Bionicle

Oh man, this reminds me of the good old days on BZ Power, when we'd spend weeks agonizing over crappy images from "leaked" sources, debating over their legitimacy.

...I can't believe it's already been four years since Bionicle was cancelled.

Yeah, I remember discussing the Piraka leaks that came from China. Good times. Shame BZ Power went downhill, but I guess that was expected once Bionicle was canceled.

It's an extra shame all those hacker attacks against it forced the purge of the old forum archives too. There was a lot of history there .

Either way, we'll probably get more concrete information on Lego's new constraction line once September of October rolls around. Even though its return is massively unlikely, it's nice to be thinking of Bionicle again.

Yeah, I miss the archive. I had several fanfictions I liked to go back to, as an example of my early writing and evolution (took me about 4 years at least to finish). I guess nothing ever disappears from the Internet unless you want to find it.

Edit: In other news, some of the pictures are being taken down.

edited 3rd Jul '14 9:11:26 AM by Ninjaxenomorph

A possible reboot, huh?

I think it's a little early for that, honestly, since Lego still hasn't quite learned the art of quality, accessible ongoing storytelling, but perhaps if they were able to relaunch it as a TV show...

There are also a few other things that I would have liked to see LEGO resolve before going back to Bionicle, like their gender issues- but if they remake the universe with a few slightly altered details (like each Matoran tribe including both genders) then it gives them the potential to improve those things later on, even if the Smurfette principle still applies in the first few years.

Okay, these rumors are starting to seem a lot more likely. Dem pictures. Dem golden masks. So much want.

Yeah, pretty hard to deny it at this point. Looks likethey're going the "reboot" route, which is kinda promising.

Ah, I remember Lego Bionicle fondly. However I didn't have many sets. I stopped following the story some time before the theme was canceled.

If it is a reboot, I hope there's some acknowledgement of the original continuity. Ten years of fairly consistent world-building and mythology would be no small thing to simply toss away. My ideal situation for the storyline would be kicking it forward a few millennia from the reformation of Spherus Magna. That would allow the old storyline to still be relevant, while allowing enough change to pass to give the writers (and I wonder if Greg Farshtey will be the head writer again) enough creative freedom to take the story anywhere they want.

Oh I've heard those rumors about Bionicle returning in 2015. As great as it may sound, we all should know that Internet rumors must be taken with a sea's worth of salt.

Rumors, maybe. Those pictures, though...

I havent been able to find these 'pictures'

Check tumblr. They're all over the place there.

This is an official image found on a public URL.◊ GUESS WHAT GUYS

IT's HAPPENING!

Now the 10,000 widget question is whether or not it's a reboot, a continuation, or a spinoff.

edited 8th Sep '14 11:40:46 AM by Renewal

Y'know, that mask kinda reminds me of the old style from pre-Metru Nui. I like it. ^_^

Pardon the double post, but evidently there's been another leak involving set pictures? I like that Kopaka and Tahu have masks that greatly resemble their old ones and stuff, but some of the others irritate me. Like Gali. Gali looks like a dude again. >_< Also, there's an Ignika in the corner of each baggie. I hope those are placeholders- Bionicle 2015 could do without ten years of prior story holding it down.

There's a difference between '10 years of backstory holding it down' and 'Remember all that old stuff you loved? Yeah, forget that.'

Also, here is the set preliminary pictures, for those who don't have access.

edited 14th Sep '14 3:59:21 PM by Ninjaxenomorph

Ten years of old stuff. That's not exactly conductive for new people to get into the franchise. Also, the story that Bionicle's original run was telling has been told. Might as well start over and see what else we can do with it.

Considering how open-ended 2010's story was—Spherus Magna was reformed, and then what?—it's not like the original story was a done deal, with everything resolved. There was literally an entire world of stories to be told when the franchise was canceled.

Moreover, this is far from the first time a canceled series has seen a revival. Look at Doctor Who: it had a long, storied history, and when 2005 and its revival came around, you didn't need to know a single moment of that history. And let's be honest: Bionicle is not Lego Kingdoms, or Space, or any of the half dozen themes that Lego revives every few years. It's the line that's always been intimately tied with story, and a revival would be banking on that relationship, either directly as a continuation or indirectly as a rehash. If Lego didn't want the baggage, they could have created another successor line like Hero Factory that used similar iconography, just like Bionicle itself was to Slizer and other Technic lines so long ago.

And it's not even known yet what role the Ignika will play. There's a world of difference between mentioning that it has history and mandating that anyone new to the franchise know all ten years of story history.

Well, if you're gonna start over again, why bother having those ten years of baggage anyways? All it's gonna do is limit the stories you can tell or complicate things. Starting from scratch means you're free to retell the stories you had the first time around with the benefit of hindsight and stuff. Sure, it doesn't help the previous incarnation of the franchise, but in terms of drawing new fans, that's pretty much a non-issue. I honestly can't see how keeping the old story would help other than appealing to old fans' nostalgia, and they aren't even the target audience.

I think they're going to make Bionicle their Transformers or TMNT equivalent. That is, new continuity reboot every couple of years (sometimes even perhaps two or more running at the same time, but that will be a few years away if if they ever try it).

Heck, there are already different versions of the story through different media (The way the Shadow Toa were defeated varies between the books and other media, and the temporary "death" of Takanuva at the end of Mo L is not considered canon by Greg. It wouldn't take much to branch them off into different continuities eventually- if and when Bionicle becomes a much bigger brand.

Oh hey theres a thread for Bionicle! I canot wait for its return.

Join the club. :|

I shall join! Bionicle was a big part of my childhood! Even if the story begins anew I shall follow it!

...I do hope that Vezon somehow makes it into the new story. He is my all time favorite!

edited 16th Sep '14 3:37:51 AM by DevilPsyco