Which Themes Deserve a Reboot?

[TheLegoExperience]

Mars Mission, one of the most underrated theme. But seriously, we need another Divers theme. I need a Lego hammerhead shark!

[robuko]

6 Classic space sets, all modern versions of the classics. have it as a one-year release.

This is a superb idea. The only issue would be that there is no consensus amongst space fans on which sub theme should be revived. I would go for 3 neo cs and 3 Blacktron.

I agree that Western and Vikings and orient expedition deserve a revival. And I'm sure we'll have an under water action theme again soon.

[Wodanis]

This is a superb idea. The only issue would be that there is no consensus amongst space fans on which sub theme should be revived. I would go for 3 neo cs and 3 Blacktron.

You gave me an idea. Neo-Space police and Neo-Blacktron!

I would like to see Forestmen, Black falcon and the King's men return with a Lego Castle revival. This time can we have a Lego Castle set that is truly a castle?

I would definitely want to see some Classic Space sets return too. Especially Blacktron. That was my favourite sub theme of all time! Space police would be cool as well. However if they were to do a re-release of Blacktron sub theme I loved the first interation not the Blacktron version 2 series. Can't be 'Black'tron with white spacesuits...this time round they could be quite creative with designs I suspect. After the success of Benny's spaceship maybe our wish will come true.

The other number one theme I would love to have back is Pirates. I used to look over the layouts photos in the back of the manuals for hours.

I agree with some suggestions to see more train packs but there was another thread that was pointing out why they wouldn't produce extra train cars...

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

I do think Monster Fighters ended too soon. I realize that it was Lego's "theme of the year" for 2012 and it was destined to go the way of Alien Conquest, but I think it had continuing potential. I would have loved to have seen them introduce a Loch Ness Monster, a Headless Horseman, a Yeti, and some other classic monsters.

[dhc6twinotter]

Forestmen. IMHO, probably one of the most awesome themes ever. What kid doesn't dream of having a tree fort with traps and shooting things?

Classic Pirates gets my second vote.

[Aanchir]

LEGO has introduced a lot of great themes over the years, only to cancel them after one or two waves. Are there any themes that you would like to see reintroduced, but this time with updated minifigures and building techniques? Personally, I'd take Alien Conquest and Monster Fighters over permanent themes like Legends of Chima any day.

I wouldn't call Legends of Chima a permanent theme. It doesn't surprise me that it's getting at least a three-year run, but it will certainly end eventually, as most non-evergreen themes do.

I'd love to see another reboot of Blacktron and Space Police. They're classic adversaries — one might even say timeless.

A Galidor reboot would be interesting, just considering how poorly-executed the original run was. It could be quite cool as a minifigure-based theme instead of a constraction theme. But since it wasn't well-loved even when it was new there's really no incentive for the LEGO Group to bring it back.

[Dr Leg O Brick]

Probably the same as many, space, in particular classic space, Blacktron, M-Tron, Ice-Planet, and Space Police, Wild West, Crusaders, Black Falcons, Black Knights, and Forestmen, and some more regular (i.e. non emergency, bike shop, or Pizza related) shops and services in the classic open back format for City.

Other than all that? I'd love Rock Raiders and/or Power Miners (or maybe, like one of KDog's comics, Rock Raiders Vs Power Miners!) to return, plus Johnny Thunder. So many good themes Lego have done, you don't quite realise how many there really is until you start naming them.

[Floundie]

I've always wondered why they dropped Indiana Jones so quickly, wasn't that one of their most successful lines?

[paul_delahaye]

I think Classic Space and Divers,

I have a sneaky feeling they are testing the water for a Classic Space reboot with the Benny's spaceship and the promo giveaway at shop at home for the first week of July!

[Faefrost]

A Galidor reboot would be interesting, just considering how poorly-executed the original run was. It could be quite cool as a minifigure-based theme instead of a constraction theme. But since it wasn't well-loved even when it was new there's really no incentive for the LEGO Group to bring it back.

