Are Lego Historical themes a 'thing of the past'?

Brickchap

Castle, Pirates, Wild West, Adventurers. These are classic themes based upon various time periods of human history and all have been redone in fairly recent years. But now it looks like they themselves have become history.

The last true 'historical theme' was Pirates back in 2015. The latest Pirates of the Caribbean film provided FOLs with just one set, which was no use for a reasonably realistic 'pirate era' display.

Nexo Knights appeared to have stolen the rightful place of a realistic (or semi realistic) castle/kingdoms/medieval theme but now that has finally become extinct, where have the historical themes gone?

I want to start a discussion on what the future of these great themes is, any rumors for upcoming historical themes, or eras of history we would like to see Lego do.

I personally would love to see more of all the traditional themes but perhaps one from the 20th century, such as a City/Creator-like Prohibition era one or retro 1950s etc.

Baby_Yoda

We do already have a 20th century Creator subtheme, sort of - the Modular Buildings styles generally sit in that period. I think Lego are unlikely to re-release the Western theme as the depiction of Native Americans would be much riskier than it was twenty years ago. As for realistic historical themes, one's definition of "realistic" wildly affects the chances of them happening any time soon. I personally, for example, would consider the Pirates of the Caribbean sets to be far more realistic than standard Pirates. With Nexo Knight's demise, I would put my money on a Castle/Kingdoms theme coming up. I wouldn't be surprised if it was more fantasy than historical, though.

Brickchap

@Baby Yoda I agree with everything you say. Except Pirates of Caribbean. Although both the traditional Lego theme and movies/Lego sets based on the films are missing the whole reason of the pirate age; merchant ships with gold (or sugar, tobacco etc but these wouldn't be in a Lego set).

What Lego Pirates really needs is affordable, medium sized ships like the old 80s/90s ones that were just 2 bow pieces and had 2-4 cannons, instead of just 1 large (but still only 4 cannon) $100 Pirate ship each year with nothing to battle against bar tiny rowing boats with muskets and swivel guns. (we won't count Imperial Flagship, since it was very hard to get for regular FOLs even when it was in stores)

As for medieval, I hate fantasy. Bring back Kingdoms! (but at least regular fantasy theme would be more realistic and useful then Nexo Knights)

Shame about political correctness and everything. LOL Indian Camp becomes Indigenous American Camp. Ruins the title.

SprinkleOtter

We haven't had a non-licenced pirate ship with 4 cannons since the Imperial Flagship...

SumoLego

I don't know anything about LEGO's marketing information, but my assumption would be that the primary market - kids - aren't as interested in Pirates, Castle and Space themes.

And affordability is definitely not a factor.  Years ago, LEGO made their money on buckets of bricks.  I think there were 15 different buckets on the shelves.  Now they're squished in the back corner at the Retail Stores.  

The City and Friends themes will live on for forever because kids like to emulate what they see out in the world.  I also get the sense that the most recent round of Pirates did not sell well.  

I also agree that the current social environment probably precludes featuring a stereotype-y historical theme.  I'm sure LEGO could get all sorts of endorsements from Native Americans if the sets and figures from a Western Era theme were historically accurate, but fundamentally, that's romanticizing the systematic oppression and subjugation of a human population.  It's just not worth the hassle.  (Remember - LEGO severed their public relationship with Shell.  LEGO is made from a petroleum product.) 

The best you're going to see is a movie-themed product line set in that era.  I suppose I'm fine with that - from a toy collecting perspective.  Or the occassional figure in the CMF series.

Addicted2Oxygen

There are lots of historical themes I would like, but very few, if any, would have a big market. 

Roman Empire. Just think of all the army building, ballistas, barbarian hordes, colosseum, gladiators, wild animals, creator expert buildings. 

Then there are other civilisations of the same era: Greeks, Phoenicians, Persians, Egyptians. 

All the different boats there could be. 

I would also also love non European civs: mayans, incans, Chinese, japanese, Indian, middle eastern. Lots of potential for building g a boats even if only a few sets from each theme

ninjago scratches some of the oriental theme itch, but there is basically nothing else non European. 

In reality I think we will see only token historical sets and probably tied to a licence. There is just not the interest there with kids.

Pirates are firmly pushed at pre school, and Lego has been devoid of ideas from the first wave with just reshashes of the same few sets. With fewer sets each time. 

