[Analysis] - Jumping The Gun On Jurassic World: Part 2, The Lego Sets

As designed by senteosan

The announcement a few weeks ago that Lego had achieved the license for Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World was met, by me at least, with excitement, because it meant that we Lego collectors would be getting more, and possibly new Lego dinosaurs. The release of the trailer for the film last week doubled that excitement, because from those context-less two minutes of footage, I could see the potential in those unannounced Lego sets.

But before I get to there, I want to first draw attention to something I've been meaning to for some time, and this is a serendipitous opportunity. Over on Lego Ideas, the creator senteosan has a design for a fantastic Jurassic Park set, seen above. At the time of this writing, it is less than 500 supporters away from the 10,000 marker that is needed for Lego to officially consider the project, which puts it well within reach of the goal. The set includes Grant, Ellie and Malcolm minifigures and the iconic Explorer from the guided tour. It also includes the Main Gate, and an assembled T-rex whose detail is amazing. I recommend you go over and take a look at the project, and if you have the time, lend your support. Success now would allow Lego to fold release of this project into their Jurassic World schedule (which I would imagine would be a early summer release), and have it benefit everyone. So, please support this project, and not just because I very much want an Ian Malcolm minifig.

After the jump, I'll take a look at the first trailer for Jurassic World again, this time with an eye as to what teased sequences might make for good Lego sets.


Before we begin, let me say I'm making an assumption in all of this: that the Lego sets will be based largely on material glimpsed in this trailer. Now, you may say to yourself, that is an outrageous assumption to make, for these are merely two minutes of unconnected footage torn from a two hour plus long movie. How can you possibly assume that a major marketing push for the film will consist largely of teaser material. And that is a fair point, to which I respond: more and more, directors of franchise features are getting wise to the fact that the cross promotional material can lead to their films getting spoiled. In the old days, the audience wouldn't find out a year in advance what Mattel is making based on a property. Now, that information gets dumped on the internet straight away. James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy, said it is for this specific reason that a Dancing Groot toy was late to store shelves:

"The reason it didn't happen [sooner] is because you have some control in the film industry over secrets getting out there, but the people you don’t have much control over are the toy people, unfortunately," he says. "Those toy designs get out, always! And people definitely would have gotten ahold of the Baby Groot if we had started manufacturing it in time for it to come out after the movie, so that was the biggest reason we didn't push on that particular element."

In fact, Jurassic World has already been the victim of this sort of event, with the new, genetically modified dinosaur's form having been spoiled by a leaked Lego prototype. I've mentioned this phenomena before, specifically in regards to Lego products, whose official unveiling often occurs months before the film's release. It was because of this that we knew that Pepper would be wearing the Iron armour in Iron Man 3 well beforehand, and the reason I briefly entertained the idea that the Man of Steel villain wasn't going to be Zod after all (that turned out to be a nice bit of misdirection). So, while it is highly likely that some of the Lego sets for Colin Trevorrow's film will take from larger of the film's as-of-yet unseen action sequences, might it not be reasonable to assume, in order to get ahead of spoilers, that material included in this early trailer might include the material they know has already been sampled by the merchandisers?

Dinosaurs are a popular refrain for Lego, which isn't that odd when you realize that Lego is primarily a child marketed toy, and dinosaurs are pretty universally the most popular obsession for children. There have been four major dinosaur themed Lego collections, starting with Dino Island (2000), Dinosaurs (2001), Dino Attack (2005) and most recently with Dinos (2012), only the last of which has made use of the more detailed creature moulds that have become standard across all Lego products. Because Lego reuses moulds as much as possible, and because of the quality of these moulds and the relative recentness of the Dinos (2012) sets, these are where I'm expecting the majority of the Jurassic World materials to come from.

A good place to start at trying to figure which scenes from JW will be Legofied is to look at which dinosaurs Lego has already produced (and would therefore be more likely to replicate), and which dinosaurs will be featured in Jurassic World. And happily, both of those lists can be easily found and cross referenced. Brickpedia tells us that previous dinosaurs sets have included the following animals (without replication): from Dinos (2012), T-rex, Triceratops, raptor, Pteranodon, and Coelophysis; from Dinosaurs (2001), Brachiosaurus and Mosasaurus; and from Dino Island (2000), a Stegosaurus.

Jurassic World, courtesy of their official viral site, will include at least tenuously: T-Rex, raptors, Triceratops, Gallimimus, Pachycephalosaurus, Mosasaurus, Pterandodon, Apatosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Ankylosaurus, Baryonyx, Dimorphodon, Metriacanthosaurus, Suchomimus, Microceratus, Stegosaurus, and Edmontosaurus.

