Why exactly are we supposed to want BIONICLE to come back?

LEGO BIONICLE
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I understand that there will already be topics that are very similar to this one. But I feel like with the recent activity concerning TLC’s 90th anniversary, new discussion can be generated. And honestly I don’t want to dig through dozens of old posts for answers. Additionally, said activity is really the reason I’m making this post, meaning that I want more recent answers to my question. Which, obviously, brings us to my point and question:

Why, exactly, do we want BIONICLE to come back? In all the time that I’ve been apart of this community, no one has made a convincing argument as to why exactly we want another revitalization. Instead, I feel like many people are simply swept up in the concept of patriotism and loyalty to BIONICLE. Anyone who disagrees is a fake fan.

Well I disagree.

Like, what do we really want?

The most legitimate reason, as far as I understand, that people were upset about G1’s end was because the story had no real closure. Do we want, a decade later, a continuation of that story? We know for sure we aren’t getting that, because that leaves so little room to attract new fans. That’s why G2 didn’t do that.

Speaking of G2, which certainly recycles the world, story, and character beats, but makes them different enough to make an entirely new variation on BIONICLE, is that what we’re aiming for with G3?

Or is it that we want something new entirely but with similarities to G1? Except that that’s what G2 was.

What I’m getting at is this: why exactly can’t we just let BIONICLE rest in peace?

I understand why we would want an homage, that’s all great, I do too. I understand that the community could really enjoy community-run contests for canonizing old characters. And I get that people have fond memories of it, or grew up with it, or associate it with helping them out of dark times, or whatever, but that doesn’t mean it has to come back as a LEGO theme for us to still enjoy it.

I don’t know, maybe I’m just being dramatic. But this is an issue that’s become increasingly obvious to me over the past year. So many people are incredibly militant about “BRING BACK BIONICLE!” but no one ever talks about why, or what that really means.

Food for thought.

Might end up deleting this if it becomes super divisive but we’ll see.

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I don’t want it to comeback because either: A it will be a continuation of g1 which wouldn’t really go very far (I get this impression because what else could be done with the story) and wouldn’t be the same as g1 (due to writers and stuff being different) or B it will be some g3, brickonicle thing which the fandom will become split on whether it’s good or not and also it’s highly unlikely to happen due to no one wanting to sell it because of the flop that is known as g2

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I dont actually think a g3 would be a good idea. I think that Bionicle has somehow become the standard bearer for the movement for lego to stop making strange licensed themes and to stop milking Ninjagos cash cow. Many see it as legos finest attempt at a massive story driven theme and aside from maybe Ninjago and Exo Force this has never been repeated. While I would like a tribute or anniversary set every once in a while like how other themes get, I know constraction has a 95% chance of never coming back, g1 will most likely never be continued, and the story serials will probably never be finished. I think most everyone inwardly knows this but still uses Bionicle as a sort of symbol to rally behind to combat the licensed themes and the stale juggernaut of Ninjago. These fans are just starved for good quality lego themes that are imaginative and well made and not the Minions or ninjas fighting snakes for the five millionth time.

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I don’t think a continuation of Bionicle would work, but it would be nice to have some more constraction sets even if it is unlikely.

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I would like to buy a toy with the name “Bionicle” on it and have a story to follow.

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I don’t know quite why some of us want it back. I’m not one of those people screaming at Lego like a lunatic, villain-ising Lego for not bringing back bionicle again. I certainly want Bionicle to come back in some form but I am at peace with that not being constraction or even Lego. So I’m not begging them to bring it back I rather think it’s fate rests in the hands of fans who keep making original content, art, games, Mocs etc

I don’t need more sets or new serials, I might want those things from time to time like masks in more colours or even changes like Nidhiki getting a redemption but I’m at peace with that not happening.
I just want to be able to bring up Bionicle in a conversation and people at least know what I’m talking about.

