Indiana Jones 2023 - Rumors & Discussion

[DrHenryJonesJr]

As I mentioned, based on the information we have so far, I don't think there's any need to doubt that DoD sets will be released, and I also believe at this point that it wouldn't make sense in many ways to cancel them

The only thing that worries me is the fact that LEGO is taking so long to officially announce Indiana Jones because as a fan I wish this series would be given the same attention as the others and it hurts that there seems to be disrespect or you stall the fans for so long and let them wriggle like a fish in a net that doesn't know if it's allowed to go back into the water.

I hope all goes well and we finally hear back from LEGO in the coming days.

I haven't heard anything about the film being postponed again. The rumors that some scenes would have to be shot again because they were so dissatisfied with the result have already been denied and refuted by the producer himself.

It is well known that the planning of the film and the writing of the screenplay had problems, then the pandemic intervened and ultimately an injury to the main actor.

To be honest, I'm not completely convinced of the cancellation of ToD either as long as nothing comes from LEGO or there is an official statement. No matter how often the alleged leakers post that this is almost certainly the case. While they may be right, nothing is confirmed.

Basically, we haven't heard anything from LEGO.

There is only one teaser in a SmythsToys catalogue, absolutely nothing else. That's the only thing that's fact.
Everything else is just speculation, no matter how obvious or probable it may be, even if it turns out to be true, it will still have been speculation that turned out to be true, nothing more.

14 minutes ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Indeed. They probably wouldn‘t make two big Indy announcements in a row, so this must be it

Completely new or relaunched series are usually announced extensively.

In the case of sets that follow later, there are occasionally explicit announcements, but usually the sets simply appear without renewed hype, or there is at least an announced listing,

[Mopasali]

18 minutes ago, Plissken said:

I also think that we will get the ToD set a little bit later down the line.

That's my feeling too.  I can postulate all day about why it got delayed, but I think it'll come out because it is so iconic.  On the box leaks, fans were not excited about it, but on recent replies to LEGO in social media, demands for ToD/77014 are outnumbering Bionicle requests, which is insane for the adult fandom.  

Very recently, we had an announced set unceremoniously cancelled and then come out - Snow White Ideas set was cancelled, but it's rumored to come out this year with Disney's 100.  It's very possible something 'cancelled ' is still released.

In addition to some possible set design issues, we also learned that there's a mine cart coming with Gringotts Bank, so maybe they didn't want two mine coaster tracks at the same time.  Although I really want that so I can have my ToD mine cart coaster that I never got in real life.

[BrickBob Studpants]

I‘m equal parts optimistic and pessimistic about what the lack of any announcement means. 

The pessimistic reading is that they cancelled everything except for these three sets, don’t care enough for an official announcement, and just quietly dump them on s@h on April 1st without fanfare  Not particularly realistic as Disney and Lucasfilm surely have a say in that.

The optimistic interpretation is that they waited on purpose so they could announce (and maybe even reveal!!) everything at once. Also not overly realistic, as TLG is still not that great at keeping leaks at bay.

The actual truth is thus probably somewhere in between 

[Kaijumeister]

The film certainly isn’t delayed. It’s well into post-production as per the interviews with James Mangold, not to mention the Super Bowl TV Spot being released.

An official press release for this theme shouldn’t be that far away now, and I think some of the usual LAN YouTubers have mentioned they’re already starting to receive review copies of these sets. 

I do agree that Lego absolutely sucks with marketing this theme though. But holding off on revealing something exciting until after it’s been leaked to everyone and their mother is a long term tradition for them anyway.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Kaijumeister

[Clone OPatra]

The more I think about it, the more I am surprised that LEGO decided to go the kid-oriented play theme route with Indy this time around at all given LEGO's success with other types of products for the adult-leaning market.

The Raiders temple makes great sense (good display piece + fun little play features which adults will also enjoy tinkering with), but why didn't they just do a bunch of diorama/display sets?

I really can't imagine kids these days being into Indy enough to support a playtheme. Yes it was children's entertainment, but children's entertainment has changed a lot since then and swung way more sanitised. I'm personally happy about it since I like playthemes and playsets far more than adult-oriented sets, but objectively it strikes me as odd.

[PGBQW]

9 minutes ago, Clone OPatra said:

why didn't they just do a bunch of diorama/display sets?

I really can't imagine kids these days being into Indy enough to support a playtheme.

Because even if you totally separate the sets from the movies, they're still action sets about an explorer doing cool stuff. 

[azog]

Just now, Clone OPatra said:

why didn't they just do a bunch of diorama/display sets?

I really can't imagine kids these days being into Indy enough to support a playtheme.

Indiana Jones was my favorite theme to play with when I was 8 years old! I feel like these sets are great for kids and their imaginations!

[Mopasali]

10 minutes ago, PGBQW said:

Because even if you totally separate the sets from the movies, they're still action sets about an explorer doing cool stuff. 

Agreed.  It seems crazy, but in my cohort Robocop and Terminator had toy tie-ins despite being R rated movies. 

[Kit Figsto]

Yeesh, you'd think there's people who secretly want the DoD sets to be canceled so that we can get another litany of complaints about how much LEGO sucks in this thread.  

