Fans have long suspected it, but it's now official that new Lego Harry Potter sets based on the upcoming HBO series are brewing.
Revealed via the Back to Hogwarts livestream that went up in time for September 1 (AKA the day Hogwarts students traditionally return to school in the books and movies), the toy-maker confirmed that it was indeed working on a series of Lego Harry Potter sets inspired by the HBO show. While we don't know what those will be just yet, the teaser did give us our first look at the new minifigures for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Plus, co-host Rhianna Dhillon noted that these sets would be coming "so, so soon." I guess that means we can expect them to hit the digital Lego store shelves in the not-so-distant future.
In terms of the trio, Harry's wearing the new Gryffindor Hogwarts uniform while Hermione and Ron are in their civilian getup. While Ron seems to have a new hairpiece that more accurately represents the actor playing him in the HBO series (as does Hermione, though hers is very similar to previous models), Harry seems to have exactly the same face print and hair as older minifigs.
This raises an interesting point. Even though the show has a different visual design to the movies, it's gonna retread old ground already covered by Lego by necessity. Are we going to get slightly tweaked versions of older sets as a result? Fans on reddit are certainly wary of this, with user BlueAraquanid sarcastically noting that "Oh my god guys are we gonna get another hogwarts castle? Maybe finally get a ford Anglia? If they make enough seasons we could even get a buildable dobby! This might be lego’s most creative and innovative theme yet." (We have of course got multiple Hogwarts Castles, Ford Anglias, and Dobbys already.)
I also wonder what this means for kits based on the movies. Will they take a backseat in favor of the new HBO models, or are both ranges going to be launched simultaneously? I suppose we'll have to wait and see.
There's plenty kicking off for brick-builders this week; fans are loving new Lego Wallace & Gromit, but the same can't be said for Buddy the Elf, and a host of awesome new Lego sets just launched for September.
Although she is not involved in the development of Lego Harry Potter sets, GamesRadar+ acknowledges the role of J.K. Rowling in the creation of the Wizarding World, as well as her publicly-stated views regarding the rights of transgender people. If you'd like to offer your support to the communities affected by Rowling's rhetoric, consider donating to the National Center for Transgender Equality in the US, or Mermaids in the UK.
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