LEGO: Five Themes They Need To Bring Back So I Can Give Them All My Money
Take a look at these abandoned LEGO themes from yesteryear that we’d love to see brought back.
LEGO sets come and go over time. There is always a wonderfully endless supply of new sets coming out for us to get our grubby hands on. As sets come and go, so do whole themes. In many ways, a theme going out of production is much sadder than even the coolest set; it can mean a whole genre or aesthetic that is just no longer around. Sometimes a similar theme replaces it (often branded), but other times, they are just gone.
Every now and then, a LEGO theme will be brought back. LEGO Castle, for instance, seemed dead for a few years, but got a new lease of life. The same is true of LEGO Lord of the Rings. Here are our top picks for old, lost themes we’d love to see make a comeback, ones we’d throw some money at if they ever did!
5 – Pharaoh’s Quest
Pyramids and monsters and explorers, oh my! This was a pretty short-lived LEGO theme from 2011, but it rocked. Clearly inspired by The Mummy and Indiana Jones, this set was all about the 1920s/30s Egyptology aesthetic. It’s a super cool look, and there is a lot more that LEGO can do with it. They’ve dabbled in similar sets in the past, and they were also great.
Right now, they don’t really have anything to fill this niche or scratch this adventure-themed itch. But you can pick up the Pyramid of Giza if all you want is to build one of the Wonders of the Ancient World.
4 – Ice Planet 2002
The LEGO Space theme has been pretty dead lately, but a few releases have technically kept it alive. The same cannot be true of all the sub-themes, and among them, the Ice Planet 2002 from the early 90s holds a special place in my heart. This was just a super cool aesthetic that included some great ships and bases. The blue and white color scheme with the clear orange also really stood out to me as just one of the coolest we’ve seen.
I suspect the popularity of Star Wars and the more real-life city-related space stuff has made it hard for them to put out old-school Space sets, but that’s a real shame. The small Blacktron revival shows that people do want these, and there is a space for the more fantastical ships to exist.
3 – Western
The late 90s saw the arrival of the most American of all LEGO themes, Western. This was a theme that delved into classic Wild West tropes and had a lot going for it. Not only did you have all the cool Western and Cowboy things, but also it was one of the more militaristic themes, along with pirates. You’ve got more modern soldiers and cannons and the like. It was very cool. Yet for all that, it was a relatively short-lived theme, and we haven’t seen it in decades.
Now obviously this can be a difficult one to get right, its inclusion of Native Americans can be done poorly and lead to issues. However, there are ways to do it respectfully and well, and given how often Western-style designs are showcased in Ideas and Bricklink contests, this is one that people really want.
2 – Pirates!
Speaking of Pirates, they are next up on our list here. Pirates is a very long-running LEGO theme with a ton of amazing sets. They first came out in 1989 and have gotten a lot of releases since then. However, starting around 2010, the theme got less and less support. Currently, with the Eldorado Fortress having been retired, there are no Pirate theme sets around (there is the idea of a 3-in-1 ship, but that’s it). Even Eldorado Fortress was a bit of an outlier as its was the first pirate set to come out in 8 years and is still the only set since 2015.
Given how long-running and popular this theme has been, it’s kind of crazy that it’s basically dead. Eldorado was a great set, but not out for all that long, and we want more! Given what you see in Ideas and Bricklink, there is clearly demand for this!
1- BIONICLE
How to explain BIONICLE. A mash-up of biological and chronological, these were basically LEGO action figures. They included a lot of unique pieces and had some super cool builds and designs, looking really nothing like most other LEGO sets. They also had lore. Like a LOT of lore.
The LEGO models were supported by a comic series, graphic novels, over 30 books, five video games, and four movies. It was a lot, but if you were a kid or early teen in the early 2000s, it might just have been the coolest thing ever. The theme was retired in 2010, and though it had a small revival in 2015-16, it’s been gone since then. However, as its original fans are now in their 30s, this is the perfect time to bring it back for those nostalgic vibes!
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