A line of pirates ended with an exclusive ship, I think Kingdoms ends with the Joust. T

here are rumors that the Castle theme will be replaced with lord of the rings/ The Hobbit sets (The Hobbit coming out in Cinemas in 2012)

Still as excited as you may be, it is still a rumour and nothing factual has confirmed anything as of yet.

I'm another one who dislikes the increasing number of licenced themes. As much as I love POTC as a film, give me Classic Pirates any day! Lego is about creation, from both sides of the fence - TLC Designers and TLC customers, and so it shouldnt all be about recreating scenes from films. If Lego drop Kingdoms and replace it with a licenced theme, and dont drop POTC, my wallet will be staying in my pocket (which will make my girlfriend happy atleast... )

Count me in as well. It seems like with both the PotC and the possible LOTR licenses, there's almost an admission of sorts that the core Lego unlicensed Pirates and Castle are or have been a failure-- which COULD NOT be any further from the truth. I'd challenge any opinions that state that the licensed pirate theme is/was better than Classic Pirates, or even the 2009 relaunch. In the same way we felt like Lego left a lot on the table before launching PotC, it feels like killing Kingdoms to launch LOTR is a firm step backward.

Now, on the other hand, licenses must be very appropriately timed to tie into the marketing blitzes of movies and other entertainment, whereas a core theme is timeless and can always be introduced later. So I'm assuming that would be TLG's motivation, regardless of whatever Kingdoms momentum they might be killing in the process. IF the Hobbit/LOTR happens.

Personally, I think they're stopping a great thing to create licensed mediocrity. But I suppose I should wait until we see the sets. At least we WOULD get more dwarves and elves...

Sometimes I think Eurobricks should have a FAQ page. One of those questions could be, 'what are the rumours of the Tolkien theme based on?' which is a question I'm sure has been asked before but I don't think I've seen real answers. Not that I have been following closely, since I have less than zero interest in a Hobbit theme. But I would rather see more Kingdoms sets than a new Hobbit theme.

I'm not convinced that the Joust set is the 'swansong' of the Kingdoms theme, though... it's only a very recent tradition to have exclusive sets in themes at all, and the Imperial Flagship and the MMV don't set much of a precedent. Lego might be trying to see what effect it has on sales when they release an exclusive during the theme rather than after.

Medieval Market Village did come out during the theme. It was released in January 2009, and the final wave of Castle sets was released in summer 2009.

Medieval Market Village did come out during the theme. It was released in January 2009, and the final wave of Castle sets was released in summer 2009.

Oh... then why is everyone acting like the Joust signifies the end of the theme?

Come to think of it, there's no reason a LOTR theme can't co-exist with the Kingdoms theme either. Space didn't end because of Star Wars, and unlike Fantasy Knights, which is very similar to LOTR, the Kingdoms theme is quite different, focussing on real Medieval life rather than trolls and dragons.

Maybe this is actually why they switched from Fantasy to Kingdoms, so they had a castle theme that could co-exist with LOTR. Maybe everyone is reading the situation entirely wrongly.

Also, Pirates 2009 was only ever intended as a one-year theme, so it's wrong to think that POTC caused the end of the theme.

Giving it more thought, I fully expect the Kingdoms theme to continue later next year.

Edited October 5, 201113 yr by David Thomsen

Oh... then why is everyone acting like the Joust signifies the end of the theme?

Come to think of it, there's no reason a LOTR theme can't co-exist with the Kingdoms theme either. Space didn't end because of Star Wars, and unlike Fantasy Knights, which is very similar to LOTR, the Kingdoms theme is quite different, focussing on real Medieval life rather than trolls and dragons.

Maybe this is actually why they switched from Fantasy to Kingdoms, so they had a castle theme that could co-exist with LOTR. Maybe everyone is reading the situation entirely wrongly.

Also, Pirates 2009 was only ever intended as a one-year theme, so it's wrong to think that POTC caused the end of the theme.

Giving it more thought, I fully expect the Kingdoms theme to continue later next year.

From where do we know about the planned lifespan of the Pirates theme? I thought it was kind of odd that everyone treated PotC as the reason for it ending, since there was a full year in between the two themes, but I could never find a source straight-up confirming that there was no connection between the end of Pirates and the beginning of PotC. If you have one it'd be a load off my mind (even moreso if it's a source like an interview that can be linked to).

