LEGO licensed sets: What is left to do?
Posted by CapnRex101,
This week's announcement of the initial LEGO Pokémon sets reminded me of a poll published in 2020. Prompted by the high frequency of new licensed themes at the time, we asked Brickset readers which new licenses they would like to see in the future, as well as which should return.
Almost six years later, new licensed themes and individual sets have continued to be released at speed, including seven of the fifteen options from the original poll. Similarly, two thirds of the mentioned returning licensed properties have indeed returned since 2020, albeit often not in the way many of us expected at the time.
I think it is interesting to look back at those polls and consider what else the future potentially holds, especially since many of the more obvious options identified a few years ago have now happened, perhaps leaving few possibilities.
What new LEGO theme should LEGO produce next?
The results of our original poll, published in March 2020, were as follows:
As you can see, all the top five have since happened in some form, either as a whole theme in the case of Pokémon, or occasional set(s) with the likes of The Legend of Zelda, Star Trek and Transformers. How to Train Your Dragon is represented by a single Icons set as well, while The Adventures of Tintin and Godzilla each have confirmed Ideas sets coming in the future.
What licensed theme should return?
We also asked which past licensed theme should return in April 2020 and the results were as follows:
Again, you will notice that several of the top performers in this poll have indeed returned since 2020. The Lord of the Rings returned with various spectacular Icons sets, while The Simpsons and Pirates of the Caribbean were both reintroduced with Icons sets in 2025. Additionally, there have been two versions of Back to the Future's DeLorean Time Machine released in 2022 and this year, plus 76911 007 Aston Martin DB5, at least one FIFA-based model and the Sonic the Hedgehog theme. Indiana Jones also returned, though frustratingly briefly.
Moreover, potential licensed properties featured in each poll regularly achieve 10,000 votes on LEGO Ideas and quite a few are actually in review right now, including Futurama, Studio Ghibli, Asterix, Avatar: The Last Airbender and the seemingly ever-present Gravity Falls. For several of those, it feels like only a matter of time until they are produced.
What could be next?
Pokémon and Star Trek have always struck me as the most prestigious properties absent from the LEGO product range, which is no longer the case. That does not inevitably make them the most valuable for sales, though Pokémon seems like a sure-fire success, but I think there is a perceived value for The LEGO Group in having access to such iconic properties, which draw in new fans.
However, I would argue that they now have agreements in place with the vast majority of those top-tier properties. There are countless sources to draw from, of course, but probably not many with a significant potential impact, even comparable to Pokémon.
In fact, there are only a few realistic possibilities that come to mind:
Dragon Ball
There has been limited LEGO exploration of manga until the last few years, with the release of LEGO ONE PIECE sets and now Pokémon, with its manga component. Dragon Ball is another one and I can envisage associated LEGO sets, but perhaps ONE PIECE and Pokémon already cover that market.
Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli is an iconic animation studio, with a number of celebrated and highly marketable characters. My Neighbour Totoro regularly inspires LEGO Ideas projects that reach the review stage, but none have yet been approved. I think there is potential for more than just one or two sets based on Studio Ghibli properties though. Perhaps a set-up like The Lord of the Rings or The Legend of Zelda is realistic, with occasional, but multiple, 18+ sets.
Hello Kitty
This list has a definite Japanese focus so far, but Hello Kitty is very different to Dragon Ball or Studio Ghibli. I had never considered LEGO Hello Kitty before, but SetToBuild suggested it as an idea and I must say, it sounds plausible. Lots of recent licensed sets show a desire to reach new potential LEGO fans and I believe Hello Kitty could do that.
SpongeBob SquarePants
Strange though it sounds, I think there are similarities between SpongeBob SquarePants and The Lord of the Rings in the context of LEGO sets. LEGO SpongeBob SquarePants originally ran between 2006 and 2012 and evidently had some success, but not enough to become ever-present. The market has since changed though, so I think further play sets and perhaps even 18+ sets are justifiable.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
The same applies to Avatar: The Last Airbender. Two sets were launched in 2006 and without any more to follow, they were presumably not very successful. Again though, the audience for LEGO sets and Avatar: The Last Airbender is totally different today and I am surprised none of the many Ideas projects to reach 10,000 votes have yet been selected. It leads me to wonder whether The LEGO Group has a full theme in mind for Avatar, at some point.