Castle themes just seems to not be of interest to most kids now. ‘Cowboys and indians’ is deeply out of favour. While that time is fascinating and are lots of potential sets, the framing of it needs to be done correctly. I would love to see an exploration of the native people and accurate and detailed prints for the different Native American tribes. 

I remember being intrigued with the forest men sets. I think I got a small hideout one. But again is it too niche now, and better a part of a Castle sub theme. 

Even the city sets seem to devolve in to cops and robbers and exploration vehicles. There is very little city: houses, shops, regular things. 

In general there here is far more to capture children’s attention now than in the 80s and early 90s. So only the guaranteed big sellers will be done. I.e what we see in city now and licenced themes. 

End of old man rant....

SumoLego

Brickchap said:

Shame about political correctness and everything. LOL Indian Camp becomes Indigenous American Camp. Ruins the title. 

Who cares about the title?  If they called the UCS Millennium Falcon the 'Flying Saucer Pile 'o Garbage' I'd still buy it.  The point would be the quality of the set.

I push back on PC as much as possible for silly things, but in that instance, the name is based on ignorant explorers not knowing where they were, and it became a pejorative term to describe a race of humans.  And it causes confusion, because there is an entirely different group of humans that are identified with the same word.

Flip-side example - I have no idea when 'Oriental' became an offensive word to describe objects and things from Eastern Asia.  Still baffles me, and I think it is ridiculous.  I'm going to be real confused when 'Mediteranean' goes down the same path.

catwrangler

Sadly I think you guys are right about the reasons we're unlikely to get any of the cool stuff @Addicted2Oxygen mentions. I love historical stuff to bits but I can see that it's not where most children's default interests lie, or likely to become a big fad in the immediate future. I suppose the most likely thing to return is a castle, but indeed, it seems more likely to come back in fantasy form - I missed the era with all the trolls and skeleton horses and stuff, so I'd like that. Then again, given that we're getting Harry Potter this year, that might cover the need for castles altogether...

I think licensing is going to be where it's at for the foreseeable future - but TLG will probably be very cautious about that. I gather the Lone Ranger sets didn't do terribly well, for instance. In hindsight, we were lucky that Indiana Jones came along to continue Adventurers-type sets. I'd love something else with a middle eastern setting, since I wasn't buying Lego when Prince of Persia happened...

Paperballpark

The Lone Ranger sets did as well as the film they were tied to...

SumoLego

I would argue that the Lone Ranger theme actually did pretty well.  Similarly, the low run of Prince of Persia sets didn't do that terribly, either.  We didn't see either stick around for a second production run - so that left more production capacity for other themes.  (Notably, the Friends theme - believe it or not!)

Scooby-Doo, PotC, Angry Birds, etc... all seem to fit that production model.

I will say that LEGO is very crafty about addressing multiple markets at the same time with one product.  Atlantis certainly addressed an AFOL niche, but also was an interesting theme for kids.  And historically innocuous, so as not to alert the PC crowd.  Frankly, I'd rather LEGO be overly-cautious, than be accused of having xenophobic or racist product.

Neutral, neutral, neutral!

Tkatt

Star Wars takes place "A long time ago..." so it could qualify as a historical theme.
From a certain point of view.

TheOriginalSimonB

What we need are time travelling superhero movies. Or at the very least a movie version of 1602. That’ll get the kids into some historical themes.

Gibbo1959

^ If only there was a time travel theme that LEGO could tap into, a character that travels throughout time to all sorts of different times and places.

Paperballpark

Yes, of course!


Mr Benn!

SumoLego

Gibbo1959 said:

^ If only there was a time travel theme that LEGO could tap into, a character that travels throughout time to all sorts of different times and places.

You are treading into Galidor Territory.  Be cautious!

dannyrww

Wait...Harry Potter is not an historical theme? All kidding aside, I do not think we will see castle themes while Harry Potter is around. I also think Lego is gearing Harry Potter to be their next Star Wars (and just looking at pricing and such I think Lego benefits more from a WB evergreen than a Disney owned evergreen). Still, I would love to see castles outside of Harry Potter.

CCC

dannyrww said:

Wait...Harry Potter is not an historical theme? All kidding aside, I do not think we will see castle themes while Harry Potter is around. I also think Lego is gearing Harry Potter to be their next Star Wars (and just looking at pricing and such I think Lego benefits more from a WB evergreen than a Disney owned evergreen). Still, I would love to see castles outside of Harry Potter.

They did LOTR alongside Castle.