There's literally no evidence to suggest that they're canceled other than some speculation that's become the world's worst game of telephone.  From what I gather, we had leakers saying they haven't heard anything (which seems totally reasonable since we've basically had two short trailers and a few promotional shots of the film so far, that's basically it.  Even the Hasbro toys that have been shown have been primarily from the older movies) and some stuff about retail listings not being updated (which also doesn't necessarily indicate things aren't coming, if they're retail/S@H exclusives, or perhaps the retailers just don't have the info.  There were set numbers assigned, though, so it's not like the listings never existed in the first place).

All of these theories about how they're canceling sets because of the content of the movies and stuff seem totally baseless.  With ToD, maybe, but leakers keep saying there's multiple reasons (some clarification on that would be nice to have at some point), which I have to imagine might encompass some sort of flaw with the build itself.  All I'm saying is that people seem to be basically coming up with reasons to be angry, and then getting angry at them, when the reason itself has never been shown to be true in the first place.  

 

On the topic of ToD, has anyone actually confirmed if the set is shown on the box of any of the new sets?  I saw someone mention that the instructions don't have any sets listed in them, but I seem to remember like one person saying the side flap showed the Temple of Doom - is that true?  And was that referring to a screenshot from the movie, or a picture of the set?

[Clone OPatra]

20 minutes ago, PGBQW said:

Because even if you totally separate the sets from the movies, they're still action sets about an explorer doing cool stuff. 

Yeah I guess, and LEGO's way of seeing if that still interests kids is tying it into a property. The same can be said about original Jurassic Park sets selling because kids love dinos and the source material doesn't matter, but that's more proven in today's market.

12 minutes ago, azog said:

Indiana Jones was my favorite theme to play with when I was 8 years old! I feel like these sets are great for kids and their imaginations!

Yeah but that was a long time ago now, and at a time when LEGO wouldn't have fathomed the type of adult-oriented products that they do now, and how successful they are.

7 minutes ago, Mopasali said:

Agreed.  It seems crazy, but in my cohort Robocop and Terminator had toy tie-ins despite being R rated movies. 

Again, I acknowledge that in acknowledging that the Indy movies themselves had super dark violent aspects but were for kids, but things have changed a lot since then. We're talking kids toys in 2023, not in the 80s.

[BrickBob Studpants]

1 minute ago, Kit Figsto said:

And was that referring to a screenshot from the movie, or a picture of the set?

I think Indy with a ripped shirt is on the box somewhere, aka his look in ToD

[Clone OPatra]

2 minutes ago, Kit Figsto said:

I seem to remember like one person saying the side flap showed the Temple of Doom - is that true?  And was that referring to a screenshot from the movie, or a picture of the set?

I thought I saw that it was the Temple of Doom Indy minifig variant that was featured on the side.

[Kit Figsto]

6 hours ago, Clone OPatra said:

I thought I saw that it was the Temple of Doom Indy minifig variant that was featured on the side.

Interesting, if that's the case, I feel like that bodes well for us getting either the ToD eventually, or getting something from ToD that contains the figure.  I can't think of any instance where a preview of a set/figure was shown on an actual box/instruction sheet that wasn't released, except the Osprey and dynamite factory, both of which were publicly addressed.  The closest thing I can think of was an ad for a Space Police III video game on the side of a box in, like, 2007 or so, which never saw the light of day, but that's a bit different.

[Mopasali]

7 minutes ago, Kit Figsto said:

Interesting, if that's the case, I feel like that bodes well for us getting either the ToD eventually, or getting something from ToD that contains the figure.  I can't think of any instance where a preview of a set/figure was shown on an actual box/instruction sheet that wasn't released, except the Osprey and dynamite factory, both of which were publicly addressed.  The closest thing I can think of was an ad for a Space Police III video game on the side of a box in, like, 2007 or so, which never saw the light of day, but that's a bit different.

And perhaps suggest that the set wasn't cancelled months ago as some leakers indicated?  Above, a commenter stated shipping is 40-60 days, but if ToD was cancelled months ago and what we saw was very preliminary, then it seems they would have time to change the box art for the other sets.

The months ago cancellation is also undermined by that one retailer with a (broken) page set for 77014.  If it was cancelled early, I'm surprised retailers still thought it was coming.  I'm more optimistic on delay then.  But while I feel okay we'll learn about Indy soon post-Mario reveal, I'm not sure we'll get any insight on 77014's fate for awhile.

[DrHenryJonesJr]

Possibly the picture is meant, that shows a shopping bag containing 77015 lying in the footwell of a car and where you can se the 77013 next to it.
This picture shows the side view of 77015, showing Indy in his shirt. That's how he looks in several scenes though, not just in ToD.

If you refer to it, that would not be a clear ToD teaser for me.

I haven't seen a picture with a ToD minifigure, but I can't rule out that there was somewhere.

[Plissken]

They used this picture: Promo shot

It is from Temple of Doom!

[DrHenryJonesJr]

Yes exactly, the picture I mean that one could refer to it

It's possible that LEGO simply took an image that fitted well into the scheme of the box, but it wouldn't (unfortunately) conclude that a ToD set would be released.