I think it's a bit early to be expecting Kingdoms to end too. I expected it to end when there were no January 2011 sets for the theme, and then there was an incredible summer wave. I felt the same thing about the Harry Potter theme to an extent, expecting Diagon Alley to be a "late to the party" D2C set like the Imperial Flagship, but instead that theme too returned in the summer with a substantial wave.

Next year's situation for Kingdoms has no obvious precedent since it's a third year of a theme that's consistently gone without a January wave. Perhaps Kingdoms sets just tend to stay on shelves longer so TLG doesn't want to overproduce them. Or perhaps for some reason sets for this theme released in the summer sell better than those released in the beginning of the year. Since the LotR rumors still aren't anything more than rumors, I think it's a bit early to be expecting that theme to "kill off" Kingdoms.

With that said, LotR and Kingdoms are not so different that the sales probably wouldn't impact each other. The difference between medieval fantasy and medieval history can be somewhat blurry for some kids. But considering that Kingdoms and Harry Potter, two themes with a fair number of castle settings, managed to coincide just fine, it's not out of the question for LotR and a new Kingdoms wave to be released in the same year. TLG knows better than any of us whether or not it's a risk to have the two on shelves simultaneously.

I still think a LOTR theme is not going to happen...ever.

Lets take a look at license themes for a minute, with the most successful, Star Wars, branded across all markets widely popular and a staple LEGO theme since 1999. There have been few and far between themes that have the staying power of SW. Even Indiana Jones was short lived in comparison, which I miss and want back. Batman lasted from 2006-2008 only a brief two years and I always under the impression they didn't sell well leading to a shocking after market price. I don't think LOTR has the fan base of any of those above mentioned themes to even be considered for a LEGO theme. I still think it is a distant fantasy stewed up incontinently.

That all being sad I think Kingdoms will continue on with a new faction of Black Falcons and possibly Forestmen as a neutral faction which would surely make for an interesting and exciting future.

Frankly, I don't really understand why so many are expecting the Black Falcons to appear in the Kingdoms' next wave (presuming there will be one, obviously). For me the appearance of a BF champion in the Kingdoms Joust rather seems to signify that Black Falcons are not returning in the future than the opposite. Putting them in the sets later the same year would kinda make it moot to include one in the Joust set - what would be so exciting about him if the next wave (sold mostly at the same time) would be full of his faction? Of course it could be that TLC didn't even mean the BF champion to be as exciting as we think it is, but... Kingdoms Joust just seems too ideal an opportunity for a nod towards fans, and they have to know how much we like the Black Falcons. The champion is made so much more special when it's just that, not a foreshadowing of the next wave. In a way it's the best of both worlds, we get a new reimagined Black Falcon knight but the old original faction can still remain a legend that is not supplanted.

When we first heard of the jousting set, I thought that if they are wise at TLC, the only good reason not to include an exclusive reimagined Black Falcon knight would be if they were planning to release one as a CMF someday. Apparently that's not planned, I suppose.

That all being sad I think Kingdoms will continue on with a new faction of Black Falcons and possibly Forestmen as a neutral faction which would surely make for an interesting and exciting future.

I agree that Lego will probably throw out another 2 factions like they did with castle, with the dwarfs and trolls. I wonder why Lego would even consider stopping Kingdoms. For all I know, it's pretty succesful, a fan favorite, and has a lot of set ideas. Like when will we see that Dragon Knight's Castle/Fortress?

That all being sad I think Kingdoms will continue on with a new faction of Black Falcons and possibly Forestmen as a neutral faction which would surely make for an interesting and exciting future.

I agree that Lego will probably throw out another 2 factions like they did with castle, with the dwarfs and trolls. I wonder why Lego would even consider stopping Kingdoms. For all I know, it's pretty succesful, a fan favorite, and has a lot of set ideas. Like when will we see that Dragon Knight's Castle/Fortress?

From where do we know about the planned lifespan of the Pirates theme? I thought it was kind of odd that everyone treated PotC as the reason for it ending, since there was a full year in between the two themes, but I could never find a source straight-up confirming that there was no connection between the end of Pirates and the beginning of PotC. If you have one it'd be a load off my mind (even moreso if it's a source like an interview that can be linked to).

From the mouth of Bonaparte in the topic The end of LEGO Pirates by mid 2010 :

We were told that the new Pirates line wasn't designed to be an ongoing theme this time.

So any speculation that Pirates was replaced by POTC, and that therefore Castle will be replaced by LOTR, is unfounded.

BTW, sorry about the double post. My computer wasn't working. Could a MOD please delete one of them?