I think they will do a more traditional or fantasy based castle line again soon. And I imagine adults will complain it is not what they want, just like last time.

The_Rancor

Many people know this already, but I would just be happy with a new Big Bang theme that had the legs to go on and expand into many great locations and stories, like Ninjago. It doesn't have to be historic specifically, but I kind of like the idea of time travel as one idea.

The good thing about fantasy castle or pirate lines is that they aren't morally specific because they don't have to be anchored in reality. What's going on the narrative of the theme doesn't really echo real life or our perception of real life. It's a more idealistic view. I wouldn't initially see anything particularly wrong with going back to a Western theme where the colonists are very obviously depicted as the villains and Indigenous American peoples such as the Sioux are the heroes. This was even the direction the Lone Ranger was leaning towards, but barely anyone watched it and it wasn't executed well. Of course, there might not be a market in it anymore though, and the wider impact of that point in history is much better understood and respected, so there's very little incentive to grow a successful theme. 

We live in times when many people seem to overly scrutinise history, to the point that even someone perceived as an established hero must always have a dirty secret or hidden flaws that muddy the waters and mean you shouldn't fully celebrate them or support what they did. Therein lies the issue with more realistic historical themes (and seemingly life in general) - you are always going to insult someone no matter whose side you take. Go fantasy, and to a degree you can pretty much do what you like.

I certainly wouldn't mind another fantasy castle theme, or (although it isn't historic) another original space theme. If TLG didn't keep some of their evergreen themes going, then many of the key evergreen branches on the Tree of Creativity will just be memorials rather than pillars of the brand.

Astrobricks

Personally, I wish they’d bring back some medium to large ancient Egyptian sets. I was fascinated by that era when I was a kid and there are so many cool monuments and buildings to do. I suppose they’d have to hook them into a story of some kind, though. Did TLG ever do anything related to the Mummy movies?

Gibbo1959

Just thinking aloud here but how popular might a line based on the Temeraire novels (by Naomi Novak) be? It's historical, Napoleonic era but also covers most of the globe with it's various storylines (so many cultural opportunities), has big ships and also dragons and also a number of key characters for the minifigure market. Remember folks, you saw/heard it here first (unless someone else has already suggested it)!

Baby_Yoda

Never read them, but unless there's a film adaption or similar then I doubt Lego would consider them for a second. Firstly, designers need some sort of visual reference beyond their imaginations. The problem is that everyone pictures iconic characters, places and objects from a book very differently, and very few would agree with any given person's interpretation, Lego included. Secondly, if the series isn't popular enough to have at least something then it's not popular enough to have its own toy line, either.

Shib

Gibbo1959 said:

Just thinking aloud here but how popular might a line based on the Temeraire novels (by Naomi Novak) be? 

I had to consult professor Google on this one - and the fact I had to answers a viability question to me. I generally read on my lunch break at work, and these books sound right up my alley (so I'll probably see if the local library has them) but hadn't heard of them.

If someone who reads fairly regularly has to search for them then there is no benefit to LEGO doing a licenced theme around it when they could easily do an in house theme that has a Pirates meets Dragons setting but doesn't require them to pay an IP owner.

I always found it interesting that a few of the early Potter sets seemed to use the books as inspiration, but I think that was more down to lack of detail to work from for the films early on. Otherwise I don't think LEGO really use books as source material, only films. The move to Gaming IPs is new too, but I feel like that's pretty much just off the back of Dimensions.

As for historical themes in general, I remember reading some comments by Mark Stafford defending the Nexo Knights theme as a successor to the castle theme by saying that LEGOs Market research generally showed that the typical age of those interested in typical castle and pirates themes tended to be younger children - so they are more likely to continue as part of the Juniors line than be revived as full themes. 

I like historical themes and feel like there is some room for them, but realise that not being LEGO's key demographic makes my opinion moot.

I have enjoyed Elves as a theme for scratching the fantasy theme itch, but basically think that if you want castles, pirate ships or western style builds I thibk you really just have to bank on licenced themes from now on. 

Gibbo1959

Shib said:

I had to consult professor Google on this one - and the fact I had to answers a viability question to me. I generally read on my lunch break at work, and these books sound right up my alley (so I'll probably see if the local library has them) but hadn't heard of them.

That's a fair call - they've been around a while but I picked up the first one by chance, and Amazon reviews for the whole series are sketchy - something of a Marmite reaction by most readers. I stuck with it to the end and generally enjoyed them - maybe MOC potential rather than mainstream appeal.

