The LEGO Batman Movie is one of the funniest animated films of the past few years, and fans are keeping the release alive, as The Batman’s Penguin chase was recreated in LEGO form. The animated movie, along with The LEGO Ninjago movie, created so many possibilities when it came to using popular franchises for feature-length LEGO films.
However, after Universal bought the rights to the LEGO movie franchise in 2019, there haven’t been many updates. Regardless of which studio the franchises belong to, Redditors have discussed which series would make the best LEGO movies. Between a high-octane street racing franchise and films about Mesozoic creatures, these series deserve meta, self-aware LEGO films.
The Matrix
This user wants to see The Matrix LEGO Movie, noting, “The Matrix could be a good one, especially now that it has Resurrections to rip into.” The Matrix Resurrections didn’t get the best reception from critics or fans, and the meta and self-aware direction that series creator Lana Wachowski took the movie in just didn’t land well. However, it could be the basis of some hilarious irreverent jokes in a LEGO movie.
While the future of the Matrix is uncertain, fans have many ideas about which direction it should go in, with some wanting an Animatrix 2, but The Matrix LEGO Movie could be the best option right now. The only issue would be that bullet time has been parodied to death over the past 23 years, and it felt so aged when it was made fun of in last year’s Space Jam: A New Legacy. So it could feel extremely dated in a LEGO movie too.
Lord Of The Rings
JustUseTheWordMmmkay thinks a LEGO movie based on Lord of the Rings could be spectacular. The Redditor posits, “So many franchises have some kind of kids version available for younger audiences but for Lord of the Rings there is nothing. Would love to get my 5-year-old into it but nothing out there is suitable yet. Lego would be perfect.”
Again, like The Matrix Resurrections, the latest LotR content fans have gotten hasn’t been quite up to the quality that fans expect of the franchise. A Lord of the Rings LEGO Movie could poke fun at The Rings of Power, and as The LEGO Batman Movie made jokes about Warner Bros. that only adults would understand, it’s easy to imagine jokes about the huge budget Amazon invested into the series production.
Doctor Who
Sethor thinks that Doctor Who has the potential for a great LEGO movie. The series has been going for almost six decades and has only ever had one major hiatus, there’s so much content that a LEGO movie could use.
On top of that, the Daleks, the iconic alien species in the Doctor Who universe, have already been in The LEGO Batman Movie. The evil aliens appeared in the final act when Joker summoned countless classic movie and TV villains, so there’s already some connective tissue there.
Barbie
IluvTaylorSwift thinks outside the box and suggests that there should be The LEGO Barbie Movie. A live-action Barbie movie will be released in 2023 with Ryan Gosling playing Ken, and Margot Robbie portraying the titular doll. And while not much is known about the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter, it’ll be self-aware, irreverent, and expectation subverting, which is hardly surprising given that Greta Gerwig is in the director’s chair.
That might eliminate the need for The LEGO Barbie Movie. But given how there are so many iterations of the character, it’d be fun to see them all collide in a meta way. The LEGO film could reference Robbie’s Barbie, Toy Story’s Barbie and Ken, and even the battalion of evil Barbies in Small Soldiers.
The Cornetto Trilogy
Booga424 has another outside-the-box choice, as the “Cornetto trilogy” isn’t so much a franchise but a group of very loosely connected movies directed by Edgar Wright that star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The Redditor wants to see “Lego Hot Fuzz, Lego Shaun of The Dead, and Lego The Worlds End.” Given how those three movies are already over-the-top high-concept comedies that are already self-deprecating, it’s hard to imagine how the LEGO treatment could add another level to that.
The reason why The LEGO Batman Movie was so successful was that the Batman franchise is so serious and dark, but it’s essentially about a man who dresses up as a bat. That’s the basis for some hilarious LEGO-esque jokes, but jokes like Shaun and his crew passing doppelgangers of themselves is a LEGO movie kind of joke, but it was already done in the movie.
Universal Dark Universe
Realistically, most Redditors’ choices are completely hypothetical, as the rights to the LEGO franchise belong to Universal after the studio bought it from Warner Bros. So the only franchises that could actually be given the LEGO treatment are ones belonging to Universal unless some unprecedented deal was struck with another studio. And that’s why Rageofthegods thinks there should be a LEGO movie that focuses on Universal’s Dark Universe.
The Redditor comments, “Lego Classic Monsters, if you can ignore Hotel Transylvania.” Universal tried to build a whole cinematic universe around characters like the Mummy, Frankenstein, and Dracula, but the “Universal Dark Universe” crashed and burned with the failure of 2017’s The Mummy. A Dark Universe LEGO Movie could be a creative way to reboot the franchise and make it successful.
James Bond
This user thinks that the James Bond franchise could make for a great LEGO movie, and with over 25 films and six Bond actors to reference, they’re not wrong. The Redditor suggests, “Maybe they can team up with Amazon to make a Lego James Bond movie.”
As MGM and Amazon are seemingly struggling to build the next James Bond series, as it’s looking for a young actor to commit to the character for 10-12 years, The LEGO James Bond Movie could be the safest and easiest option. That decision could potentially disappoint thousands of Bond fans, but there’s no doubt that it’d rival The LEGO Batman Movie when it comes to making fun of the franchise’s tropes.
Jurassic Park/World
Jurassic World Dominion Tyrannosaurus Rex at the Drive-In Theatre
UnrealLuigi thinks a LEGO movie based on the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies could be great. The Redditor hilariously notes, “Wouldn’t be surprised if they were vastly superior to the Jurassic World movies honestly.” The user is referring to the underwhelming reception of the new Jurassic series, as, though they have grossed billions at the box office, each consecutive release has gotten worse reviews than the last.
Not even the original recast returning for Jurassic World: Dominion helped its chances against critics. However, The LEGO Jurassic Park Movie could salvage the franchise, and as the Jurassic World series has concluded, the franchise has to continue with a fresh approach somehow. A LEGO Movie certainly beats the prequel narrated by Nicolas Cage that fans want so badly.
Akira
Voivod1989 wants to see The LEGO Akira Movie. Focusing on niche franchises is why Warner Bros. failed with the LEGO movie franchise in the first place, as nobody showed up to see The LEGO Ninjago Movie. So focusing on an anime franchise that so few of the general audience would have ever seen would likely be a huge financial mistake.
A LEGO Akira film would especially feel a little off given that the Akira series is already animated. However, given that the anime is so dark and serious, it’s easy fodder for the LEGO franchise to parody, and its cyberpunk aesthetic would be interesting to see done with LEGO too.
Fast & Furious
Hildebrand_rarity asks Reddit, “Fast and Furious LEGO movie?” A LEGO version of the Fast and Furious series might not work all that well considering that the franchise already heavily leans into absurdity, such as rocket-powered Pontiac Fieros going into space. The franchise has even gotten self-aware, as Rome has started questioning how they all manage to survive the fatal situations they find themselves in.
However, hearing jokes about Dom’s obsession with family alone might be worth it. And as fans would love a direct sequel to Tokyo Drift, a LEGO movie might be the only way they’ll get some sort of follow-up to the 2006 cult classic. With just two more movies before the Fast Saga comes to an end, it could be a possibility.
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