Blocks takes a look at five of the LEGO Group’s ‘big bang’ themes – Exo-Force, NINJAGO, Legends of Chima, NEXO KNIGHTS and Monkie Kid.
The LEGO Group is no stranger to launching some bizarre and wacky themes — the likes of Fabuland, Rock Raiders and Galidor all certainly have their place in LEGO history. But in the mid-2000s, the LEGO Group started to experiment with a new type of theme, which came to be known as a ‘big bang’ theme. These themes would come with the usual roster of sets, but there would be a greater emphasis on story and tie-in comics, books, shows and eventually technology.
The big bang theme has had varying levels of success since its introduction – partly because the LEGO Group has such big expectations for them. A few have come and gone while others have become staples of the LEGO Group’s line-up. Blocks, the monthly LEGO magazine, is taking a look at some of these ‘big bang’ themes, from Exo-Force to Monkie Kid, with some background on each theme and consideration of its impact on the LEGO world.
Exo-Force
LEGO Exo-Force was the LEGO Group’s first attempt at a big bang theme and turned out to be quite the impressive first try. In terms of uniqueness, few themes would be able to beat it. Taking inspiration from anime and manga, Exo-Force has a distinct style for a LEGO theme — particularly notable in the theme’s minifigures. The anime/manga inspiration is most clearly visible in the minifigures’ wig and head pieces, with stylised eyes and crazy hair. The robotic bad guys of the theme use impressive moulds for the torso/head and leg elements, making for some intimidating foes.
Exo-Force’s sets primarily composed of mechs big and small, such as 7700 Stealth Hunter. While they rely on what is frankly an obscene number of stickers, the builds are great — and were quite affordable while they were on shelves. The theme only ran from 2006 until 2008 but managed more than 40 sets and paved the way for future big bang themes, setting standards in types of sets, story tie-ins and duration of releases. Exo-Force is far from one of the most popular LEGO themes but has a strong cult following among fans to this day.
NINJAGO
Three years after Exo-Force ended, the next big bang theme hit shelves — LEGO NINJAGO. NINJAGO was intended to follow a similar structure to Exo-Force — run for three years, have story-based sets and tie-in merchandise, plus a television series. No-one was ready for the absolutely sky-high levels of popularity NINJAGO would reach. After an entire season of the show dedicated to ‘the final battle’ in 2013, it was decided that the theme would continue past its planned ending. More than a decade later, NINJAGO is showing no signs of stopping, with plenty of new sets releasing every year.
NINJAGO was much simpler in the early days than what the theme has become. The original batch of sets focused on the four ninja characters alongside Sensei Wu, Nya, Lord Garmadon and his army of skeletons. Since then, the ninja have gone on to add members and allies far too numerous to mention and fought enemies ranging from snakes and robots to time-bending foes. The theme has had its fair share of mechs but also plenty of other sets to satisfy any fan, including modular buildings such as 70620 NINJAGO City.
Legends of Chima
Anything as popular as NINJAGO is a tough act to follow, but Legends of Chima arrived in 2013, determined to do something fresh. Much like NINJAGO, Chima established an imaginative world filled with fantastical vehicles and creative characters, who now, instead of ninja, were humanoid animals organised into tribes of lions, crocodiles, eagles and more. Chima had some rather impressive minifigures and sets. The figures all used special pieces that fit over the standard minifigure heads to create some excellent looking animal figures. And the sets, such as 70006 Cragger’s Command Ship, were fun and unique.
Despite the theme’s immense creativity, arriving during the height of NINJAGO’s popularity doomed it from the start. The theme designed to be the next ‘big bang’ found itself fighting for its life against NINJAGO. The sets had to compete with NINJAGO for sales and the tie-in cartoon never had the same cultural impact as its predecessor. Legends of Chima is by no means a poor theme, but it is one of the less popular big bang themes, largely due to having to follow such a popular concept.
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NEXO KNIGHTS
LEGO NEXO KNIGHTS debuted in 2016, following LEGO Chima. By this point, it became clear that no theme could dethrone NINJAGO, so NEXO KNIGHTS ran alongside the powerhouse theme. NEXO KNIGHTS took one of the LEGO Group’s most beloved themes, Castle, and put a sci-fi spin on it, akin to what the other big bang themes had done. The first episodes of the show aired in December 2015 and the first wave of sets followed in early 2016, including 70317 The Fortrex, which was, simply put, a castle on treads. The theme mixed in some real-world technology, which mainly focused on a mobile game that let fans scan the different shields included in sets for in-game powerups.
Much like Chima, NEXO KNIGHTS was a creative concept that never quite caught on to the extent a big bang theme needs to. The theme ended with an under-promoted wave of sets in January 2018, meaning NEXO KNIGHTS wouldn’t even survive the full three-year run intended for story-driven themes. Legends of Chima has developed a bit of a greater appreciation among fans since its cancellation, while NEXO KNIGHTS has largely been forgotten — but it remains an important chapter in the history of big bang themes and tech integration, paving the way for future themes such as Hidden Side.
Monkie Kid
Nexo Knights’ early cancellation in 2018 led there to being no big bang theme on shelves for all of 2019 — excluding the still-going NINJAGO. In fact, it caused a rethink at the LEGO Group, where the wisdom of putting so much marketing heft behind a single theme designed with a limited lifespan was questioned.
Time off may have been exactly what the big bang recipe needed, because 2020’s LEGO Monkie Kid has far surpassed both NEXO KNIGHTS and Chima in terms of popularity and staying power. Monkie Kid was a departure from the typical big bang theme format in more ways than one – the sets and story are based on the story of the Monkey King, a popular story in China that has existed for centuries. The theme was also intended specifically for a Chinese audience – the sets are available at official LEGO retail outlets outside of China, but the theme was only intended to be a mainstream product range for that particular market.
Despite having proper source material, Monkie Kid still keeps to the big bang theme tradition of wacky models and excellent figures. Many of the sets are flat out incredible, such as 80013 Monkie Kid’s Team Secret HQ. The set’s main cargo ship build is fantastic, and the accompanying figures are some of the most well-detailed figures the LEGO Group offers. With the theme celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2024, it seems like Monkie Kid is the first big bang theme to channel the success of NINJAGO and is sure to be a staple theme for years to come.
Legacy of the ‘Big Bang’ theme
Big bang themes have had their ups and downs over the years, with NINJAGO becoming one of the LEGO Group’s most popular themes while others have not lived up to lofty targets. Monkie Kid’s continued popularity shows that the formula can still work. With DREAMZzz rolling out in a more tenative way, it seems that the LEGO Group has moved on from the three year pattern, allowing new themes time to roll out and grow their fanbases.
The future of the standard big bang formula followed by the likes of Chima and NEXO KNIGHTS is likely to be a thing of the past, but the big bang theme has undoubtedly made its mark on LEGO history, making up a large part of the LEGO Group’s catalogue during the 2010s and creating fond memories of creative and wacky themes for fans young and old.
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