vittorio Guerrieri

Lewa: Fabio Boccanera

Gali: Laura Boccanera (same VA from the MoL dub)

Umarak: Roberto Pedicini

Ekimu: Michele Kalamera

Too bad most of the voice samples you find for them are way off from the voices I have in mind for them.

I'm pretty much ok with this, even though I had to google most of these people (shame on me)... thanks for sharing!

[Volthoom]

Idea for voice actors.

Makuta: Clancy Brown.

Umarak: Crispin Freeman.

[Shakar]

Looking at the comic on Umarak's box, it seems he finds the Mask of Control and actually wears it.

I think that confirms what most people have been assuming, that Umarak betrays Makuta and gets the Mask of Control for himself. But since the main villain is Makuta and not Umarak, I'm sure he's going to bite back.

I think the big plot twist towards the end of the year will be the answer to "Where is Makuta?", and I think it is "He's always been inside the Mask of Control". So he's going to pull something on Umarak, like banishing his spirit away and stealing his body.

[Mesonak]

Looking at the comic on Umarak's box, it seems he finds the Mask of Control and actually wears it.

I think that confirms what most people have been assuming, that Umarak betrays Makuta and gets the Mask of Control for himself. But since the main villain is Makuta and not Umarak, I'm sure he's going to bite back.

I would love to take the comics as official story material, but after LoSS's comic I really can't. :P

[Shakar]

The Gold Skull Spider Mask was mostly a gimmick that was added to the set to make it more attractive, though. It's annoying that we never saw it in the main story, but I doubt its purpose was anything beyond "it helps LoSS control

the Skull Spiders".

Even if the comic isn't canon, I can't see things playing very differently. We know since the start that the Mask of Control is meant to have story significance. And other than Umarak, there isn't really any character with a physical body who could wear it.

[TheDesuComplex]

Wow, I actually REALLY like the idea of Makuta controlling Umarak via the MoCo. It would sort of make sense- what if that's one of the purposes of the mask, to not only let the wearer control other things but to allow the owner to control the wearer... I am also thinking that it could possibly be a pseudo-not-really-homage to Mata Nui's exile in the Ignika.

[Dorek]

I would love to take the comics as official story material, but after LoSS's comic I really can't. :P

I mean, forget the LOSS comic... did the Protectors and the Toa ever "unite"? That was a purely set kind of feature. I can't imagine the beasts won't actually combine in the story here, though.

As for Umarak, yeah, he might put on the MoCo at some point, but we'll see in what capacity. Is he actively hunting for it, like he's hunting the beasts, or does he stumble upon it?

[Zorglorfian]

Does anyone have a fix or a picture of how the 2015 torso armor looks on a 2016 set? Thank you!

Edited December 23, 2015 by Zorglorfian

[DraikNova]

This is the story topic, not the set topic.

[xboxtravis7992]

After seeing all the reviews, and then looking at some other Lego products coming out (Star Wars, Marvel); I feel Umarak is the only great set of this first 2016 Bionicle Wave. I'll get him, and then save my money for The Force Awakens and Civil War stuff I want more. Then when money comes around Kopaka, Tahu, and Gali might be my following Bionicle sets.

Edit;

Oops just relieved this was the story topic... Well the Lego Club pictures down below look interesting.

Edited December 24, 2015 by xboxtravis7992

[Voxovan]

There's a new issue of Lego Club Magazine and on 25 page, there's a sneak-peak of Journey to One! And it looks amazing!

Edit: Also, here's what you get after typing the right code on the Lego Club page:

STRONGER TOGETHER!

United, the Toa and Elemental Creatures prepare to take on Umarak!

“First, we were led by duty…then by Unity with the Elements and their creatures!”

For the Toa, unification with the Elemental Creatures brings vast power over their element and a whole new set of abilities!

For Tahu and Lewa, Unity with their Elemental Creatures brings the power of flight. Ikir the Creature of Fire gave Tahu Fire Crystal Wings, while Uxar the Creature of Jungle passed on special Sonic Crystal Wings, allowing Lewa to escape any threat.

picture

Gali has been gifted new torpedo weapons by Akida, the Creature of Water, to tackle the Shadow Traps in the murky depths of Okoto. Meanwhile by uniting with Terak, Onua has developed valuable crystal claws to burrow through the island’s subterranean tunnels.

For the noble and reserved Kopaka, Unity with Melum brings more powerful ice weapons, as well as the power to freeze water from the air and sculpt the resulting ice. He can also make it snow, but he thinks that’s a bit undignified!

picture

As for Pohatu, Unity brings a special challenge. Ketar the Creature of Stone appears as a Scorpion…his least favorite animal ever! Can he overcome his fears and wield his crystal claw blades?

picture

It was the Elemental Creatures that hid the Mask of Control from Makuta long ago. So the final gift brought by the act of Unity was a vision revealing the mask’s location. The creatures also showed the Toa a new threat…Umarak, the ancient hunter. The Toa will need all their new powers to enter the Labyrinth of Control and recover the mask!