It's not just that it wasn't well received. It's that it has literally become the poster child for why Lego nearly went bankrupt in '03. Every business report or lecture throws up a picture of it when they start talking about Lego's expensive over diversification with no market. Galidor and Jack Stone are literally the two textbook examples of "stupid things Lego should never do again" that are taught in classes. It may or may not be true, and yeah they were not the specific problem, merely a symptom of it, but damn, that's the sort of rep that a product line will never recover from or be resurrected after.

[TheLegoDr]

Floundie - they would have dropped IJ considering it was a licensed theme and they tend to quit doing sets when the media tie-in is no longer relevant. They need the media push for advertising to help sell the toys. Some themes just can't make it on their own.

With that said, I'd prefer a Blacktron II, M:Tron, Black Falcons or Forestmen reboots.

Edited July 10, 2014 by TheLegoDr

[alois]

It's not just that it wasn't well received. It's that it has literally become the poster child for why Lego nearly went bankrupt in '03. Every business report or lecture throws up a picture of it when they start talking about Lego's expensive over diversification with no market. Galidor and Jack Stone are literally the two textbook examples of "stupid things Lego should never do again" that are taught in classes. It may or may not be true, and yeah they were not the specific problem, merely a symptom of it, but damn, that's the sort of rep that a product line will never recover from or be resurrected after.

Another problem would be the quality of the TV series. I watched one episode last week, just to know what it was all about, and it's awful. A minifig based Galidor theme couldn't mend that either.

[Brickus]

Exo-Force, I was just recently going over my old sets, and would like to see it return as a theme.

[Lyichir]

Another problem would be the quality of the TV series. I watched one episode last week, just to know what it was all about, and it's awful. A minifig based Galidor theme couldn't mend that either.

The TV show was not great but the core concepts were a great deal more ambitious than a live-action kids show had any right to be. It was sort of like Ghost Writer meets Power Rangers meets Doctor Who—which meant that yes, the acting was often rubbish and the costumes looked fake and the effects were cheesy, but also that it dealt with relatively complex themes, built an elaborate universe, and was probably the closest Lego has ever gotten to a Cyberpunk theme.

Despite the overwhelmingly negative reception of the theme, I've been designing a minifig-scale Galidor set to propose on Ideas just for kicks. If nothing else I hope people would look at it and reconsider whether the theme necessarily HAD to be as bad as it was. Hoping to have it able to be presented by 2017—the theme's fifteen year anniversary, which will likely go completely uncelebrated otherwise.

As for other themes that could benefit from a revival... Forestmen would be neat, although I can only really see it working as a year-two expansion of an existing castle theme. The same applies to Blacktron—it really only works as an offshoot of Space Police. It's been a few years since Atlantis ended, so it might be about time for another underwater theme like that or Aquazone. I'd also be interested to see what another time-travel theme like Time Cruisers would be like (although I'd be more interested in tastefully-decorated historical hijinks than another random and zany crossover theme).

[DPrime]

Classic Space and Black Falcons for me, please. :)

[Ardelon]

Pirates and Wild West, for a start - they are so much a part of pop culture that I'm surprised they aren't at least as permanent as Castle. I'd say if TLG alternated between these two themes every year or two, the designers would have no problem keeping the themes fresh, the market unsaturated, or coming up with new takes on evergreen ideas.

Wolfpack and Vikings as well - but keep the Wolfpack heraldry the same as the original, like they did with the KK1 Bull soldier. I have the same "requirement" for all Castle throwbacks - the new falcon heraldry in the Kingdoms Joust set seriously dampened my enthusiasm for it. Keep the new reddish brown and bleys instead of the old colors, sure, but don't mess with the heraldry.

And Adventurers as well, just not in Egypt any more - PQ took care of that - there are plenty of other places to (re)visit. The original characters would be best, but not necessary.

