The Lego Movie: A Billion-Dollar Franchise With a Missing Piece
Remember The Lego Movie? It was the kind of movie that could've become a real, full-fledged franchise! Imagine a whole universe of animated, lego adventures – but it never quite took off the way everyone had hoped! So what went wrong? Because those lego block Movies sure knew how to make bank back in the day!
Back in 2014, when The Lego Movie first hit theaters, it became a serious, unexpected hit with movie goers and critics loved it too! Everyone raved over the mix of humor, heart, and creativity. You wouldn’t believe that a simple, animated movie based on lego toys would’ve been so good. I mean, the blockbuster movie took the world by storm! This was a brand new, super successful franchise that people thought would become the next huge blockbuster universe like Marvel and DC.
From Blockbuster to Bust? How the Lego Movie Franchise Died
We are talking about millions of dollars and the Lego Movie was pulling in so many bucks that even Warner Bros, the big name behind the movie, thought they had found a way to generate an entire world with lego adaptations. They even said “Yeah, we’re gonna have more Movies, and those lego batman films were a good bet too, those were crazy popular!".
We know why Warner Bros. went for the big LEGO movie push — the money was there! But even though The Lego Movie earned the “Most Creative" title with its humor, and everything worked for that film, the other sequels and spin-off movies just couldn’t repeat its magic. The sequels and spin-offs, like The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, The lego batman Movie, and The lego ninjago Movie, just didn't quite deliver what everyone was expecting from that original big hit. The problem wasn't even a big critical or audience failure - more like the cash didn't flow as expected.
The Lego Batman Movie: The Unexpected Gem
We all loved Batman, so it wasn't a complete shocker that The Lego Batman Movie came out! Seriously, Will Arnett as LEGO Batman was such a funny twist! He brought the perfect blend of comedy and classic Batman heroics – it really did work so well, The movie also earned rave reviews from fans and critics.
But you can't win ‘em all! Even though it wasn't a complete box-office dud, The lego ninjago Movie didn't really meet those high expectations that had been built for the franchise. Maybe a movie about those awesome ninjas and their weapons would've hit it big if everyone had gone nuts for Ninjago, but LEGO Batman just did such a great job capturing the same feel that it kind of shadowed the Ninjago story and kept those Lego movie bucks at bay. Maybe if LEGO Batman movie fans also loved Ninjago, they’d have had that second big hit, but there is still so much love out there for LEGO Batman.
Why the LEGO Movie Lost Its Mojo
It might feel a bit confusing as to how this successful franchise couldn't make another blockbuster hit, but sometimes, just because you got the ingredients right at first doesn't guarantee it’ll work out all the time, We've got to remember that the lego franchise was huge at its peak and all of a sudden, people just didn't flock to the theaters anymore. There's a big chance the world had become used to LEGO movies, maybe it was because we'd gotten into the LEGO movie zone and wanted something else.
Then there’s the fact that the lego movie 2: The Second Part was a flop, which sealed the deal for Warner Bros! Remember, The Lego Movie 2 had a really big budget, but it didn't quite capture those magic movie moments, which made Warner Bros. say "Time to step out". And Warner Bros., even with the mega-success that it saw, made the big call – it didn’t go ahead with a renewed deal,
Where LEGO Goes From Here
It doesn’t mean that the LEGO movie franchise is totally gone – but it has a new boss, Universal. Universal bought the LEGO Movie rights after Warner Bros. walked away! They are aiming for a full reboot – think new characters, new plots! Universal, the guys behind "Jurassic Park" and "Fast & Furious", have lots of those exciting characters ready for LEGO treatment! Maybe even “Fast & Furious” themed LEGO characters could become the new hit?
The question that's always in everyone’s minds is – will the LEGO Movie universe return as a bigger, better blockbuster franchise or will the new studio fail? There are so many ways to look at how this could go – but the biggest factor is probably just figuring out what fans will want next and where they go from here!
