What do you call a brick dinosaur?
Posted by shima55,
One year from today in the USA (and significantly less in the UK) Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will be released.
Frank Marshall, one of the film’s Executive Producers, tweeted the poster, name, and tagline of the film today. As with all properties that have been associated with our beloved building brick, we can’t help but wonder, what will the sets look like? Will we get new dinosaurs? Will Jeff Goldblum get his second LEGO minifigure? Will we even GET any LEGO Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom sets?
Although we don’t have the answer to those questions, we can look back at the 16-year history this famous franchise has with the LEGO Group. So let’s go on a paleontological dig through the history of LEGO and Jurassic Park!
The first official LEGO Jurassic Park sets were released in July 2001 to coincide with the release of Jurassic Park 3. However, these two sets, featuring Velociraptors, a Pteranodon, and the ferocious Spinosaurus (but no T-Rex), did not get their own theme. Instead, they were packaged under the LEGO Studios theme, which, in addition to pieces from the movie, also contained pieces to make a “film set”, such as a cameraman or a director. Another movie that got this treatment was Spider-Man in 2002. In addition to Cameraman and Director minifigures, the Studios theme did not always use special minifigures for the movie characters. So, instead of Alan Grant, we got actor Johnny Thunder. Instead of an Amanda Kirby figure, we got actress Pippin Reed. So, although fans were pleased to get official Jurassic Park LEGO sets, the generic minifigures were a bit of a let-down.
A much bigger let-down to any fans of the films, however, was the fact that there would not be another movie in the franchise for 14 years! As such there were no new Jurassic Park sets released during this time. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t hope, however….
In 2012, LEGO released the Dino theme, with new moulded dinosaurs, including famous species from the Jurassic films, like T-Rex and Velociraptor. Eagle-eyes fans could not help but notice that the designs of the dinosaurs in the LEGO sets were very similar to the designs from the films. Normally, this wouldn’t be seen as important, as in the years since Jurassic Park was released, the designs from the film had become more-or-less the default for dinosaur toys (see, for example, Papo’s brilliantly detailed collection). However, like the cup of water in Donald Gennaro’s Jeep, there had been rumblings.
Although Kathleen Kennedy had stated after Jurassic Park writer Michael Crichton’s death in 2008 that it was unlikely for another film to be made, in 2011 reports surfaced of Steven Spielberg working with writers to crack a new script. In addition, Universal had teamed up with IDW Comics around this time to makes 3 miniseries based on Jurassic Park, and they were rereleasing old comics under the new banner. So it seemed that all the pieces were in place for the franchise to come roaring to life, with these conveniently designed LEGO dinos to be a part of it.
Sure enough, in January 2013, Jurassic World was announced. LEGO more-or-less confirmed their part in the resurgence when, in the credit sequence of LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, Plastic Man shows up in the guise of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Soon after, LEGO announced they would indeed be making official sets for the film, not just Studios either, but full-fledged sets, the same as Star Wars and Super Heroes get! There was even a video game announced!
If you were a FOL at this time two years ago, no doubt you remember the massive popularity of these sets. They were very hard to find for several months! LEGO obviously had a hit on their hands, and Universal did too, as the film smashed box office records. Shockingly, however, there was no second wave of sets.
Last year, LEGO fans were treated to a short film, The Indominus Escape, a kid-friendly retelling of Jurassic World. But no new sets accompanied it. Indeed, Jurassic Park does not appear under the active licenses on the LEGO Ideas site.
What does all this mean? Is LEGO Jurassic extinct? Or is there a surprise waiting for us? Like Drs. Grant, Sattler, and Malcolm on that first tour of Isla Nublar back in 1993, looks like we’ll have to wait and see.
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23 comments on this article
It's already been confirmed we're getting JW Fallen Kingdom sets :)
^ That's what they're calling it? Lame name. But cool that we are getting sets, I didn't get any from the first movie.
What about Dino attack and Dino 2010?
Er....... Opus Latericiumosaurus possibly.
I just want the triceracop.
I agree with Brick_Knight, and was coming here to say the same thing! That's a pretty major oversight for such a narrowly focused article...
I could be wrong about all this, but I believe it was announced that the Jurassic World franchise toy rights went over to Mattel. That may only be for action figures, but it is possible that building sets would be released under their "Mega" lines.
take that with a grain of salt, of course. ;-)
I would love to see LEGO actually make some OG JP sets, though.
This article is solely focused on Jurassic Park/World, not all dinosaur sets, hence the exclusion of Dino Attack/2010, the 2001 Dinosaurs theme, and the Adventurers Dino Island theme. The only reason the 2012 Dino theme is mentioned is because the molds are used in the Jurassic World theme. Hopefully this clears up any confusion. All those themes are amazing, but radioactive T-Rex with laser eyes have nothing to do with Jurassic World, at least as far as we know.
Awesome article!
^^^ That did indeed prevented Lego fans from making Ideas sets until there were some troubles with Mattel and Lego re acquired the rights to create construction sets, just hope we get a few herbivores as last time all we got were carnivores (I don't know where to place them also).
If only they can find a way to give us the classic JP Jeep, explorer, and main gates, I'd be a happy camper. Maybe the movie will be retro *crosses fingers*
A bricksaurus rex!
Great read, I really hope we get new sets to tie in with the new movie my son loves all the jurassic world sets and plays with them everyday
Second jeff goldblum gigure? Remind me of the first someone
That guy in the new thor arena set, that Goldblum
Cheers casper, forgot that seeing as the movie not out yet
What do you call a brick dinosaur? A brickiosaurus?
^ or Brickasaurus!
"One year from today in the USA (and significantly less in the UK) Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will be released."
I don't understand this opening sentence. What is "significantly less in the UK"? The amount of time to the release date? The anticipation for the set? The popularity of JW in the UK?
I've been woken up at night by helicopter noises from some of the scenes being filmed for this movie! Parts of something like the JP visitor centre has been built around Pyestock and Hawley Woods in Hampshire in the UK, not far from the (relatively) well-known Farnborough and Blackbushe airports. Fortunately, none of the dinosaurs have escaped so far!
I had a bit of a poke around other movie filming locations. Apprarently Hawley Woods doubled as Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron too, thanks to some squirt-on fake snow. And Scarif Base in Rogue One? Yep, it's Canary Wharf Underground Station. And I've sat in the 'Spanish' café where James Bond rolled that 2CV in 'For Your Eyes Only'. In Greece.
what is strange to me is that Lego wasn't releasing sets from the first three movies. I don't own anyof the modern lego dinosauruses but I don't wanted any of the sets from the Jurrasic World. I want a set from the first movie with the Jeep, a T-rex and/or a Brachiosaurus.
Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean had the same problem, Chrystal skull and Stranger tides got plenty of sets but what about the previos movies?
I hope that Lego will release dinosaurs under the Jurrasic brand but also from the older movies
^^There has been Jurassic Park sets (ok, as a subtheme in Studios) and due to the release of Crystal Skull a bunch of sets depicting scenes from the previous movies was released. There are also a few sets from each POTC film.
I think there is a chance Lego doesn't make JW sets, as the rather disappointing 2015 wave is still on shelves in Sweden. I believe it sold quite poorly, despite its cool dinousaurs and Jurassic World's enormous box office success.
A Megalostudasaur.