Brickchap

It has always been generally agreed that Lego would never continue a Wild West theme, although the other themes do have a chance. I do think that kids are still interested in the historic themes, Lego just needs to rerelease them. After all, I doubt many kids would have thought of buying Ninjago for example, before it existed. (what I'm trying to say is, kids aren't buying castle themes for example because there haven't been any castles on the market for quite a long time)

With the 80s and 90s, I don't think the 'child psyche' could change that quickly. Like 'cowboys and Indians' was more of a thing of the 50s and 60s, 80s was very much the 'space era' (especially because of SW and Star Trek). The 'historic themes' were going fairly strong for a while in this century, its only in the last say, 5 years that 'history in Lego' has declined. Kids interests cant change that quickly. (and I will never accept that kids aren't into pirates, the amount of kids pirate parties, toy cutlasses etc is huge)

Roman Empire would be cool. Something I wanted to bring up is that around 3 years ago, Greek/Roman mythology was VERY popular amongst kids and teenagers and here Lego could have made a good choice to make sets basically along the lines of the old Viking theme, realistic (sort of, and I know Vikings didn't have horns) Vikings fighting mythical creatures, only replace them with Romans or Greeks. This would have caught a large target market of KFOLs, TFOLs, and history loving AFOLs.

Ninjago has touched on the Oriental side of history (I can't quite determine whether Ninjago is trying to be more Chinese or Japanese) and the Ninja theme was very good, although a 'non European' history theme would be very unlikely and difficult to do. After all, I don't think Lego would ever do an Aztec or Inca theme given their preference for human sacrifice. The problem with other nations (Africa, Indigenous Australia or ancient India or Middle East to name a few) is that they couldn't really make interesting sets from them. I mean, the cultures can be very interesting but kids are still going to pick a Medieval French castle or Spanish galleon over a party of Arab camels or Aboriginals in canoes.

A time traveler theme would be a great idea, although undoubtedly it would focus way more on some oversized 'time traveling' vehicles (a slightly better version of Time Twisters *cringe*) and would only have say, one caveman minifig and a BURP with a cave painting sticker or something. (using prehistoric times as an example for a set)

@SumoLego.  I am very well aware of the silly mistake of Columbus and do very much respect the American first peoples. I was merely referring to the name on the box if a Western theme were to be made now.  It is rather long. "What are you doing, son?"  "I'm playing cowboys and Indigenous Americans"....

@Tkatt can you not bring up Star Wars for once in your life? NO it is NOT a historical theme, its futuristic/sci fi.

sklamb

I seem to recall that the Temeraire series has been optioned for a movie. Much as I like the idea of Temeraire Lego sets, until rumors of that movie become a little more substantial I doubt TLG will be interested (except perhaps if an Ideas set makes it to 10,000). There's also the fact that it's definitely based on a historical war, even if it is interpreted in a fantastic way.

Shib

Brickchap said:

Roman Empire would be cool. Something I wanted to bring up is that around 3 years ago, Greek/Roman mythology was VERY popular amongst kids and teenagers and here Lego could have made a good choice to make sets basically along the lines of the old Viking theme, realistic (sort of, and I know Vikings didn't have horns) Vikings fighting mythical creatures, only replace them with Romans or Greeks. This would have caught a large target market of KFOLs, TFOLs, and history loving AFOLs. 

I agree on this front, I've often said that I think Roman & Greek mythology have some definite potential for at least a pseudo-historical theme in much the way that fantasy themes can provide pseudo-historical themes. 

I remember large parts of history lessons at school focusing on the ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians so that probably affects my bias and I don't know if that still holds true, and might make the idea less viable when considering sales potential. 

I disagree on how quickly a culture can change, I was a child of the 90s and I outgrew pirates/knights type play very young in favour of more sci-fi and real world play. I think a lot of this is to do with wider media too. Pokemon was the big fad of my childhood, I'd consider that sci-fi fantasy (monsters captured and trained with the aid of technology) that is set in a world that feels similar to the real world time.

Also in my childhood the Star Wars prequels were a big deal, again Sci-fi fantasy, this time more on the sci-fi side. I'd say from the age of about 6, had I been given a toy sword I'd have probably imagined it as a lightsabre during play. It's easy to look at other toys available and think "kids still like this stuff" but the comparison is not always so simple in the real world. Kids might attend pirate themed parties, and play with cutlasses etc, but it doesn't mean they are playing pirates in the same way as a child 30 years ago. 