KPop Demon Hunters
I think LEGO KPop Demon Hunters sets are all but guaranteed in some form, especially given the established relationship between The LEGO Group and Netflix. However, unlike the above properties, KPop Demon Hunters is brand new, so its longevity is not necessarily assured. Still, as a fan of the movie myself, I hope to see some LEGO sets!
There are doubtless other possibilities and Huw mentioned Taylor Swift as a potential source to draw from, for instance, although that feels more like a single Ideas set than a consistent theme to me, in the vein of 21339 BTS Dynamite.
Needless to say, I would also love to see more successful original LEGO themes alongside the various licensed sets. I am certainly not advocating for an endless deluge of new licences; I am just wondering how many more there can actually be!
Do you have any other ideas? Let us know in the comments and I may publish another poll, as in 2020, if we receive enough suggestions.
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40 comments on this article
If you have seen the leaks....
Goku Mech 215pcs $79.99
Hello Kitty Brickheadz 76 pcs $44.99
The Krusty Krab 8,601 pcs $1,389.99
KPop Concert Stage 994 pcs $279.99
Again not 100% confirmed but by the supposed metrics these look likely.
How about less licenses? It makes Lego more and more expensive
Lego Red Dead Redemtion. It's time to use that 18+ rating for more than just price gouging
Asterix sets for sure would bankrupt me! Playmobil has already got lots of sets of the theme but making it to Lego would help with accessibility to the Roman theme again for MOC builders.
Doctor Who, Gravity Falls, and classic TRON would be really nice to own, along with more Indiana Jones sets. (such as the opening chase sequence from Doom being redone!) Thomas the Tank engine in system-scale will sadly never happen, due to Mattel owning it lock-stock-and-barrel and having their own brick-building system as well. As for my personal wish: The Polar Express keeps being rejected but it would be nice to see a big 'modern' American steam loco (maybe with extra coaches as add on packs?) that was made in the era after 1900... steam trains didn't end in the Wild West here in America, LEGO!
They could start by having at least one set in every theme that is inexpensive.
Also I think every licensed theme should have a wave that has actual minifigures.
With LEGO Super Mario, Animal Crossing, Legend of Zelda, and now Pokemon, methinks Kirby should be next! Though Bandai already has their own brick sets for Kirby I believe.
@ScholtzTKO said:
"If you have seen the leaks....
Goku Mech 215pcs $79.99
Hello Kitty Brickheadz 106 pcs $44.99
The Krusty Krab 8,601 pcs $1,389.99
KPop Concert Stage 994 pcs $279.99
Again not 100% confirmed but by the supposed metrics these look likely. "
Those prices don’t really make sense for those piece counts if you are talking US dollars. 106 pieces for $45 for Hello Kitty? And that amount for the Krusty Krab would make it the most expensive LEGO set by a drastic margin, well beyond the price of the current most expensive set, the Death Star. You aren’t going to convince me there are more SpongeBob fans than Star Wars.
It's a franchise past it's prime and likely still too violent for LEGO standards, but LEGO getting the Halo license would feel like the last hurdle to dancing on the grave of its competition (Star Trek, Pokémon, Spiderman for MEGA, Transformers for Kreo). An official LEGO Master Chief and Cortana would feel as ground shaking as a Halo release on Playstation (ahem) is in terms of geek-gaming culture.
Crash, LEGO could make sets from Cronenberg's adaptation since they love making endless cars and they could even put out a J.G. Ballard GWP like the Jane Austen one.
@ohrmazd said:
" @ScholtzTKO said:
"If you have seen the leaks....
Goku Mech 215pcs $79.99
Hello Kitty Brickheadz 106 pcs $44.99
The Krusty Krab 8,601 pcs $1,389.99
KPop Concert Stage 994 pcs $279.99
Again not 100% confirmed but by the supposed metrics these look likely. "
Those prices don’t really make sense for those piece counts if you are talking US dollars. 106 pieces for $45 for Hello Kitty? And that amount for the Krusty Krab would make it the most expensive LEGO set by a drastic margin, well beyond the price of the current most expensive set, the Death Star. You aren’t going to convince me there are more SpongeBob fans than Star Wars."
