After years of speculation and a hint of a possibility of a merger between the House of Mouse and entertainment giant 21st Century Fox, the deal as it seems, is now finally sealed. In an official press statement by the Walt Disney Company earlier today, Disney has announced the buyout of Fox’s biggest film titles and franchises, with a colossal price tag of $52.4 billion USD. Now if you can’t fully grasp how large this amount is, just consider that you can theoretically purchase the entire countries of Papua New Guinea and Cambodia (based on these countries estimated 2017 GDP) and still have some change to spare.
Now that the deal between Disney and 21st Century Fox has finally set the deal in stone, what can we expect from Disney as far as possible future LEGO tie-in sets are concerned? Screen Rant has written a summary of every Fox movie franchise that now practically belongs to Disney, which bolsters the House of Mouse’s repertoire of Marvel-related films and other well-known movie franchises. Being a family-friendly company as it is, it is also expected that some of these franchises may well translate into a LEGO set as well. Truth be told, not all films will quickly have its place inside the reverent Disney Castle, and the company has to work its storytelling magic on how some of these will blend in seamlessly with everything that Disney stands for. Just imagine how Deadpool will feel standing beside Captain America in the MCU, with the former being overly conscious not to say anything ‘offensive’ in front of Cap, and somehow we’ll get an idea.
Though these things will take a while to iron out, we can somehow predict the potential LEGO sets that may come along once Disney starts to work on these films. So let’s take a look at some of these franchises – both on-going and those that can be potentially rebooted or continued – and what LEGO sets can potentially be created out of them.
Ongoing Franchises
- Avatar
- Fantastic Four
- X-Men
- Deadpool
Franchises That Can Be Rebooted or Continued
- Alvin and the Chipmunks
- Doctor Dolittle
- Home Alone
- Ice Age
- Percy Jackson
- Chronicles of Narnia
Moreover, now that the Simpsons is officially under the Disney umbrella, it is also possible that we will see a revival of interest for more LEGO sets under this theme, or at the very least, a re-launch of some of the most faved sets that we have such as the Kwik-E Mart (71016), The Simpsons House (71006), and the Simpsons Series 1 and Series 2 CMF lines.
Since it was already made clear by Disney CEO Bob Iger (whose contract has been extended until 2021) that the company will look forward to expanding the MCU to include the X-Men, Deadpool and Fantastic Four, I’m personally looking forward to how Disney will weave these superheroes into the MCU’s storyline, with some even speculating on a complete reboot in order for it to happen. Needless to say, it will be a bit complicated how future films featuring the Merc with a Mouth will receive Disney’s seal of approval. I find it hard, if not funny, to imagine how Deadpool will behave, and break the fourth wall keeping in mind his Disney bosses.
Coming up with more LEGO sets including Deadpool and the rest of the X-Men have been long overdue, with a relatively small number of LEGO Marvel Superhero sets already released such as the X-Men vs Sentinel (76022), Spider-Man: Daily Bugle Showdown (76005) and Wolverine’s Chopper Showdown (6866). Additionally, it will not be a long shot to consider a Reed Richards minifigure since we already saw how Ms. Marvel got the LEGO treatment with Captain America Jet Pursuit (76076). Ben Grimm can easily be translated into bigfig form while Johnny Storm and Sue Richards can easily get their own minifigure versions as well.
Now I must say that am I pretty excited to consider how Avatar, Ice Age, and Chronicles of Narnia will all look like in LEGO form, given the vast colorful worlds and the characters that each franchise has. The second sequel to Avatar is expected to be as grandiose as the first one with a return to Pandora with its colorful and lush fauna and flora, and the mysterious people of the Na’vi. With a film as big as Avatar, it is not far-fetched to consider that LEGO will work its brick-building magic to come up with equally colorful and aesthetically pleasing sets perhaps in a similar vein as that of LEGO Elves.
Ice Age has been a long-time Fox animated film franchise, and it will be relatively easy for LEGO to come up with sets featuring the gang of Manny, Diego, and Sid. I can easily imagine how a smaller set featuring the saber-toothed squirrel Scrat and his perpetually lost acorn will easily be a hit among movie and LEGO fans.
Lastly, given the rich and vast world of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia, and if Disney can somehow lift the franchise to the same level of fandom comparable to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, then it is not difficult to imagine how a LEGO Chronicles of Narnia theme can come along. The classic Lewis series is filled with so many colorful characters and engaging storyline that it will be great to see them in LEGO brick form.
These are all part of my LEGO wishlist now that Disney has officially sealed this agreement with Fox. The shape of the entertainment industry will definitely evolve, and for LEGO fans, this means that more exciting days and future sets are still yet to come. What do you think brick fans, are you also excited about these recent developments? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