[jimmynick]

I've always wondered why they dropped Indiana Jones so quickly, wasn't that one of their most successful lines?

IJ have stopped making new material for the most part, haven't they? The theme only came out in conjunction with the 4th film. It's not like Star Wars where, like it or not, there are TV series and video games released left right and centre.

I would like to see a reboot of Johnny Thunder, since there's something nice about having a cool archaeologist without the constraints of existing material (*cough* Indiana Jones) - they got to take the sets wherever they wanted - and that creative freedom for the designers is cool.

I'll throw my chips at Classic Space, Forestment, Black Falcons and Blacktron, too, but I feel most strongly about Johnny Thunder.

And there's the 2000-era Arctic town subtheme, but that's sort of been rebooted this year.

[alois]

By the way, this topic was already discussed in 2009.

[Blondie-Wan]

I've always wondered why they dropped Indiana Jones so quickly, wasn't that one of their most successful lines?

IJ have stopped making new material for the most part, haven't they? The theme only came out in conjunction with the 4th film. It's not like Star Wars where, like it or not, there are TV series and video games released left right and centre.

Quite so. I also wouldn't say it was dropped all that quickly, actually. While it was certainly around less time than I'd like, it did actually get two full years with four waves, which may not sound like much but is actually more than most other licensed themes. The only ones that got more material are ones that have had new source material released at regular intervals, at the same time the theme is/was running - Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, Super Heroes (and Batman and Spider-Man themes before the latter), etc. For other licensed themes, when there might be a fair amount of older material but there's only a single new movie out within the timeframe of the theme (that is, only one in several years, and no new ones on the immediate horizon), they almost always limit the theme to one wave, or two at most, such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Speed Racer, The Lone Ranger, Toy Story, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. - even though the last two of those were established franchises with multiple older movies as well as the brand new ones that got the themes to happen, neither of them lasted more than two waves, and most of those themes had just one. Indiana Jones, however, got a full four waves. That's quite a bit better than most other licensed themes, and better than any other licensed theme that didn't have multiple new screen productions released within the timeframe of the theme (counting The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings together as one supertheme, and Cars & Planes together as another).

That said, I also would dearly love to see more official LEGO Indiana Jones sets, myself.

I'd also like to see more "classic" Space, like so many others, and like alois I'd also like to see the "homemaker" line return.

[Duq]

Someone had to say it: I'd like to see 9V trains rebooted ;-)

Seriously though, I'd like to see the large-scale racers (Ferrari and Lamborghini) rebooted/continued with Porsche and other brands.

I'd also like to see more Vikings but I guess there's a problem. These days every minifig theme must have good guys and bad guys. They tried with Vikings vs Dragons and apparently that didn't work too well. Viking longboats with a battery of SCUD missiles didn't do it either.

Vikings have an (undeserved) reputation for being brute pillagers but I can't see Lego doing a set with Vikings vs Monks... In reality Viking life was more about trade but that doesn't make for great conflict playsets.

[Bioslayer]

Bionicle needs to be rebooted, or at least continued where it was left off

[TheLegoExperience]

Bionicle needs to be rebooted, or at least continued where it was left off

Your wish is granted as they are making new sets come next year!

Edited July 15, 2014 by TheLegoExperience

[TheOrcKing]

Spyrius, Unitron, Blacktron, any of the original Space themes honestly.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

As a huge Space fan, I'd like to see reboots (not re-releases) of Space. Neo-classic space would be great (and they did a great job with Benny's spaceship). We NEED Blacktron III (SPIII but no Blacktron III???). It'd be nice to see an update of Ice Planet, and I'd personally like to see an update of Exploriens and UFO (which I know are not a themes a lot of people like as much as I do). It would be great, as has been mentioned, to go back to the times of different factions and concurrent Space subthemes. One can only wish while Star Wars is a Lego theme, though. As a Star Wars fan I don't complain entirely, however!

[taleweaver]

Exo-force please!