User blog:Darkblade9/The Future of BIONICLE

Good day, everyone. In case you didn't know, Lego's Makuta Challenge has officially finished. I feel that at least a few of the entries were definitely deserving of the honor, but that's not what I wanted to talk about today. I think that the end of that contest sort of marks the end of a period for Bioncle, so I more wanted to discuss with you all what exactly the future might have in store for the theme.

You see, over the past few days, I've been thinking about Bionicle quite a lot, experiencing quite a good bit of Biostalgia (That is, a feeling of nostalgia caused buy something relating to Bionicle), and I've decided to talk to you all for a bit about Bionicle's second end for a little bit.

I don't want to talk much about why Bionicle G2 ended, because honestly, everything that there is to be said on the subject has already been said. What I want to talk about is this question: What now? Now that everyone's had a chance to settle down from the whole premature cancellation deal, I figured it would be worth considering what might happen to Bionicle in the future. So I'm going to give my opinion on the what the answer to that question might be. So, what comes next? Bionicle was cancelled, again. In retrospect, the return of Bionicle was rather underwhelming and nowhere near what it should have been. So, as a community, as fans of this weird little theme we love so much, what should we do? What should we hope for?

I mean, so far I haven't seen too much of a reason to be worried for the community. It kept going even after Bionicle ended the first time, and it doesn't seem to be showing too many signs of dying out. So I'm sure that sites like ours, the TTV message boards, BZ power, and the likes will keep pumping out content. We still love Bionicle, whether it was cancelled or not. It's really the official license and theme that have me concerned, because we're not really sure what will happen with that.

See, here's the thing. It's something that no one has really mentioned too much and it's something I actually feel pretty strongly about. It's not will Bionicle come back (Which, by the way I don't think is going to happen. G2's sales were bad enough that I think Lego would be hard-pressed to get stores to buy Bionicle product in bulk for the sake of selling it, which is a bit of an economic drawback that will probably discourage Lego from making more Bionicle sets), it's actually, should Bionicle come back? And personally, I think no. It shouldn't. Lego should not try and bring the theme back, put more Bionicle sets on the shelves. And here's why. One of the things I love about Bionicle, more than anything, is it's story, and the underlying feel of Bionicle. I love how Bionicle was a Lego theme that can be taken seriously, a story that could actually draw people in. When I was younger, and I was reading the Bionicle comics that came with the Lego magazine, I remember feeling emotionally involved with the story, particularly around the issues with the Mahri and Matoro's sacrifice. I cared for these characters Lego made. I was sad when Lego killed one off.

It's that level of storytelling, a level of seriousness, that touch of darkness and peril that Lego was willing to put in their story back with G1 Bionicle. And that's why I don't feel Bionicle should ever come back as a Lego theme. Because if G2 proved anything to me, it's that Lego simply won't make a story like that again. Lego is too concerned with making money and selling toys to kids to make a story like that. And that's not necessarily bad. I'm not saying Lego shouldn't sell toys to kids, and I'm not saying that their themes shouldn't be light-hearted and kid-friendly, I'm just saying that Bionicle shouldn't be marketed with the same level of depth and emotion as Legends of Chima. It deserves so much more than to be dumbed down by a toy company.

So should happen to Bionicle? Well, obviously I don't want it to die. That would be terrible. I don't want Bionicle to forever be that one original theme that Lego made that did sort of good, but then it did kinda terrible so they had to kill it. Bionicle has done so much for Lego, and I think that as a theme, it has so much potential. Bionicle deserves much more than two toy lines and a few fan sites on the web.

I think the best thing Lego could do for Bionicle at this point, if they really care for it, is to admit that they can't do anything good for the theme anymore, and just pawn it off. Sell Bionicle to someone who can do something good with it. Sell it to a movie company that could make one or two at least half-decent Bionicle movies, sell it to a video game company so they can turn Bionicle into at least a half-decent video game, or maybe even a video game franchise. Have freaking DC start up a Bionicle comic again, I don't know. But something. Give it to someone who will at least be making Bionicle content to tell a good story, to entertain, to yeah, make money, but by some way that isn't selling buildable action figures.

And obviously, we can't let the community die. Keep making your own models, even if Lego's not making new sets and parts. Keep telling your stories. Keep the theme alive. I know it sounds cliché, but it is good advice. And think about it, we have a ton of free reign now with our stories. Lego has stopped making Bionicle stories, so now we can make our own.

That's what I think about, but I'm curious to know what your thoughts are on it. What should be done with Bionicle? Should it be brought back? I look forward to hearing what you all have to say. Thanks for reading all of this, sorry if it seemed a bit like rambling, but I kinda wanted to talk about it with the perspective of a little bit more time. And with that,

Excel sior!