The LEGO® Movies: How THEY fell To Pieces

Penned by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse), The LEGO® Movie debuted in UK theatres on February 14th 2014 to rabid critical acclaim. Commended for its hilarious nature and heartfelt interactions, the movie resonated with all generations who group up with the LEGO® plastic bricks, successfully meeting expectations and avoiding staining the brand as a shameless corporate cash-in film among consumers and audiences alike (I'm looking at you, Playmobil: The Movie).

As for the future of LEGO® movies, it was swiftly only a matter of when not if. In 2017, Warner Bros. released spin-off movie, The LEGO® Batman™ Movie starring Will Arnett back in the titular role from the first film. With a second stroke of luck, this film was - in some corners of the internet - received more positively than the well-received first movie featuring the Danish toy brand. The future of a LEGO® cinematic universe was glowing with possibility, with audiences of all ages rooting for even more comical, animated fun.

Here, perhaps, is where the fall of the LEGO® movies begins. Too much of a good thing can spoil an appetite and leave a sour taste in the mouths of general audiences (I'm now looking at you Solo: A Star Wars Story). When considering where the future of their movies lay, LEGO® turned to their own in-house theme, Ninjago, as the focus for their next solo outing, stripping much of the charm of the original, pre-released movies: the external IPs. With a rich backlog of franchises to draw from, - The LEGO® Movie featuring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars and Batman and The LEGO® Batman™ Movie more ambitiously drawing on Doctor Who, Harry Potter and The Wizard of Oz to name a few - this new film was set to reboot LEGO®'s own Ninjago brand anew for casual audiences. This rookie mistake was both insulting to hardcore Ninjago fans who embrace the lore and legacy of the sub-theme, but also to repeat LEGO® movie viewers anticipating more fun and hilarity from familiar side characters as per the last iterations.

Despite the adventure-comedy falling short financially, The LEGO® Group took a risk and went back to basics. Pitched as a direct sequel to The LEGO® Movie, the hope was that general audiences would be brought back on board to watch the original characters they all know and love embark on another, fun... musical... adventure. Although The LEGO® Movie 2: The Second Part was received better than The LEGO® Ninjago® Movie, the second coming grossed $192 million worldwide (with a budget of $99 million) and quickly became the franchise's second box office tank. Following financial dissatisfaction, development on any future projects was paused, and it seemed that all hope was lost for any more instalments from Warner Bros. and The LEGO® Group.

In 2020, it was announced that Universal Studios had acquired the rights from Warner Bros. to make LEGO® cinematic movies of their own. The four existing LEGO® films and subsequent characters remain with the original studio, and nothing much is certain about the future of computer-animated lead characters, Emmett and Wildstyle. All that remains clear is this: Warner Bros. failing to manufacture a successful in-film LEGO® universe has led to perhaps one of the greatest, miscalculated opportunities in the history of cinema.

Let's hope Universal Pictures can build us one better.