I think it's a bit early to be expecting Kingdoms to end too. I expected it to end when there were no January 2011 sets for the theme, and then there was an incredible summer wave. I felt the same thing about the Harry Potter theme to an extent, expecting Diagon Alley to be a "late to the party" D2C set like the Imperial Flagship, but instead that theme too returned in the summer with a substantial wave.

I suspect that a large part of why LEGO has split releases into two major release waves is twofold:

One, production capacity, it's not infinite at any one point, nor is permanent expansion of it cheap, especially if said capacity goes unused later.

Two, Purchase saturation (or if you prefer overload) too many new sets at once impacts overall sales (say if they only released one major release wave a year).

I'd hope that we'd retain some level of a 'Castle' line even if LOTR does wind up being licensed for production. I do recall Space have some gaps in releases during the Star Wars age but I could be mistaken.

Personally I believe that they've found that a summer wave release for Castle works for sales of the line, it has enough 'draw' that the calendar release date of info at the New year changeover isn't required. So to me this lack of information doesn't concern me in the slightest. I *LIKE* Kingdoms and would be sad if it's a 2 waves and gone sub-theme for Castle but I think there pretty much always be a Castle theme of some sort. It's possible that there may be even be gaps in the theme, although I hope that they learned their lesson in ignoring a core theme.

I am quite excited over the 10223 Kingdoms Joust announcement, it's either a nice send-off to the Line or a strong addition to a continuing Line, but it'll be a while before we find out which it truly is.

“LotR/Hobbit” is a fantasy/adventure license theme. “Harry Potter and PotC” are both fantasy/adventure license themes too. I reckon that “LotR/Hobbit” will replace “Harry Potter and PotC” and not the core non-license theme “Kingdoms”. It is to discern between license themes and traditional non-license themes.

I think more that LEGO will keep the major theme (historical) Castle and could (maybe) add additional a historical theme(*). “LotR/Hobbit” and “Kingdoms” will together also good works like “Star Wars” and “Mars Mission” or other space-themes…

And my God, why do you think that the next historical castle theme get a bad quality if LotR/Hobbit sets come out? Maybe appears 2012 a historical castle non-license theme with “Black Falcons/Forestmen” sets together with a “LotR/Hobbit” license theme?!

Come on, you must do think more positive. TLG develops for license themes wonderful new molded bricks. And “LotR/Hobbit” is really a fantastic fantasy license theme. If TLG now (2012-2014) to produce those new bricks for that license theme. –Than I see in future better non-license fantasy themes. And those non-license fantasy themes will be no compare to Castle (2007-2009). Yep, those fantasy-themes (based on “LotR/Hobbit”) will get many new molded bricks and accessories for elves, orcs and dwarfs.

(*) I think at the time (direct after “PotC” and “Pirates”) is a new traditional pirates theme no realistic. I believe another historical themes like “Roman/Greeks” or “Wild West” are more realistic.

“LotR/Hobbit” is a fantasy/adventure license theme. “Harry Potter and PotC” are both fantasy/adventure license themes too. I reckon that “LotR/Hobbit” will replace “Harry Potter and PotC” and not the core non-license theme “Kingdoms”. It is to discern between license themes and traditional non-license themes.

I think more that LEGO will keep the major theme (historical) Castle and could (maybe) add additional a historical theme(*). “LotR/Hobbit” and “Kingdoms” will together also good works like “Star Wars” and “Mars Mission” or other space-themes…

And my God, why do you think that the next historical castle theme get a bad quality if LotR/Hobbit sets come out? Maybe appears 2012 a historical castle non-license theme with “Black Falcons/Forestmen” sets together with a “LotR/Hobbit” license theme?!

Come on, you must do think more positive. TLG develops for license themes wonderful new molded bricks. And “LotR/Hobbit” is really a fantastic fantasy license theme. If TLG now (2012-2014) to produce those new bricks for that license theme. –Than I see in future better non-license fantasy themes. And those non-license fantasy themes will be no compare to Castle (2007-2009). Yep, those fantasy-themes (based on “LotR/Hobbit”) will get many new molded bricks and accessories for elves, orcs and dwarfs.

(*) I think at the time (direct after “PotC” and “Pirates”) is a new traditional pirates theme no realistic. I believe another historical themes like “Roman/Greeks” or “Wild West” are more realistic.

Yeah, but would LOTR be child friendly? The Hobbit would but I know LOTR is more adult and dark in places

“LotR/Hobbit” is a fantasy/adventure license theme. “Harry Potter and PotC” are both fantasy/adventure license themes too. I reckon that “LotR/Hobbit” will replace “Harry Potter and PotC” and not the core non-license theme “Kingdoms”.