Follow the Toa into the Labyrinth at the home of LEGO® BIONICLE®!

Edited December 23, 2015 by Voxovan

[Aanchir]

Wow, this art style for the Netflix series looks really good. It doesn't feel like a total departure from the sets, but many of the changes it makes feel really tasteful (like solidifying the Toa's lower bodies a bit, filling in some empty spaces, and adding some more color and volume to Tahu and Kopaka's leg armor). I think all the characters besides maybe Lewa look better in this style than they do as sets.

[Tazakk]

Edit: Also, here's what you get after typing the right code on the Lego Club page:

Neat! So Umarak might be a kind of minotaur-esque labyrinth guardian, that makes sense.

Though the Creatures hiding the Mask of Control from Makuta bit does raise some questions. Shouldn't he have been asleep? Maybe he just has a long history of summoning Kulta and Umarak-like minions, so the Creatures built the labyrinth to deter them.

[Dorek]

(I swear, it's always the day AFTER I stop checking the LEGO Club site that these things appear...)

Lots of interesting stuff there. Loving all of the unity poses, and Umarak is an intriguing presence. I don't think he's quite a labyrinth "guardian", but rather seeking out the creatures to find the location himself. Makes me wonder what exactly his end goal is.

[ToaDraco]

I love the look of the Netflix series and I like where the story is going. The Labyrinth of Control sounds like it will be a really cool setting for the winter wave to take place in. Is it just me or do the crystal armor pieces look like the MoCr in the Netflix artwork?

“First, we were led by duty…then by Unity with the Elements and their creatures!”

We all know what's coming in year 3... Destiny!

Edited December 23, 2015 by ToaDraco

[TFGuy89]

Oh sweet! The Netflix series looks awesome!

The style seems to be a type of cel-shading, and in fact reminds me of the YouTube series RWBY, but more intricate. It looks perfect, and I never imagined it could be so good.

And February! That's not too far off! :D

[Shakar]

Character design looks great. Close to the sets, but managing to feel alive. It's somewhat videogame-like, but in a good way.

And I better see an Italian dub of this... and a Japanese one as well.

Nani mono da, KISAMA?

Ore wa Umarakku, ZA HANTA.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Shakar

[Kalhiki]

Yes, loving the Netflix art style. A wonderful blend of set accuracy and stylization. Looks pretty slick!

And new story info! But I still want to know where Umarak came from...

[One Very Agile Cat]

It looks great to me. I wish the sets looked that good, I wouldn't want to mod them!

[Dr_Chronos]

I think the art style is gorgeous. I was worried it was going to be extremely set accurate like the Tahu teaser showed, but I'm happy that it's a perfect balance of artistic liberty and set accuracy. I dig the Cell-Shaded appearance. It makes the CGI less obtrusive. The colors could use a little work, but until we see the movement, lighting, and effects I'll reserve my judgment. I especially like how they filled in the gaps, and bonus points to the team for filling in the shell holes. Makes me wish we had a part like that.

Overall I think the show looks promising in terms of visuals.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Gotta say that poster has me massively excited to see what they do with the characters.

Something I find quite curious is some of the artistic liberties they take with the sets, some more notable than others, that better convey the ideas of the sets and some of their flaws.

Firstly the masks have a lot more of their primary colour with the silver only really used where the crystals start, which greatly benefits some masks.

Tahu has thicker legs showing red behind the piece of unity and generally using a lot more red.

Lewa curiously does away with the Vorox armour on the lower legs despite it clearly being shown on the shoulders. Even then the shoulders show it attached more like Gali's shoulder armour. It also shows off his weapons very well.

Gali's dark azure looks much darker and the trans dark blue is of similar colour. The Vorox thigh is also filled in.

Pohatu looks great, and also seems to replace the silver with gunmetal, which I think would have been really cool in the actual set. He also uses more dark orange and dark tan, as well as using Lewa's original shoulder setup. Interesting.

Kopaka's unity legs are filled much like Tahu's and the shoulders also seem filled in more, as well as being flush to the shoulder.

Onua's only real change is the feet being very slightly smaller. Other than that nothing, because Onua is clearly the best set of 2016, even for LEGO seeing as he has the least liberties taken.

[Vinyl Scratch]

Oh right, Pohatu mentioned that he hated scorpions (well, scorpios but whatever) in the summer animations.

And the Elemental Creatures seem to have some intelligence by the looks of it, nice.

[Bigger Fish]

You know, the art style really reminds me of that short film Code Hunters.

Edited December 24, 2015 by Bigger Fish

[Aethersprite]

I love that art style! Translates the sets from toy form to a more "solid" look, while staying very true to the sets. I can't wait! Hopefully we get plenty of episodes.

[Tarvaxx]

Aww man, it's BIONICLE meets Borderlands! Yesssss. <3