Another aspect we should consider is how Lego markets their products. The best place to look for an inclination on how they will proceed is to examine how they have conducted themselves in the recent past with licensed materials, namely The Hobbit films and The Avengers. Their trend of late has been to release four to five sets for each property, with a set in each price range between $12 and $130. Depending on the perceived popularity of the sets, this might be increased or decreased based on the license (Guardians, for instance, received only three sets, with the fourth being taken by the X-Men). So, with these factors in mind, I think we're ready to make some wild accusations.

Set 1: Gallimimus Chase

This has all the elements of a $20 to $35 set, depending on the elements included. My first instinct was to compare this scene to the Ostrich Race set from the Prince of Persia line. Change the paint job on a couple of those ostrich moulds, or repurpose the Coelophysis mould (below), and include a couple minifigs, and you've got a solid $20 set. Include the truck, and you can bump that up to $30 or $35, much the same as the comparable Doc Ock Truck Heist.

From Dinos (2012)

Set 2: Gyrosphere Field Trip

Remember, they have to put out enough set to generate minifigs of the principle cast: this would cover both of the kids in one go. Lego doesn't have a modern mould for any kind of sauropod, so recreating this shot exactly might not be possible unless they opt to spend the extra cash. But they do have a Triceratops figure that could be substituted in. Include a launch base for the gyrosphere, and you've got a solid $40 set.

From Dinos (2012)

Set 3: Feeding Time

The bigger licences get rewarded with the larger sets, with the larger price tags. Batman got Arkham Asylum, and the Hobbit got The Lonely Mountain (not to mention all the big sets that Star Wars has received over the years). While the instinct might be that the big ticket item for this licence will feature the mutant, I'd say the potential is greater for it to include the star of the trailer, the Mosasaurus at feeding time. The set would include a section of the stands, a shark on a line, and a needs-assembly Mosasaurus based on the Dinosaurs (2001) product. This would also be an excellent place to dump minifigs for characters like Irrfan Khan, Brian Tee, and Vincent D'Onofrio's characters.

From Dinosaurs (2001)

Set 4: D-Rex Breakout

Considering it is intended to be the chief adversary of the picture, that the mutant (reportedly D-rex) dinosaur will make it into a set is certain. I would imagine this set as being their $60-80 offering this time around (on par with Hulk's Helicarrier Breakout or Hulk Lab Smash), with a battle damaged lab complete with mutant making equipment or egg incubator, minifigs for Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and BD Wong, and the D-rex. Maybe add in that trashed gyrosphere from the trailer for added atmosphere.

Set 5: Raptor Cycle

The shot in the trailer that convinced me I could make this list half a year away from the film's release, and likely the shot that convinced Lego that the licence was worth buying. Because this screams out for a reasonably priced ($12-15) set that features a basic motorcycle, a couple raptors and a Chris Pratt figure (a la Captain America's Avenging Cycle). They won't be able to keep them on the shelves.

From Dinos (2012)

Set 6: T-rex Attack


Lego wouldn't go to all the trouble of putting together dinosaur themed sets and not sell one that included a T-rex. They just wouldn't. No one would put together any dinosaur themed product, and not sell something with the T-rex on, with or near it. It is, to paraphrase John Cleese, the single most popular dinosaur in the world. And yet, it makes not a single appearance in the trailer. So clearly, whatever set it is showing up in isn't one teased here, at least not that I can see. When Dinos was released, the T-rex Hunter set was a top line item, cashing out at $70. I would expect nothing less from this line. Though personally, I'd rather they release the T-rex along with the approved Jurassic Park Explorer and original film minifigs up top, and make it just that extra bit special.

From Dinos (2012)

Set 7: Jungle Cruise Ride



This shot from the trailer looks equally appealing to adapt to Lego form. A few minfigs in boats, some trees and some hold overs from the Lego mould factory, like a reused pteranodon and stegosaurs with a fresh paint job, and you've got a generic dinosaur set to fill in that $50 gap in the price list.

From Dinos (2012)

From Dino Island (2000)

Personally, Id like to see Lego take this opportunity to expand their current selection of dinosaur figures, rather than just rely on what is factory ready. I'd love to see Lego versions of Pachycephalosaurus, Parasaurolophus and Ankylosaurus. If the Big Ticket set were more of a herbivore paddock, stocked with rare and new dino figures, I think that would be rather exciting, don't you? In the end, for me, it doesn't matter what they put out. As a fan of Jurassic Park, Lego and dinosaurs in general, I'll be buying at least one of every set they produce. As for the chances that I've been accurate with any of these guesses, only time will tell. I'd love it if these were in any way similar to the finished collection, because the idea of any of these excites me. But maybe Trevorrow and Lego have somethings even more amazing waiting for us next summer. At the very least, I've got another list that I can come back to in six months and see how close, if at all, I was to the actual product.