Yeah, sounds feasible enough. Lego does need to maintain its core themes, not JUST City.

From where do we know about the planned lifespan of the Pirates theme? I thought it was kind of odd that everyone treated PotC as the reason for it ending, since there was a full year in between the two themes, but I could never find a source straight-up confirming that there was no connection between the end of Pirates and the beginning of PotC. If you have one it'd be a load off my mind (even moreso if it's a source like an interview that can be linked to).

Do we have a source sayihng there is a connection between Pirates and PotC?

I'm hoping lego will do more, they've really outdone themselves with Kingdoms IMHO.

It’d be nice to have the best of both worlds – Kingdoms and LotR at the same time, but the two seem too similar to me to be able to coexist without competing.

Space got around this by taking a long hiatus or making “semi-space” themes set on Mars and Earth and some random SP III planet. Maybe if Castle concentrated on Barbarians or Middle or Far Eastern theme, or even a non-medieval theme like ancient Greece or Rome, alongside LotR, that could be doable.

Maybe you are right, if the license theme LEGO LotR/Hobbit competing to the castle theme. –Than to emerge complete new possibilities.

Maybe is the perfect time for an LEGO ancient world/ or for a “Wild West”-theme next year. In that case would it very interesting to watch what comes!?

At the time develops LEGO the themes “Pharaohs Quest” and “Atlantis” –those both themes to imply some proper bricks for real ancient themes. And the perfect thing is –you can to combinate those ancient cultures. Also “Ninja Go” –I believe a real Asia-theme would by the most of you really welcome.

Ok, now I’m a bit excited. I believe next year could become a most interesting year. Lego could at the time to look for absolute new horizons…

Hmmm, what would you in that case prefer? -Asia, Wild West, an ancient world -or after all more castle sets?

-For me it is hard to decide. ^^ -I personally think -I’ve enough castle sets.

Damn, a real Wild West theme including (for example) real Indian cultures, or North/South-States soldiers (Civil war) and a lot of cowboys/bandits/settlers could be also epic. A LEGO Mississippi steamboat would be the real kicker.

Possible building sets give it more as enough: Cowboy Ranch, modular houses for a modular western city, silver mine, rail station, a Mexican Tequila tavern with musicians…

-or “Colonization” sets including the first settlers. Those sets are combinable with different Indian cultures (Maya/Inker) and can to add with “old” Pirates sets (earlier LEGO Pirates lines). A Spain Armada ship laden with Inker treasures would be additional welcome.

I personally would prefer a Battle-Pack concerning the American Independence War with some independence fighters and British soldiers (inclusive Dragoons).

But a large ancient theme would be also fantastic. For example could the theme “The Battle of Troy” (including the Horse of Troy) -or also “Alexander the Great” against Persia and later India (including war elephants) interesting Battle-Packs. -Where we yet speaks about “war elephants”. Although I am German is “Hannibal” with his Carthage war elephants against the Roman Empire my personally favorite ancient battle theme.

If we here talk about buildings –than is for me the “Limes” with some Roman- and German minifigures transformed into an LEGO “version” my little highlight. But also I like to see a gladiator school, a theater with actors and all other classic ancient buildings…

…I have no idea which theme I shall prefer!?^^

Ok, that was a massive collection of possibilities (looks like a wishlist) if LEGO really stop the Kingdom line. I would just share you what for new options to open if LEGO develops a new historic theme. And in that case I think all kids would those historic themes also love like their parents. And I think you too, -or not?

But one last question I still have:

Why develops TLG the action/adventure themes “Ninja Go”, “Pharaohs Quest” and “Atlantis” at the same time if they could “one” of those action themes to transform into a real historic “ancient” or “Asia” theme? -Is real history too uncool?

@ Elander:

I’d be very surpised if TLG releases real-life factions like Romans vs Barbarians, Greeks vs Persians, Union vs Confederacy, etc. Any faction presented as the "bad guy" would risk fuelling strong negative reactions among the descendants of the factions’ real-life analogues. Remember the Iranian reaction to the film "300"? And the Muslim world is pissed of at Denmark as it is, what with the caricatures of Mohammed. Romans vs Barbarians might risk offending either the Romance or the Germanic peoples of Europe. The same goes for American colonists vs Redcoats - the film "Patriot" wasn’t recieved too well in the UK. Even the Confederacy of the US Civil War, seen by outsiders as a nation of racists and slavedrivers, isn’t seen that way by the US Southerners of today, and TLG would risk losing a big chunk of the US market if they went ahead with this theme. I guess I’m being too politically correct, I’d love to see any of the aforementioned ideas made in LEGO, but this is the world we live in.