Brickchap

Just remembered something else. The Assassins Creed games are still very popular, and all of them are based basically around the themes we have been discussing. (I'm not saying Lego should do an Assassins Creed theme, but the French Revolution/'pirate era' and Ancient Egypt and Victorian times all feature and all could easily be Lego sets.)

Shib

Assassins creed is one of those games that's a little too high in age range for LEGO but Megabloks did do a range of AC content.

Funnily enough though AC is also part sci-fi, the idea is that people in the future are able to access people ancestor's memories by putting them into a kind of virtual reality.

Sorry if I'm coming off at all as argumentative - I like history/fantasy themes, but I'm a realist and the evidence to me points to expecting little from LEGO but licenced themes and the odd historical CMF. 

brianoblivion

I think it's clear that the time has come for a Lego Game of Thrones line...

jnscoelho

If you mix Castle with the Elves or Ninjago dragons, you get GoT. Almost... :D
I still search in my parents house, from time to time, for the #6085 from my childhood so I can do exactly that.

PeteM

I'm not sure how agile Lego can be with reacting to 'craze of the season' kind of stuff - aren't most of their themes and models planned out a year or more in advance? Which I suppose is the benefit of the IP-led stuff as they are generally timed to coincide with the release of the film which then generates the craze....

MaffyD

Bearing in mind how old Overwatch is (in gaming time, not Real Life), and that Lego have only this year released a memo saying they will produce something in 2019 (but no detail about the potential products, just a business article byline) I'd imagine that there is a massive delay between IP acquisition and set release.
Like @Shib I'm a realist and I doubt there'll be any return to the 'standard' historical stuff. Same goes for Classic Space, and I was hopeful about TLM2, but not seen anything to give me hope so far... but that's OT for this thread.

Tkatt

@Tkatt can you not bring up Star Wars for once in your life? NO it is NOT a historical theme, its futuristic/sci fi.

My comment was meant as a joke, I'm sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused.

SumoLego

Brickchap said:

@SumoLego.  I was merely referring to the name on the box if a Western theme were to be made now.

There are all sorts of cumbersome words and phrases we have to use in order to appropriately identify groups of people.  Or other words to avoid because they carry such a negative connotation and pejorative history with them.

I doubt there'll be a Western theme again because that period of expansion in the US is now correctly recognized as a war of expansion.  It's not any different than any other war.  Thus, LEGO ought to avoid that as a theme.

I wouldn't expect a Spanish Conquistador theme, Alexander the Great theme or Communist Expansion theme.  No UCS Berlin Wall or Sandinstas vs. Contras action playsets.  Those are the heavier things LEGO will avoid.

SumoLego

Frankly, unless you are going for a broad culture-based theme, it is tough to differentiate the warfare from it.

Particularly, more recent world events.  I think the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans are probably safe.  Medieval Japan, Ancient China and early India are also probably safe.  Anything outside of 'It's a Small World' is probably over LEGO's comfort line.

Gibbo1959

At the risk of getting a bit deep, at what point do historical events move from being #TooSoon to just 'stuff that happened'? Thinking about the Brick to the Past creations, the Hadrian's Wall was well received albeit representing those pesky Romans invading our sceptered isle but the Victorian era one was more street scene and location based, as I guess some Imperial imagery might have ruffled a few feathers, and somewhere in between was the Jacobean one which was mainly us Brits fighting amongst ourselves. Obviously these are MOCs rather than LEGO endorsed sets but it would be interesting to know where the line is drawn, and what the line actually is.

Shib

LEGO's official line is something along the lines of no "modern warfare" which is a deliberately vague term. Generally speaking it tends to cover anything from WW2 onwards, though it's a bit open to interpretation, some class it as WW1 onwards.

The Sopwith Camel is the one set that always comes up when debate about the modern warfare definition applies. It was a WW1 military plane, and the fact it was specifically military is what makes it a bit of a dodgy one for LEGO's no modern warfare line.

Astrobricks

Shib said:

LEGO's official line is something along the lines of no "modern warfare" which is a deliberately vague term. Generally speaking it tends to cover anything from WW2 onwards, though it's a bit open to interpretation, some class it as WW1 onwards.

The Sopwith Camel is the one set that always comes up when debate about the modern warfare definition applies. It was a WW1 military plane, and the fact it was specifically military is what makes it a bit of a dodgy one for LEGO's no modern warfare line.

