10 LEGO rumours that turned out to be false in 2023

22/12/202323/12/2023 Chris Wharfe 1065 Views 0 Comments

Not every LEGO rumour is on the money, and there were plenty in 2023 that missed the mark by some distance – from the wrong LEGO Star Wars dioramas to a Harry Potter bus that never was…

Journeying into the rumour mill is a dangerous business. Not in the same way as a regular mill, where one wrong move can result in the loss of a limb, or maybe something worse. But in the way that misinformation is a powerful tool in 2023, and can do serious damage when wielded by the wrong hands. The good news is that this particular rumour mill has the LEGO logo emblazoned on top, or perhaps something like it to avoid getting sued, and in essence it’s all just a bit of fun.

And so, channelling that sense of fun and frivolity, it’s worth taking a step back to assess just how many of the rumours that came our way this year wound up being completely hot air. Whether they were hinting at something just a little bit different from the finished product or were totally off base, the core of each of these rumours ultimately failed to materialise. Take this list as a cautionary tale when approaching any LEGO rumours in 2024, is all we’ll say…

10 – An Endor rebel trooper helmet

Perhaps the biggest piece of the LEGO Star Wars puzzle in 2023 was what would become of product number 75356. It was initially thought to be an Endor rebel trooper helmet, continuing the line of original trilogy LEGO Star Wars helmets in line with Return of the Jedi’s 40th anniversary – and then linked to another set further down this list – before finally dropping as 75356 Executor Super Star Destroyer, which caught pretty much everyone off-guard.

A Return of the Jedi helmet did arrive in 75351 Princess Leia (Boushh) Helmet, but we never got the Endor rebel trooper helmet everyone expected… at least for a little while.

9 – Wolverine’s mask

Another piece of buildable headgear that failed to arrive, Wolverine’s mask was hooked to product number 76250 as far back as April. Those who have an unhealthy ability to memorise LEGO product numbers will know that that one ultimately belongs to 76250 Wolverine’s Adamantium Claws, which is closer to the mark than the Super Star Destroyer is to an Endor rebel trooper helmet. You can at least see where the confusion arose.

8 – Real Madrid BrickHeadz

It wouldn’t be difficult to believe that a Real Madrid-themed LEGO BrickHeadz set was on the cards at one point, following in the footsteps of its Manchester United and Barcelona equivalents, as was rumoured back in February. After all, it’s the only one of the three LEGO Icons stadiums without a corresponding pack of brick-built footballers.

But the LEGO football experiment doesn’t appear to have paid off – those three stadiums saw steep discounts, and we’ve had none since – so the lack of an established audience might have convinced the LEGO Group to scrap a Real Madrid BrickHeadz set altogether. Or it might never have existed at all. Either way, the rumours didn’t pan out as expected.

7 – Jabba’s Sail Barge

The first of two Hutt-shaped rumours that eventually led to nothing in 2023, this year’s second (and biggest) LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series rumours suggested a supersized Jabba’s Sail Barge would dominate shelves in the later stages of the year. But that product turned out to be the biggest prequel-era UCS set of all time instead (no complaints here) in 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser, which means we’re still waiting on our first Khetanna since 2013.

6 – The first 18+ set with mini-dolls

To date, the Venn diagram of LEGO 18+ sets and mini-dolls has been two separate circles – but reports suggested that would all change in 2023. 43225 The Little Mermaid’s Royal Clamshell was originally said to be called Ariel’s Palace, coming in at $159.99 for 1,808 pieces with mini-dolls in the box. Fine: 43197 The Ice Castle has shown us the LEGO Group isn’t afraid to go big with sets anchored around characters realised in the Friends and Disney Princesses style.

But the kicker came when a reliable source indicated the model would carry an 18+ tag, and suddenly the bigger picture formed: we were on the cusp of a first 18+ set with mini-dolls. That was until the LEGO Group pulled back the curtain on 43225 The Little Mermaid’s Royal Clamshell, which instead includes a line-up of Disney minifigures. Oh well.

5 – A LEGO The Flash set

Word of a LEGO set tied directly to the long-gestating The Flash first bowed in 2022, when the movie was originally supposed to arrive in cinemas. Following much delay and controversy, one of the final strings in the DCEU’s bow finally dropped this summer – but all that baggage had seemingly driven a stake through the heart of what was once rumoured to be 76221 Batmobile: Flash Tracking.

Common thought is that set eventually ended up becoming 76224 Batmobile: Batman vs. The Joker Chase, given the Flash model would reportedly have included Michael Keaton’s wheels. So there might have been a bit of truth in this rumour… once upon a time.

4 – A UCS Knight Bus

76417 Gringotts Wizarding Bank Collectors’ Edition was originally rumoured to be accompanied by a second LEGO Harry Potter direct-to-consumer set this year, in the form of 76419 The Knight Bus. A supersized version of the purple triple-decker sounds like an easy win for the Wizarding World theme – but it wasn’t meant to be in 2023.

The good news is that 76419 instead ended up being 76419 Hogwarts Castle and Grounds, which is not only one of the best LEGO Harry Potter sets of the year, but perhaps one of the best ever. We’re happy to wait a little bit longer for the LEGO Group to get around to the Knight Bus…

3 – Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny sets

Perhaps the biggest head-scratcher in this list – and all of 2023 for LEGO, really – is the absence of sets based on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, given the timing of the adventurer’s comeback on LEGO Store shelves. But according to the rumour mill, they were in the works at one point. Eight LEGO Indiana Jones sets were once said to be on the way in 2023: four based on the classic movies (of which three materialised), and four for Indy 5.

77016, 77017, 77018 and 77019 never came into being, though, leaving this rumour to peter out into nothingness. Bad news for those few of us who genuinely enjoyed Indy’s final silver-screen outing.

2 – Kang in the Collectible Minifigures

Right up until the very last moment, Jonathan Majors’ Kang – as seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – was said to be among the dozen characters making up the roster for Collectible Minifigures 71039 Marvel Series 2. The final line-up instead includes Goliath, who’s set to debut in What If…? Season 2 (airing right now on Disney+).

So, what happened to Kang? It might be that he was never on the cards at all, and the original source of the rumour simply confused the two characters. (It seems likely, given the rest of the series is comprised of heroes and villains from Disney+ shows rather than movies.) But we’ll probably never know for sure. Either way, the LEGO Group arguably dodged a bullet by avoiding Majors’ interpretation of the conqueror…

1 – A Jabba’s Palace diorama

Remember what we were saying earlier about Jabba? Everyone’s favourite Hutt was rumoured to be on the way back to LEGO Star Wars shelves in 2023 not only in a UCS Sail Barge, but also in a Return of the Jedi-themed diorama that would have recreated his throne room. Joining the dots between those two rumours made each one sound more credible, if only because the LEGO Group would be able to quickly reuse a new Jabba mould.

The specifics around the set were murky at best, though, with rumours of three different dioramas (including the two that we eventually got) sharing a pair of set numbers. When 75356 Executor Super Star Destroyer came along and claimed the final outstanding release slot for May, hopes for Jabba’s Palace faded into dust. Maybe in 2024?

Click here to take even more of a deep dive into LEGO in 2023, and to look ahead to what might lie in store for 2024…

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Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.