LEGO LOTR in June!

century

I can't wait! Nabii confirmed it on twitter and linked to a Variety.com story.

Si_Dorking_Surrey_UK

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118047584?refcatid=4076&printerfriendly=true

flippin eck! awesome!

atkinsar

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118047584

GET IN !! This is fantastic news for me, I think it will be a marriage made in heaven.

xowainx

This is literally all my dreams coming true at once.

LostInTranslation

*does a little desk song-and-dance* "I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it, I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!"

Going to be a 'spensive year in 2012...

Huw

Thanks, now on home page. I'm a bit peeved that LEGO haven't sent out a press release about this given it's the biggest story to break this year, though!

LostInTranslation

^ Even bigger than the ComicCon DC/Marvel extravaganza?

atkinsar

Here's a link to a teaser page on the TLG wesbite: http://thelordoftherings.lego.com/en-us/default.aspx

xowainx

Set predicitions..

Shelob's lair
Helm's Deep (with exploding wall)
Attack at the Weathertop
Balin's Tomb
The Prancing Pony Inn (with Trapdoor for Frodo to "disappear" through)
Gandalf's Fireworks cart (with flick fire missiles)
Tom Bombadil's House (might get cut from the schedule)

atkinsar

I'd expect a heavy focus on the new film initially, with a smattering of trilogy sets.

Huw

No -- it says "the first toys Lego plans to produce will hit store shelves in June, tied to "Lord of the Rings," with new construction sets planned for the weeks leading up to the Dec. 14 bow of "An Unexpected Journey."

So, like Indiana Jones they will plunder the back catalogue ahead of the new film's release.

xowainx

I imagine that will be the case, although I think what they do will depend on what they put in the film.. Clearly it will have to be more "action heavy" and "sexed up" to appease the studio.. That said, I imagine a set that "turns a troll to stone" (similar to Isla De Muertia) is a possibility.

Edit - Well spotted Huw!

monkey_roo

Oh well, time for a second mortgage...

drdavewatford

Best LEGO-related news all year; surpasses the Superheroes announcement. I'm just delighted.

Love the following quote from LEGO :

"It's particularly exciting to now be able to create sets based on the fantasy worlds and characters from 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy and 'The Hobbit,' not only because we know they will foster collectability and creative play, but also because these are two properties that our fans have been asking us to create for years."

Key phrases above : "foster collectability" and "fans have been asking us to create for years". Who says TLG don't pay heed to us AFOLs ?

Effing marvellous !!

brickupdate

Wow. I have to say that this is exciting to wake up too.

But... boy is LEGO doubling down on licensed merchandise. I suppose this simply replaces the Harry Potter lineup, but between LotR, Star Wars, Super Heroes, Pirates of the Caribbean, and others, it seems like half of the store is licensed.

But of course, I will be buying these! Excited news. Thanks!
-Dan

aLEGOuncle

Tom Bombadil's House (might get cut from the schedule)

I imagine these will be focused on the films versus the books... so this one seems unlikely. Bilbo's house for sure though.

brickupdate

@DrDaveWatford - to me the interesting phrase in that quote was "foster... creative play." It could be argued that LEGO's original non-licensed bricks and sets foster more creative play than sets where kids will likely stick exactly to the script, character traits, and set design when playing, in order to recreate movie scenes.

drdavewatford

^ I agree with you - I don't buy the argument that these sets will foster creative play compared with more generic bricks or licenses such as Cars. Given the darker tone of the films (LotR at least) this seems like a present for TFOLs and AFOLs, not something gerared at younger LEGO fans to whom "creative play" would be more applicable.

atkinsar

No -- it says "the first toys Lego plans to produce will hit store shelves in June, tied to "Lord of the Rings," with new construction sets planned for the weeks leading up to the Dec. 14 bow of "An Unexpected Journey.

So it does, clearly I was too excited to read it properly!

roguetrader1987

"Damn, I lost my 'One Ring'..."

roguetrader1987

Games Workshop drove their license all the way into the books, e.g Tom Bombadil and Radagast The Brown. Perhaps not so deep with Lego?

Bosstone100

Am I the only one not interested in LOTR?

atkinsar

^ so far to comment, yes, but I'm positive there are others around that have no interest either.

