The LEGO Group, via its Bionicle message board and Facebook page, has just announced that it will discontinue its longest running proprietary theme later this year.
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LEGO Bionicle began in 2001 introducing the Toa and their elemental powers to an eager young audience who avidly read their accompanying comics. The first generation of LEGO Bionicle lasted until 2009, to be replaced by LEGO’s similarly buildable theme, Hero Factory. Just last year, LEGO decided to revive the story of the Toa with an all new set of characters, a cool interactive website, and an exclusive Netflix series. However, in spite of all this and the general enthusiasm of its fans, TLG deemed it necessary to pull the curtain to one of their home-grown themes because as it seems, Bionicle’s second generation really didn’t click with the wider audience.
Here’s the full press release from the LEGO Bionicle Team.
THE CONCLUSION OF “THE JOURNEY TO ONE” MARKS THE END FOR LEGO® BIONICLE® GENERATION 2
Fans, today we have to share the news with you that we have made the tough decision to discontinue LEGO® BIONICLE® at the end of 2016. NETFLIX has just started streaming the final two episodes of “The Journey to One” the ending of which, will put an end to any speculation about the future of LEGO® BIONICLE®.
With the 2015 relaunch of LEGO® BIONICLE®, we set out to revive a childhood favorite of fans worldwide, and bring it to a new group of children who were too young to have known and played with LEGO® BIONICLE® Generation 1. From your wonderful feedback over the last year, we feel very proud to have performed that task. Currently, the last wave of LEGO® BIONICLE® products is launching in Europe and North America. These products will, however, not reach the shelves in Asia and the Pacific markets.
Next up is the #BIONICLEbuildmakuta Rebrick Contest, starting August 1st, that will give you a chance to compete for some unique prizes. All you have to do is to give us your best shot at the Evil Overlord himself. Through the rest of the year, we will keep sharing artwork and other things that may be of interest to you on LEGO.com/bionicle and facebook.com/LEGOBionicle
On behalf of the LEGO® BIONICLE® team we would like to say that it has been absolutely thrilling to work on a theme that evokes so much interest, dedication and emotion. We would like to thank you for taking in LEGO® BIONICLE® Generation 2 and sharing all your builds, stories, artwork, joy, criticism and praise. By doing so you have not only expanded the universe but also made the amazing BIONICLE® Community even stronger and more amazing. We are confident that you will ensure that BIONICLE® lives on.
The BIONICLE Team
Though it’s quite disappointing to hear such news, we’re pretty sure that LEGO has something in the works to fill in the gap. Be sure to catch the final two episodes of “The Journey to One” over at Netflix as LEGO promises more details on the future of the LEGO Bionicle line.
Thanks Brother Bricks for the heads up.