I hope TLG will keep Castle limitied to "Castle" and develop parallel themes for ancient and western settings. Otherwise, TLG could just lump Castle, Pirates, and anything else into a general "history" theme, which would be a step backwards, to put it mildly. Maybe an "ancient" theme might make the cut, as it would be too similar to Castle (armored guys with cold weapons fighting among themselves and with fantasy creatures) and would compete with it, but the more modern themes should be left out. Having said that, a Wild West theme would be welcome; maybe TLG could alternate it with Pirates, since they don’t have the will to make Pirates into a core theme.

As to whether history is seen as too uncool, I think it just suffers from a lack of hot-rod-monster-trucks, superheroes, evil masterminds, monsters, and mega subs/aircraft to be appealing to the average KFOL.

But one last question I still have:

Why develops TLG the action/adventure themes “Ninja Go”, “Pharaohs Quest” and “Atlantis” at the same time if they could “one” of those action themes to transform into a real historic “ancient” or “Asia” theme? -Is real history too uncool?

Well, Pharaoh's Quest wasn't based on real history. It was based on modern fiction like the movie "The Mummy" or the countless tales of mummy curses that began to emerge during the Egyptology craze many years ago. An authentic theme based on Egyptian history would be cool, but real ancient Egyptian history doesn't have nearly the same strong presence in popular culture as European medieval history.

Meanwhile, how could the Atlantis theme have been made into a "historic" theme? The actual existence of Atlantis, or at least everything that's ever been known about it, is completely speculative. There are no real historical records that tell us anything about the place that could be used as the basis for a theme. And again, the idea of Atlantis was from the beginning to be a new underwater adventure theme. Chances are if it were anything other than what it finally ended up being, it would have just been divers looking for some different sort of treasure.

As for Ninjago, it's closer to being a historic theme than any of the two previous examples, just by virtue of its authentic Japanese architectural styles and semi-historic setting. But once more, I don't think it was ever envisioned as a possible historic theme. Marketing materials for the theme seem to suggest that TLG intended for it to be their next "BIONICLE"-- that is to say, a fantasy-intensive "story theme" with a strong multimedia presence. A realistic Ninja theme would be possible, as was done in 1998 (using a loose definition of "realistic"). But as with Pharaoh's Quest mentioned above, authentic Japanese feudal history doesn't have nearly as strong a presence in popular culture as more fantasy-based martial arts stories, and certainly not the pop culture presence of European feudal history.

I wouldn't say it's as much that real history is "uncool" as that it is, in many ways, unknown. Kids in the U.S. learn at least a few ancient history lessons as early as the third grade, but these are not in-depth lessons, and they usually don't resonate with kids the same way as more imaginative fantasy stories in historical or semi-historical settings. At the same time, LEGO themes being in the sway of popular culture means that the status quo can change easily. I strongly feel that if family-friendly western films ever make a sensational comeback, that might be all it takes for the Western theme to once again be marketable.

Another factor in TLG's use of character-driven "adventure themes" as opposed to authentic historical themes might be the fact that some of TLG's competitors already have historically-based products on the market, and those that don't could easily produce them. By creating more imaginative fantasy themes, TLG can at least partly ensure that their products remain unique compared to competitors' products.

As for what other historic themes could take the place of Kingdoms, I don't think anything other than a European medieval history-based theme (even a more fantasy-oriented one like Knights' Kingdom II or fantasy-era Castle) could really fill that niche in TLG's product lineup. This isn't to say that other themes like an Ancient Rome-based theme would be completely without potential, but in place of a Castle theme? I don't think other historical periods or settings have enough staying power in Western pop culture to have a comparable rate of success. Especially as, despite not being a castle collector myself, I have to admit castles can be really, really fun to build.

As for what other historic themes could take the place of Kingdoms, I don't think anything other than a European medieval history-based theme (even a more fantasy-oriented one like Knights' Kingdom II or fantasy-era Castle) could really fill that niche in TLG's product lineup. This isn't to say that other themes like an Ancient Rome-based theme would be completely without potential, but in place of a Castle theme? I don't think other historical periods or settings have enough staying power in Western pop culture to have a comparable rate of success. Especially as, despite not being a castle collector myself, I have to admit castles can be really, really fun to build.