MinifigsMe

@bosstone100 - I'm not bothered either. I feel left out! But possibly my finances will be ok. Though I doubt it. My husband loves LOTR and I've not got him loving lego...oops!

roguetrader1987

Am I the only one not interested in LOTR?

Ahh, you must be a Hobbit guy...

LostInTranslation

Does anyone know whether/think that there will be a computer game for this licence too? Past licences all seem to have them, and maybe that could lead to a wider range of sets being produced.

Bosstone100

Not really. I'll probably see it but not a big enough fan to buy toys for it.

mr_benn

I have to admit that I was one of the people whoi thought the rumours were just that, so I'll eat my words here....

I don't have too much interest in LOTR, I lean more on the sci-fi side of the fence than fantasy - though I'm sure they'll have some very cool sets.

I'm not sure if I should be a little worried about Lego using the word 'collectability' - it's all a bit 'gotta catch 'em all' and I bet you'll see some very highly desirable minifigs packed with some very average sets, as we've seen with the SW licence.

Add to that the Warner Brothers' tax (clearly this is going to replace the revenue stream from the HP licence) and I'll certainly be interested how the sets sell - cue battlepacks aplenty with orcs/elves/etc - army builders will be broke!

xowainx

Tom Bombadi"s

Tom Bombadil's House (might get cut from the schedule)

I imagine these will be focused on the films versus the books... so this one seems unlikely. Bilbo's house for sure though.

Sorry, that was meant to be a joke based around how it was cut from the film's storyline..

aLEGOuncle

Sorry, that was meant to be a joke based around how it was cut from the film's storyline..

LOL, nice.

bor2112

@Savage_Steel, same here. I am not interested but my boyfriend (that sounds ridiculous in your 40s) is a huge LOTR fan. He has learned to appreciate Lego as well. Or at least he is not dumb enough to let me know how completely wacky he thinks I am.

atkinsar

Does anyone know whether/think that there will be a computer game for this licence too? Past licences all seem to have them, and maybe that could lead to a wider range of sets being produced.

I don't know, but I would be amazed if Traveller's Tales don't release a game based on LOTR.

bor2112

oh, but i will want that golden ring!

Si_Dorking_Surrey_UK

Strange, I just uncovered a rather nice LOTR MoC this morning just before this news broke. Lets hope the sets look something like this ...

cbaker1974

Wow, what a fantastic present this news is to LOTR fans from TLC right before Christmas. I have to admit I was a little down for next year in terms of items to collect, with Harry Potter and Kingdoms seemingly ending and no plans announced for a PotC second wave. Star Wars has been getting a little stale to me as they've been recycling sets and focusing on first trilogy/obscure bits of the Clone Wars cartoons.

I do think that Lego needs the movie tie in to the Hobbit to do very well in order for this line to really succeed and bring in the kids into the fold...many of their prospective customers weren't even born when Fellowship of the Ring came out, and the LOTR series is definately darker than Star Wars...I am guessing there will be some heavy focus on the Hobbits/Elves/Dwarves in some more peaceful settings and that we might need to wait a year or two for a Balrog. Then again the Castle theme with the warlike orcs did go this direction a bit so there's some hope that it won't be "too much on the benevolent side".

cbaker1974

And that MOC ^^^^!!!

sidersdd

^^^ Those MOCs were unleashed at Brickworld. Just one of many.
http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/276793

sidersdd

I too was a non-believer - thinking the material was not in TLG's target age audience. I'm excited to see what is created, but feel there is no way it can live up to people's expectations. Look at all the poo-pooing of the Super Hero sets, which up until now were the greatest news. Figs are great, the sets are meh. I'm also a little put off by all the licensing, and wish for more creative lines like Alien Conquest and Pharoah's Quest. My kids' favorite themes are Power Miners, Atlantis, and Ninjago. None of the licensed bits.

Jasen

Wow that MOC is awesome! Does someone feel like counting the minifigs!?
I'm a pretty big fan of LOTR so I'll be keeping a close eye on this, POTC, HP, PoP, SW, Cars etc don't interest me even though I have a few. Maybe as they phase this in the SW line will phase out if it becomes big (It's going to be 5 movies....).
It has alot more potential than HP and POTC and could easily rival SW in magnitude and endurance.
I can't wait. If I actually buy any remains to be seen (aah who am I kidding) but after the Superheroes and new City, 2012 was looking bleak....

aLEGOuncle

Am I the only one not interested in LOTR?