I still hope, if the ToD cancelling rumors are true, that they revise the set, change the questionable things, also replace two minifigures if necessary, and then release it.

Why they did not chose a different scene for the ToD set from the beginning, such as the traps on the way to the temple (beetles, spiked ceiling, etc.), remains open anyway.

[DrHenryJonesJr]

pickapenguin has now also published pictures on instagram where you can see a little bit of the boxes on the sides, i wouldn't see a figure there

[BrickBob Studpants]

I‘m so done with this nonsense that at this point, I just want to know if we can expect anything beyond these three sets. I need to know if I can safely use the shelf space I made for the theme for other things now  Like the Disney 100 sets for instance

[DrHenryJonesJr]

3 minutes ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

I‘m so done with this nonsense that at this point, I just want to know if we can expect anything beyond these three sets. I need to know if I can safely use the shelf space I made for the theme for other things now  Like the Disney 100 sets for instance

Somehow I feel the same way, I was so frustrated by all this fuss about the alleged cancellations that I already had one or two moments when I was about to say that I would soon no longer be interested in the topic, if that were the case continues :-D

But then I look at the pictures again and ask myself the exact same questions, but until we have an official announcement of the April wave, the questions beyond that probably won't be answered either

[BrickBob Studpants]

Another day, another disappointment  I doubt they‘d do two big reveals on the same day, so after the JP sets just got unveiled, Indy‘s turn is either tomorrow or next week

[DrHenryJonesJr]

46 minutes ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Another day, another disappointment  I doubt they‘d do two big reveals on the same day, so after the JP sets just got unveiled, Indy‘s turn is either tomorrow or next week

Yes, that seems to be becoming the norm.
Actually, I almost don't care if there's anything official coming, as long as the sets end up in stores at the beginning of April.

The only concern I have is that the LEGO delay will have an impact on retail and we'll have to wait until mid or even late April again before they go on sale on a large scale and you can finally buy them.

So far I have comforted myself with the thought that we already have less than a month's waiting time, if that were to happen it would be more than a month again.
That's frustrating :-D

Edited March 8, 2023 by DrHenryJonesJr
The rhyme of the day: Another Day - Another Delay

[BrickBob Studpants]

19 minutes ago, DrHenryJonesJr said:

Yes, that seems to be becoming the norm.
Actually, I almost don't care if there's anything official coming, as long as the sets end up in stores at the beginning of April.

Depends on which stores you mean. According to Promobricks, regular retailers won‘t receive the sets before June. April should be the launch date only for s@h, LEGO stores, and Smyths. 

Then again, that may only concern Europe. The sets have started to appear on random store shelves in the US, after all

Also, looking back at other reveals, maybe we‘re expecting a bit much here. The press release we got for Avatar last March was little more than a tweet‘s worth of content: 

https://brickset.com/article/73704/lego-avatar-theme-confirmed

It’s most likely too late for a general announcement like that. I still hope they‘re hinting at DoD sets whenever they do reveal the April sets, but I‘m afraid they won‘t

Edited March 8, 2023 by BrickBob Studpants

[DrHenryJonesJr]

2 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Depends on which stores you mean.

In my case, I was actually referring to SmythsToys, since that's the only shop in my area where you can essentially get the full LEGO catalog range, which is always in stock in sufficient quantities, as well as some exclusive titles, and that mostly up to 35% discount. In addition, there is occasionally a 20% discount on TOP if you order online and chose click & collect.
Often even right on the first day of sale

Since I live in a small village near the next larger city of Innsbruck, SmythsToys is one of the few places I go to get well-discounted LEGO anyway.

In the neighboring village, I also have a small private retail business - 1 man business - which of course cannot offer anything significantly below the RRP and does not always have all sets available immediately on the first day.
I also keep getting live updates from his LEGO ordering system regarding the listings and references to a few of the leaks, which I was also able to mention here
However, he always has surprises in store, since he occasionally receives sets earlier and sells them promptly, especially to regular customers like me, where SmythsToys (at least the Innsbruck branch) usually sticks very closely to the LEGO street dates and by certain topics also has a few days' delay.
In addition, other specialist dealers also get exclusive sets again and again
LEGO sets are often announced as of the 1st of the month, but Smythstoys says available from the 23rd on their website, in stores they are usually around the 21st, although online the 23rd is still noted with the option to pre-order.
I can't say exactly why that is, maybe also because of the supply chain.

Even if the global release is not supposed to take place until June, the current situation already shows that not everyone always adheres to it and that the sets come onto the market earlier, even if you might then order online from SmythsToys for delivery.

Unfortunately, the scalpers, who then offer the sets more expensively via Ebay, are often dangerous during this time.
 

3 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

...so after the JP sets just got unveiled,...

PS.: I can't find the JP images on Promobricks anymore, have they been taken offline again? Did they tease too early? :-)

Edited March 8, 2023 by DrHenryJonesJr
Now the pictures are back - never mind

[BrickBob Studpants]

This is getting silly now. Sets scheduled for May, June, and even bloody August are getting revealed left and right now, while Indy has apparently just been forgotten