I was mocking Legos recent insanity...
@ScholtzTKO said:
" @ohrmazd said:
" @ScholtzTKO said:
"If you have seen the leaks....
Goku Mech 215pcs $79.99
Hello Kitty Brickheadz 106 pcs $44.99
The Krusty Krab 8,601 pcs $1,389.99
KPop Concert Stage 994 pcs $279.99
Again not 100% confirmed but by the supposed metrics these look likely. "
Those prices don’t really make sense for those piece counts if you are talking US dollars. 106 pieces for $45 for Hello Kitty? And that amount for the Krusty Krab would make it the most expensive LEGO set by a drastic margin, well beyond the price of the current most expensive set, the Death Star. You aren’t going to convince me there are more SpongeBob fans than Star Wars."
I was mocking Legos recent insanity..."
You had me fooled, as SpongeBob is rumored to be supposedly coming back this year...
Would still love a Gerry Anderson licenced theme....
Supercar, Fireball, Stingray and Thunderbirds at least!
Well.. at least it would seem that the LEGO group does listen to what their fans want and tries to make that happen wherever possible. I for one am happy with the new Star Trek license but aside from that I find myself getting hit with license fatigue and gravitating more and more towards sets that do not have a license attached to them (the added cost for those sets is a major factor).
LEGO is a business like any other. In the end the goal is simply to make a tidy profit for the shareholders in the Christiansen family. And I can't blame them for that strategy.
But personally I'd like them to rely less on the intellectual property of others and create more of their own.
I wonder how much veracity there is in the rumours that Dimensions Wave 3 would have given us Mega Man, but if this is true and Capcom is amenable, that would be a pret-ty good line for the Ferociously Old Fan of LEGO (the FOFOL). TLG would not have to badger Konami very hard for a Castlevania-license, they're not guarding the brand very fiercely. Nintendo still has some of its own IPs mysteriously left unmilked - think Metroid, but also Kid Icarus.
Those lines would stand alone fairly well, I think. They're very easy to branch out on. And the discerning reader will have spotted it already, it's easy to consolidate these franchises into and/or branch out from a Smash Bros-line, where these, and several existing LEGO-format Nintendo-IPs, already live.
Some Smash-imports will be harder to secure or transpose into LEGO-format, yes. Even if we can get Mega Man from Capcom, there's no guarantee that TLG would also want to bring the Street Fighter-characters on board. We might have Pac-Man, but it's unlikely that TLG wants to bring the Tekken-characters in, unless LEGO really wants to branch into full-contact family-therapy. Square-Enix seems particularly difficult to bring on board, so I don't think we'll see Cloud, Sephiroth, Sora or the Dragon Quest Hero(es) around - even IF TLG would want in a band of kleptomaniac murder-hobos. Apologies to the cast of Fire Emblem as well, all of interchangeably you.
I've seen someone suggest Lego do Fire Emblem and I kinda agree with it being a good backdoor for new Lego Castle minifigs parts (imagine the battle packs they could make with that license.) I'm also still holding on to Lego Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. KH could easily have modular Gummi Ships and reissues of Disney CMFs as a gimmick and FF has the variety of settings to go with (and the prospect of buildable Chocobo)
The weebs demand their Lego
Stargate SG1 sets, Blade Runner, Mass Effect Trilogy, Cyberpunk 2077, Witcher, Tomb Raider, etc.
What I would really like: Smaller licensed sets based on existing licenses (Dune, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.) that don't cost €250-500 and don't take up half your shelf space. Something you can safely give your 6-year-old to play with, without having to worry about whether you can buy a new torso on Bricklink for €70.
But all of this can go into one theme, it doesn't have to be separate for each one. I'd rather they bring back a classic, unlicensed theme with a complete range of sets.
A studio Ghibli licence would be so amazing, I can already imagine the dioramas and buildable creatures of Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, and art sets of the beautiful scènes from Princess Kaguya
Another brand currently has Hello Kitty sets on shelves (I think it's Brick Craft, my daughter has two of them).
Star Fox!