I think that ancient subtheme could work like the Ninja theme of 1998 - stick around for just a year or two, so traditional Castle subthemes don't get too stale or repetitive. A Middle/Far Eastern subtheme set in a fictional universe (meaning no "European" cultures around, so no clash of civilizations) could work like this as well.

From the mouth of Bonaparte in the topic The end of LEGO Pirates by mid 2010 :

So any speculation that Pirates was replaced by POTC, and that therefore Castle will be replaced by LOTR, is unfounded.

Thanks for this link. In it, I saw this quote:

Update from Steve Witt (LEGO Community team):

Just so you know' date=' Pirates isn't gone its on hiatus like every other line that isn't one of our primary themes: CASTLE, SPACE, and CITY

Pirates isn't going away, its just not going to be a constant theme. Its going to phase in and out just like every other theme that isn't one of those three. Everyone is freaking out just a bit too much on this one and I just wanted to reassure you guys that pirates isn't disappearing. Just taking a break

Steve

[/quote']

So according to this, we can't even compare castle to pirate. Castle is one of the 3 core themes and wont take this same "hiatus".

Am I reading this statement wrong?

Thanks!

Edited October 7, 201113 yr by svede

That's a great and very interersting topic, Fives!

I really, really hope that Kingdoms will continue at least for one more year in order to get a huge castle for the dragon knights, a new faction and mainly a siege tower which is since long overdue.

If TLG stopped Kingdoms in order to replace it (at least for one year) with a licensed medieval theme, they should replace their slogan from "Just imagine" to "Just replay". I mean: I'm a huge Lego SW fan, but as great as these sets are - what makes Lego Lego are for me still the non-licensed themes.

But to be honest I fear that Kingdoms will see its end with the end of this year. There are clear signs:

Firstly we know that there'll be some LotR sets in 2012. Cwetqo told us so and he has always been right - so why shouldn't he be this time, too?! And since this is (even if fantasy based) a medieval theme, I highly doubt that TLG will release more castle sets at least in the first year of the start of this licensed theme

Secondly there is the Joust set. In 2009 we got MVV which marked the end of Castle - so it's imo very likely that it'll be the same this time, too.

But let's hope that we think all wrong and that there will be some more Kingdoms sets in 2012, too, although there'll be that LotR license.

Klaus-Dieter

Edited October 7, 201113 yr by Klaus-Dieter

...

I really, really hope that Kingdoms will continue at least for one more year ...

If TLG stopped Kingdoms in order to replace it (at least for one year) with a licensed medieval theme, they should replace their slogan from "Just imagine" to "Just replay". I mean: I'm a huge Lego SW fan, but as great as these sets are - what makes Lego Lego are for me still the non-licensed themes.

But to be honest I fear that Kingdoms will see its end with the end of this year. There are clear signs:

Firstly we know that there'll be some LotR sets in 2012. Cwetqo told us so and he has always been right - so why shouldn't he be this time, too?! And since this is (even if fantasy based) a medieval theme, I highly doubt that TLG will release more castle sets at least in the first year of the start of this licensed theme

Secondly there is the Joust set. In 2009 we got MVV which marked the end of Castle - so it's imo very likely that it'll be the same this time, too.

But let's hope that we think all wrong and that there will be some more Kingdoms sets in 2012, too, although they'll be that LotR license.

...

KD although I'd like to see Kingdoms continue as well, and will be sad to see it go, give this a thought; Licensed themes are there for a reason and for a certain amount of time; that is to sell products to people on the hype of the movie. This is when Lego competes not only with other building toys, but with licensed toys in general suck as action figures, playsets, model cars and even board games. A licensed theme doesn't last longer than the hype around the movie it represents (with the notable exception of Star Wars) so even if a LOTR license was acquired it wouldn't last forever.

Indiana Jones had a run and now we have Pharaoh's Quest

Despite the popularity of Star Wars, there are still Lego Space themes like SPIII and Alien Conquest.

Prince of Persia and POTC both had very extravagant runs but I am 100% certain we will see Lego-brand pirates and knights in the next few years.

My point being; just because LOTR may temporarily displace Lego Castle we should not despair. In fact, I feel this would be an opportunity to enrich the often conservative world of castle mini-figures, accessories, head gear and new molds. If we get a whole new assortment of fantasy gear in such a theme, I would be willing to ignore the fleshy skin tone on the figures and dive right in, collecting and acquiring new elements.