As to why it deserves this attention and a come back:
I think we all see the potential in Bionicle, it has a incredibly unique premise, world, characters and it seems a shame that it never reached its full potential and has never been up there with “the greats” I want to see another generation fall in love with the story and relate to it like I have, I want to see what things they could create, the games they’d play, the tales they’d write. I want to see the world acknowledge the beauty of the legend that is Bionicle.

So in the meantime I do my bit to keep the spark alight.
Maybe enough of us will get the initiative and take things into our own hands.
One day.

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I have to strongly disagree with this. The Bionicle world is incredibly vast, rich and unique - it has so much story potential. That is not merely my own opinion, but pretty much everyone who has actually worked on G1 says the same. Not only did the story team had years of adventures planned after 2009, but even after G1 cancellation Greg said there would always be new stories to be told and that he sees no real limit.
And I didn’t even mention potential of stories set in the past…

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Yes, but I don’t see LEGO making a theme purely for a few thousand former fans. The number of new fans would be incredibly small unless you scrap the old story.

Which is what G2 did.

We all saw how that went.

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I don’t necessarily want Bionicle back but I would like Lego to at least give us something for its 20th anniversary

I just want a great spirit robot that’s the only reason I voted for Bionicle beside showing Lego we still care.

Agreed.

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probably because I more or less missed out on both generations and never got to experience them as they were happening.

I got into bionicle right before it ended and fell into my first lego dark age around the time g2 started.

also what @Axelford said.

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I can’t speak for those vocal “Bring Bionicle Back” people, but my view is that even though I, quite frankly, am not interested in seeing a G3 or a continuation or anything like that, I’d still like Lego to give Bionicle an infrequent tribute set or something - even just at the impulse buy level. The sort of stuff they do with classic space from time to time. A collectible minifigure series for Bionicle would have me ecstatic and I’d probably try and collect as many as I could.

Absolute pie-in-the-sky dream (this would never, ever happen, but I’d love it) would be a video game by TT games, in the traditional Lego game format, covering G1’s story. Completely unrealistic but I’d just go bonkers over this.

I’m not particularly interested in a reboot, and probably wouldn’t even buy it unless it was very good. I don’t want Bionicle back or Bionicle again - but I do want some modern Lego tributes that celebrate what Bionicle was (at least, more directly than a sticker in an unrelated set).

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This is what Im always wondering, despite myself wanting to see system Bionicle sets sometime (as in, up to modern standards with ACTUAL minifigs), but a G1 continuation wont ever happen, and honestly, Im fine with that. something else I am wondering is why do people want a Bionicle tribute for Lego’s 90th anniversary? I do also hope we will see one, but cant help but wonder: what about some of the other iconic themes we have had over the years that are primarily based in Lego’s primary building system? why do we constantly persist with things such as this? Lego Ideas is a good way to make ourselves heard and hopefully have the name on shelves again, but again, why?

I just realised that this is more of my own rehashing of @Winger’s original post, but oh well

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A blue spaceship has appeal to a more universal audience over a half robot that gives off voodoo doll vibes.

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Yeah, but like, I’d be happy with nearly anything. A little brick-built Mata Nui stone. A build of a mask. A $10 limited system set. A minifig or two. A buildable Nuva Cube. A brickhead, even, and I find those pretty generally unappealing.

If we can get a set commemorating a multiple-decades-old sitcom that isn’t related to lego, we can surely have a little something for a franchise like Bionicle? I’m not picky or demanding, but it would just be nice to have something to buy and say “Yes, I was a fan of this” without having to go to ebay or bricklink.

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I don’t want G1 to continue. To much happened since then. Aside from the obvious uneasy access for new fans, it would be weird to just pretend nothing had happened since 2010.
G3 is not something that I would necessarily look forward to, because Lego has changed. Ninjago has become the center of fantasy themes and everything else has to have similar a level of accessibility and a similar target audience. A Bionicle created with that mentality can barely set itself apart from Ninjago. In my opinion another reason why G2 failed.