I think an original LEGO fantasy theme would be a lot more interesting... but can't blame them for going where the money is.

kor

Depending on set and character design, this could be one of the best licenses ever! I'm not going to get overly excited until I see pics but I do feel a certain amount of giddiness starting already....

LegoFanTexas

Wow!!!

Lord of the Rings is the 3rd best selling book in history, over 150 million copies in print. It has been around for 3 times as long as Star Wars has.

This could be as big as Star Wars. It could be bigger, there are A LOT of LOTRs fans in the world, with the new movie coming it, it could bring in a lot of younger fans who can watch The Hobbit first, then grow into the amazing LOTR trilogy.

This may be the first theme other than Star Wars that justifies a $400 Lego set... or 2...


BTW, Best selling book #4 is The Hobbit...


WOW... Very cool to wake up to this...

Yellowcastle

I'm going to to say I called this.... :o)
*************************************
Yellowcastle April 6 Quote Edit

Not to get anyone too excited, but TLG abruptly ended the return of Pirates in prep for POTC. If you ask me, the recent Fantasy / Castle era being replaced by Kingdoms has that same sort of feel. Could LOTR truly be in the works?

http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/266/which-trilogy-would-you-suggest-lego-to-base-their-next-licensed-theme-on#Item_29

georgebjones

Even though @avoiceofreason should be, let me be the voice of reason here. I think we should handle this news properly. Let us not get excited about the sets for this license. They will be bad, I am sure. Let us look at the past sets that TLG has produced that had the potential to be epic, but were "disappointing." Does the word Hoth bring anything to mind?

We should be pessimistic about these sets. We should be moaning about how awful they will be. Bilbo's house will be a crappy square door with no back and way out of proportion. All the fantasy era trolls will be called orcs and that is it. They will put stickers on 2x4 tiles for the uruk hai. There won't even be an aragorn or Gandalf figure. There will be some made up set that wasn't in the movie or books that has us scratching our heads as to how it even relates to middle earth. There will be space ships, like the space skulls.

Now that our expectations are appropriately low, when the sets come out, they can't possibly be as bad as I described and we will all be happy. :)

kor

I'm going to to say I called this.... :o)
*************************************
Yellowcastle April 6 Quote Edit

Not to get anyone too excited, but TLG abruptly ended the return of Pirates in prep for POTC. If you ask me, the recent Fantasy / Castle era being replaced by Kingdoms has that same sort of feel. Could LOTR truly be in the works?

http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/266/which-trilogy-would-you-suggest-lego-to-base-their-next-licensed-theme-on#Item_29

That was a good observation. You hit the nail on the head.

georgebjones

^^^Nailed it, @Yellowcastle
Pirates comes back with some great sets, they give us Imperial Flagship to appease us, and boom! POTC!

Kingdoms comes out with some great sets, they give us Joust to appease us, and boom! LOTR!

I remember when they started the fantasy era, they said they ditched Knights Kingdom because they wanted a story arc that could continue for years and years, so they chose the fantasy era, and then it abruptly ended? I think this has been in the works for a while.

MattPetersen

WOOHOOO!!!!
Amazing news for me!!
Terrible news for my wife....... ;)

With DC and Marvel Superheroes, and now Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, She'll have to lock my wallet in a safe and throw away the keys!

Legogeek

Good news indeed.

However, I'll wait to see what the sets look like before I come to any conclusions though.
I don't know if I'm ready to take on another theme, even though I am a LOTR/Hobbit fan. The spouse may not be too happy if that happens...

Jenni

I finished reading LOTR when I was 10, the target age range may be bigger than you think, especially as I was 8 when I read The Hobbit. Not the normal age, I know, but there's bunches of kids like that.

streeker

It's too bad that each boom! has come at the cost of a regular systems line, i.e;, Pirates and Kingdoms/Castle, two excellent lines in their own right.

cbaker1974

MMV will become a must-own now, easy pieces to recreate Bree and the Prancing Pony for MOCs.