I think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should make a comeback to LEGO. They were briefly available in LEGO form, for their 2012 Nickelodeon animated series, until Mattel's Mega Blocks/Brix took over the license, and did quite a number of (decent) sets for the 2012 series, the 2014 and 2016 movies, as well as the 1987 cartoon.
Since Playmates Toys' master toy license for TMNT has lapsed, this could very well happen. It's likely though that Mattel could get the master license, since they already had TMNT-themed Hotwheels and a fairly well-received crossover with Masters Of The Universe. This would mean the Turtles stay with Mega Brix or Mel B, or whatever it is called nowadays.
However, if Hasbro happens to get the master toy license, the Turtles might make a return to LEGO, as Hasbro has recently also licensed some of their Transformers characters to LEGO. Then again, there's currently also a collab between Hasbro and Mattel on a Transformers MOTU crossover, so I guess just about anything could happen.
Game of Thrones would be cool, but seeing as LEGO doesn't seem to want to make LOTR into a regular theme with normal playsets I don't exactly hold out much hope for a Game of Thrones theme.
Some one-off (and presumably very expensive) Icons sets don't seem unrealistic though. UCS Iron Throne, maybe?
I would really love a Gravity Falls license, or other similar shows, like Phineas and Ferb (especially with its new revival). Lego already has Disney sets, so I don't see it being impossible.
I couldn’t begin to describe how stoked I would be for Chronicles of Narnia sets based on the Walden Trilogy. There are so many opportunities for playsets, display sets, dioramas, battle packs, and more! The minifigures would be incredible, too.
We are getting K-Pop Demon Hunters sets this or next year
@EtudeTheBadger said:
"Star Fox!"
Great Rolling Stones track....
Ninjago has produced a more imaginative and creative range of sets than any licensed theme. And what started life as the Cafe Corner and grew into modular buildings has been wildly popular with fans of all ages. Do I need to even mention botanicals as another example? Licensed themes are only a distraction from what LEGO can achieve.
Clearly what we need is ROMANCING THE STONE and its sequel THE JEWEL OF THE NILE. I also would love to see something from the POLICE ACADEMY cinematic universe. WEEKEND AT BERNIES anyone?
What, don't look at me like that. All of the top-tier 80s/90s nostalgia-bait movies have been done, we have to start mining some of the lesser stuff.
About NO to all of these. Terrible ideas, just plain terrible.
I honestly think they are missing a huge opportunity to have licensed characters appear in the Fortnite sets. I would love to have figs of their designs for the ninja turtles and avatar characters!
Lego Bassmasters
LOL @ people in the old thread swearing that Star Trek and Transformers would “never happen”.
Yeah, I also didn’t think it would happen. Glad I was wrong. Now if only they’d put out some Trek playsets like the shuttle and not limit it to giant dust collectors that sit on a shelf.
I* love this discussion, because none of the mentioned themes hold any interest for me.
*my wallet
I fear im one of the few remaining holdouts for lego thunderbirds.... one can dream.
@ohrmazd said:
" @ScholtzTKO said:
"If you have seen the leaks....
Goku Mech 215pcs $79.99
Hello Kitty Brickheadz 106 pcs $44.99
The Krusty Krab 8,601 pcs $1,389.99
KPop Concert Stage 994 pcs $279.99
Again not 100% confirmed but by the supposed metrics these look likely. "
Those prices don’t really make sense for those piece counts if you are talking US dollars. 106 pieces for $45 for Hello Kitty? And that amount for the Krusty Krab would make it the most expensive LEGO set by a drastic margin, well beyond the price of the current most expensive set, the Death Star. You aren’t going to convince me there are more SpongeBob fans than Star Wars."
JOKE. IT WAS A JOKE.
Okie Dokie - How about some Fallout sets..
Perhaps Lego could release that Indiana Jones Temple of Doom set they cancelled.
Think a few Disney Channel animated shows (especially the Mystery Shack from Gravity Falls) might be cool as sets but I don’t think they’ll happen for another few years at the very least.
i'd kill for Cinnamoroll and Lloromannic minifigs, but if LEGO Sanrio ever comes along, i'll probably only get Cinnamoroll out of it at best