Why I am somewhat desperate is the thought of decreasing amount of constraction pieces in circulation. When I look at my first sets (from 2007-2010) many of them show strong signs of age and wear (I played quite rough with them when I was younger, the brittle joints were not a big help either). Some can barely sustain their own weight by now.
When G2 was around I collected new sets and didn’t think that much of that, because I had new collecting material.
The thought that now most of my collection of 100+ sets is more than ten years old, some pieces occasionally break and, since I don’t have a BrickLink account, getting replacement parts gets more and more difficult makes me feel uneasy. I would be more than thankful for official revamps of G1 sets or other representations of those characters, although I want G1s story left untouched.
It would also help to get one set that can represent Bionicle in its entirety to accept its end. If it’s a more stable system set, all the better.
But that’s just me getting sentimental about old plastic pieces.

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you should seriously consider getting one. You can also pretty cheap parts in bulk on eBay, although there’s always some hit or miss pieces in that.

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In terms of the 90th anniversary celebration?
Just some recognition would be nice. But beyond the oft-quoted “Bionicle saved Lego” line, it’s no more or less deserving of that recognition than the other finalists.

In terms of a larger comeback?
In short, it’s a fun world. Mysterious island, compelling-ish robots, evil thingy that’s doing evil things? That’s all I need. I don’t think we’ll ever see anything quite on the scale of G1 ever again in terms of a revival (and a continuation is all but out of the question beyond some comic continuation, like you see with some other franchises), but if any hypothetical G3 were to happen, all I need is that “Bionicle aesthetic” to sell me on it. In honesty, I wouldn’t mind seeing Bionicle treated in somewhat the same way Transformers is by Hasbro: get a continuity that lasts a handful of years, then gets revitalized into something new.

Is that particularly realistic with how Lego operates? Doesn’t seem like it, especially with Ninjago being their current story theme. And is that continuous rebooting what other Bionicle fans want to see? Eh, I doubt that too. But as someone who didn’t mind G2, I appreciated it the more they tried to do their own thing, rather than winking at possibly being some vague continuation (Vahi easter eggs, anyone?).

“So why not get into Ninjago then? After all, it’s a story-driven Lego theme.”
Well, because I can’t bring myself to, quite honestly. The closest I can get is listening to Ninjagocast, and that’s it. I can’t simply watch it with nostalgia glasses like I can the Bionicle movies because Ninjago just isn’t something from my childhood to be nostalgic for, nor could I watch it as an “adult” and pretend that it’s “made for me.” Not to begrudge anyone who does watch and enjoy the show. It’s just simply not something I can get into, or am interested in getting into.

But Bionicle? Well, to that I say: “Nostalgia ahoy!”

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I’m not interested in Bionicle coming back as G3, especially after the reboot was cancelled. Despite my desire to “close the book,” I don’t think being open to the idea of getting one more set is too much to ask for.

It’s certainly more constructive than having Greg canonize obscure trivia such as what mask and element Toa Mangai #23 has, I think that energy could’ve been spent on the infamous serials and figuring out where they could’ve gone, but I digress. I still doubt a new Bionicle set will come out but if we happen to get one, great.

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I’m kinda of the same mind.

It’s not bad at all if you don’t want another set or whatever, but just because the line is over doesn’t mean fans have to roll over and die.

Especially not when they’re giving us an avenue. You can’t exactly be mad at people wanting something back when that thing coming back is a legitimate possibility put forth by the creators.

Frankly, if you’re annoyed by people asking to bring it back, you don’t have to be involved in the topic on the Boards, or in other discussions online.

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Honestly, I just want more construction pieces. It doesn’t matter to me if that’s in the form of bionicle or something else.

I think it might be interesting if they brought back bionicle, and set the story either in the future or in the past of the original bionicle world, but that’s probably just wishful thinking. If they did that, you wouldn’t have to be an entrenched bionicle fan to appreciate the story.

But really, I just want them to bring constraction back

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