Funny, I never really thought about the Sopwith Camel as a warplane. And, I guess it wouldn’t have surprised me if LEGO released the Red Baron’s triplane either.
I wish LEGO could see a way clear to do some aircraft based on their place in the history of aviation and technology, despite their military uses. I still want a LEGO SR-71 soooo bad.

560Heliport

#10024 Red Baron! I have one.

Astrobricks

560Heliport said:

#10024 Red Baron! I have one.

I gotta learn to search before posting :-/

TheOriginalSimonB

Do “ver kids” still like Asterix? Could be a way for Romans and they also visit a variety of other locations.

omnium

Having spent a few days exploring Hadrian's Wall and reading all about the Romans, I think it would be an awesome theme!
The kids in the various visitors centers loved all that stuff too. Mostly the Centurions and sword fighting, of course ;)

eggshen

I want an ancient South American theme. The ruins the Jungle Explorers are exploring didn't magically get there  (or did they....). A realistic one won't happen, but a new Big Bang theme with awesome magical creatures, shapeshifting warriors (jaguar knights, eagle knights, etc), baddies that want to take over, heroes that have to stop them, that would be cool.

I'm picturing cool brickbuilt creatures and a deep dive into South American mythology. Mysterious water people, winged serpents, vampires, elemental or animal based good guys. The mythologies are very rich.

Sounds like Ninjago, but that type of theme seems to sell, and I could repurpose the temples/structures for more realism.

Brickchap

@eggshen that's basically just Legends of Chima except it would be called Legends of Inca.

SumoLego

Gibbo1959 said:

At the risk of getting a bit deep, at what point do historical events move from being #TooSoon to just 'stuff that happened'?

It's at the crossroads of "profitable sales" and "risk aversion".  And also factor in some "minimize protests" and "avoid backlash from parent groups".  

Admittedly, I think it is stupid.  But in an age where profits can be impacted by such things - they'll steer clear of all of it.  I hate to belabor Shell, but I still can't fathom a plastic toy company shunning a petroleum producer.

(I'll keep my comments to myself about what I think of those that protest such things.)

The_Rancor

Shib said:

Brickchap said:

Greek/Roman mythology was VERY popular amongst kids and teenagers and here Lego could have made a good choice to make sets basically along the lines of the old Viking theme, realistic (sort of, and I know Vikings didn't have horns) Vikings fighting mythical creatures, only replace them with Romans or Greeks.

I agree on this front, I've often said that I think Roman & Greek mythology have some definite potential for at least a pseudo-historical theme in much the way that fantasy themes can provide pseudo-historical themes. 

I think mythology is about as viable as it gets with a historical theme - I can still only see TLG doing one of two directions:

1. Heavily mythology-based sets around Greek, Egyptian or Norse legends (memories of Age of Mythology!). It's plausible that you could either build a story around an organic world where the legends exist, or a few heroes battling mythological creatures, or simply feature the more famous heroes to match their arch-beast. JK Rowling's already stealing the thunder somewhat here but I think the market's there.
2. The other direction is the more undiscovered curse/Indiana Jones route, where modern day or contemporary protagonists uncover a supernatural conspiracy when they rediscover something that was meant to be left undiscovered. In other words Adventurers. Pharaoh's Quest wasn't overly popular but the Jackal Guards from the pyramid were probably some of my favourite minifigs of all time and I appreciated the Adventurers vibe. Monster Fighters was in a similar vein and that was really popular - collect all of [x] to unite the powers of [y] is a really successful formula in my book. 

I agree that 'traditional' Castle and Pirates have become the target market of really young kids, though I think TLG self-perpetuated this idea by releasing juniorised sets rather than ones properly reminiscent of the reboots with Pirates and Fantasy Castle.

I'm really interested to see what we can learn from leaks that come in regarding next January, because surely there will be at least one of: new Big Bang theme, castle, pirates. I'm going to exclude Space because it may be unlikely in the wake of Lego Movie 2, or at all unless it takes a left field direction like Alien Conquest.

Baby_Yoda

TheOriginalSimonB said:

Do “ver kids” still like Asterix? Could be a way for Romans and they also visit a variety of other locations.

