5 Things We'd Like To See From LEGO In 2023

31st December 2022

2022 is drawing to a close and it's a year in which LEGO treated us to some fantastic sets, many of which took set design and scale to new heights (literally!). While some sets fell flat, others answered the prayers of LEGO fans the world over. As we approach the New Year, we've taken time to reflect on what our 2023 wishes from LEGO will be, and present our top five.

Wolfpack Castle Set

2022 was a bumper year for LEGO Castle fans, as the highly anticipated Lion Knights' Castle arrived in August, as well as a classic Forestman GWP. Within the Lion Knights' Castle instruction booklet there was this line "This bell will do well to warn the townsfolk if the wolfpack marauders should one day return…". This teasing statement got Castle fans excited for another fortified instalment from LEGO, with a set containing the rival faction to the Lion Knights.

The Wolfpack only appeared in three sets released between 1992 and 1993, the largest of which being the 6075 Wolfpack Tower. If the Wolfpack did return, this set would be the most suitable candidate for a modern makeover, not just because it was the largest, but also because a tower would provide a different style of build.

There's certainly enough consumer demand to introduce more remodelled classic Castle sets, and an enemy set to the Lion Knights' Castle would be a great addition to LEGO's 2023 line-up.

More Lord of the Rings Sets

Plenty of rumours have been flying around regarding the large-scale Lord of the Rings set that's due to hit shelves at the beginning of March. The $500 behemoth is expected to depict Rivendell, made from 6,167 pieces. We've also had some accompanying LotR BrickHeadz announced of several principal characters.

Interest surrounding Middle Earth is certainly at a high, thanks to Amazon's The Rings of Power TV series. LEGO Lord of the Rings is one of the most popular themes, with the range of sets released between 2012 and 2013 now selling for extraordinary sums on the secondary market. Given the short life of the theme, we were denied some key locations and scenes from the movie trilogy. Examples include Minas Tirith, Lothlorien, Bilbo's birthday party, Fangorn Forest, and Galdalf's Battle with the Balrog at the Bridge of Khazad-dum.

LEGO LotR therefore sold itself short, and we're hoping more Middle Earth sets will follow in the footsteps of the rumoured Rivendell. With The Rings of Power series running for the next few years, it feels like it's now or never for a LEGO LotR reboot.

A New LEGO Theme

Up until 1999, LEGO was almost exclusively own brand, meaning the set designs came straight out of the heads of the LEGO designers. Nowadays, LEGO's catalogue is increasingly comprised of licensed sets that take their inspiration from movies, video games, TV series, and real-world vehicles and buildings. The proportion of non-licensed sets has fallen from roughly two-thirds in 2012 to just over half 10 years later in 2022. While this has meant souring profits for LEGO, it has come at the expense of the originality and creativity of sets.

The latest own brand to be introduced was Monkie Kid in 2020 and that has produced some fantastic sets. Therefore, we'd like to see the introduction of a new original LEGO theme to inject some more fun and freedom back into our sets.

Dungeons and Dragons sets

This item on our wishlist has already been partly fulfilled, as LEGO Ideas ran a competition celebrating 50 years of the franchise. This requested fans to submit their own builds inspired by the D&D world, whereupon a subsequent crowd vote would decide which project will become an official set. To mark the 50-year anniversary, a movie adaptation of the RPG is also expected in March 2023, which will contain plenty of material on which to base an expanded range of D&D sets.

With plenty of dungeons, monsters, treasure, and mighty heroes, there are similarities between Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings. LEGO are not going to run two similar themes concurrently, so if we are to get any more LotR or D&D sets, it will be one or the other. Sadly for D&D fans, of the two, LotR is more likely given that it has a larger and more varied fanbase, but we live in hope!

LEGO Gringotts

This year we got the second Hogwarts Collectors' Edition set, confirming that we can expect a range of large-scale Harry Potter sets in the years to come. One glaring omission from the LEGO Wizarding World is Gringotts, which could easily fill the Collectors' Edition gigantic shoes.

After 75978 Diagon Alley was released in 2020, a brick built Gringotts seemed just around the corner, but two anticipation laced years later and we're still waiting. Surely, 2023 has to be the year that gives us a place to store all our magical LEGO treasures?

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