Even I hadn't heard of Asterix and Obelix outside of my mother's old comics at home. I can safely confirm that it's not hip with the kids anymore.
On the other hand, there has been a sudden spike in kids' interest in mythology over the past few years, so there's certainly potential there. I know kids and adults alike that would jump at the opportunity to get an Olympus throne room or a real Thor with his chariot. There's always Rick Riordan's books if a license tie-in is necessary to generate further sales, but again, there's not much visual content to take from those as only two of his books have seen (equally unsuccessful) film adaptions so far.
Finally, I'd like to see sets not necessarily based on Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples themselves, but instead on Dreaming lore. It's essentially Australian mythology and focuses less on actual gods and more on supernaturally powerful figures that don't actually have total control over the material plane. It's never going to happen, though. It's obvious that Lego hate Australia too much!

Brickchap

@The_Rancor I agree with everything you say.

Pharaoh's Quest had good characters (by which I mean cool torso prints etc. although Johnny Thunder over Jake Raines any day)  and had an awesome biplane. But it was very poorly done and focused too much on the 'fantasy' side of things. Baron Von Baron and Lord Sam Sinister were much better mortal enemies to fight. (I know there were mummies coming back to life but it wasn't pushed as much).

Monster Fighters was sort of old fashioned I suppose, after all Rodney Rathbone was named after Basil Rathbone who was in a lot of old spooky films. Speaking of films, here is a crazy idea:

An 'At the Movies' theme, sort of like Studios, but based more around the subject matter being filmed like a 1950s Western or 1950s B movie (large fake monster, screaming blonde). Maybe some specific movie references like a chariot race one (to get the Roman history in there) referencing Ben Hur or 'Aerial Attack'; the cropduster scene from North by Northwest. The largest set could be a drive in theater (Ipad stand) with say 4 retro cars and the old speakers and a candy bar and old projector.  Its silly, I know but its an idea.

Most of the problems with historical themes are self perpetuated by Lego. Apart from Western, there's no reason why they cannot redo old themes or try new ones. (after all, if they were willing to put money into Galidor and Mixels and Hero Factory for gods sake).

One could argue that Lego shouldn't bring back Power Miners because 'kids aren't interested in mining', yeah, because there have only ever been some City mining sets in the last 10 years.

Do we know as a fact that leaks will come out regarding next January? (of any Lego themes). (and this is not said sarcastically or offensively)

Brickchap

@Baby_Yoda yes, Lego is something where both Indigenous and Non Indigenous Australians are discriminated against. Dreamtime is an interesting idea, although I am not sure as to what/how they would build things. Like a brick built rainbow snake?? And how would 'spirits' be represented?

Speaking of Australia: Bring back the Outback theme! (although outback airstrip was the only one that was really Australian)

daewoo

Honestly I find Lego to be highly hypocritical at times with some of their stances.  Sumo called out one of the biggest - a company dependent on petroleum to make the vast majority of its product severing ties to a petroleum company because they extract that evil, nasty petroleum from mother Earth. 

Their stance on warfare is also ridiculous.  They'll make historical soldiers and futuristic movie soldiers (with guns and everything), but they won't produce a "modern" soldier.  A soldier is a soldier.  Their job hasn't changed over the centuries and it won't change much in the future.  They kill and destroy the "enemy" so their side wins.  The only differences are the tools that they use.  So in Lego's eyes, a sword, which is used to slice off body parts and/or run people through is good to go, but an AK-47 isn't.  Of course, they haven't even been consistent with this stance because they have produced a couple of WW1 era warplanes as well as at least one CMF that could be considered to be a modern soldier (Royal Guard).  I guess the green army men from the Toy Story line don't count as modern soldiers in Lego's eyes? 

And now we deal with the hypersensitive PC crowd who (in my opinion) walk around all day looking for things to be offended by.  I get that Lego is a business and that they must cater to the current whims, but there are so many historical themes that they could do that they can't, because some group here or there will get offended.  I would love it if they did revisit the old west, but that's likely to never happen again.  I would love it if they revisited Explorers, but historically the explorers were followed by the conquerors, and even though humans have been conquering for thousands of years, we must frown upon that kind of thing now.  Maybe I'm just too cross with the world or don't understand adulting as well as I had thought I did...

I'm a Trains/City guy for the most part, but I would like some historical stuff too.  I hope that Lego can find room for more of that in their product lines.

Gibbo1959

^ Actually @daewoo maybe we could bring some of the thrill of conflict into LEGO City - Zoning(Planning) Wars. Suited bureaucrats with high powered weapons strictly enforcing who can build what, and where. Or maybe that's just Lord Business all over again!