Lego The Lord of the Rings was based onThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The product line focuses on the fictional world ofMiddle-earth, the films follow thehobbitFrodo Baggins as he and theFellowship embark on a quest to destroy theOne Ring, to ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark LordSauron. The Fellowship eventually splits up and Frodo continues the quest with his loyal companionSam and the treacherousGollum. Meanwhile,Aragorn, heir in exile to the throne ofGondor, along withLegolas,Gimli,Boromir,Merry,Pippin and thewizardGandalf, unite to rally theFree Peoples of Middle-earth in theWar of the Ring in order to aid Frodo by distracting Sauron's attention.[8]
In November 2012,Lego The Hobbit was based onThe Hobbit film trilogy. The product line focuses on the tale ofBilbo Baggins, who is convinced by the wizard Gandalf to accompany thirteen Dwarves, led byThorin Oakenshield, on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragonSmaug.[8] In addition,The Lego Group built a life-sized model of the Hobbit home of Bilbo Baggins as it appears inThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey film.[9]
In May 2013, Rich-K and Big J had designed a Helm's Deep model contained a total of 150,000 Lego bricks and 1,700 mini-figures that based onThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[10]
In December 2013, Alice Finch and David Frank had designed The Rivendell model contained a total of 200,000 Lego bricks that based onThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[11]
Lego The Lord of the Rings andLego The Hobbit was inspired byThe Lord of the Rings andThe Hobbit film trilogy. The Lego construction toy range was based on the film trilogy and developed in collaboration withWarner Bros. Consumer Products. The construction sets were designed to recreate the story and characters of the film trilogy in Lego form.[3][12][8]
Lego The Lord of the Rings theme was launched at theAmerican International Toy Fair in 2012 andLego The Hobbit was launched in few months later. As part of the marketing campaign, The Lego Group released seven Lego sets based on the film.[13]
Young Bilbo Baggins:[18] Ahobbit hired by the wizard Gandalf to accompany 13 dwarves on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from thedragonSmaug.[19]
Smaug: An enormous, powerful and psychopathic greatdragon of Middle-earth who claimed the Lonely Mountain, its vast treasures and the surrounding human areas.
Necromancer: A mysterious sorcerer residing inDol Guldur with the ability to summon the spirits of the dead, who is later revealed to be the Dark LordSauron.
According toBrickLink, The Lego Group released a total of 17 Lego sets and promotional polybags associated withLego The Lord of the Rings and 24 sets and promotional polybags associated withLego The Hobbit.[21][22] The product line was eventually discontinued by the end of 2014.[23][24][25][26] Later, the theme was relaunched in 2023 with three new sets released as the part of the Lego BrickHeadz theme.
On 16 December 2011, The Lego Group announced a partnership with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema.[27][28] It was officially announced by The Lego Group that the seven sets based onThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy was released on 16 May 2012.[29] The seven sets[30][31] being released were Gandalf Arrives (set number: 9469),[32] Shelob Attacks (set number: 9470),[33] Uruk-Hai Army (set number: 9471),[34][b] Attack of Weathertop (set number: 9472),[35] The Mines of Moria (set number: 9473),[36][37] The Battle of Helm's Deep (set number: 9474)[38][b][39][37] and The Orc Forge (set number: 9476).[40] In addition to the sets, two polybag sets were released as promotions, which were Frodo with cooking corner (set number: 30210) and Uruk-Hai with ballista (set number: 30211). These included five key chains with a key chain attached to the minifigures of the Mordor Orc, Gandalf the Grey, Gimli, Frodo Baggins and Bilbo Baggins. Later, it was announced thatLego The Lord of the Rings (video game) was released on 30 October 2012 and also included Elrond minifigure as a free gift.[41]
In 2013, it was announced that four sets was released on 1 June 2013.[42][43][44] The four sets[45] being released were The Wizard Battle (set number: 79005), The Council of Elrond (set number: 79006), Battle at the Black Gate (set number: 79007)[37] and Pirate Ship Ambush (set number: 79008).[46][37] Tower of Orthanc (set number: 10237)[47][48][49][37] was an exclusive set released on 1 July 2013. The set consists of 2359 pieces with five minifigures.[50] Each of the sets featured eight core characters,[15] named Frodo Baggins, Gandalf the Grey, Aragorn, Samwise Gamgee (Sam), Gimli, Peregrin Took (Pippin), Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) and Legolas Greenleaf.[51] A Cave Troll, Corsair Pirate, Gollum, Lurtz, Mordor Orc, Ringwraith,[16] Soldier of the Dead, Rohan Soldier and Uruk-Hai[16] were also introduced for each of the sets.[52] The theme was designed primarily for children aged 8 to 14. The series acted as a thematic replacement for the popularLego Castle theme, featuring many of the same elements. Most of the sets are similar to theLego Castle theme. The Lego Group also used this license for the characters, starter pack and fun packs in theLego Dimensions toys-to-life video game.
In 2012, it was officially announced by The Lego Group that the six sets based onThe Hobbit film trilogy was released on 27 November 2012.[53][54][55][56] The six sets[57][58][59] being released were Riddles for the Ring (set number: 79000),[58][60][61] Escape from Mirkwood Spiders (set number: 79001),[58][62] Attack of the Wargs (set number: 79002),[58][63][64] An Unexpected Gathering (set number: 79003),[65][66][67][37] Barrel Escape (set number: 79004)[58][68][69] and The Goblin King Battle (set number: 79010).[58][70][71][37] In addition to the sets, four polybag sets were released as promotions, named Mirkwood Elf Guard (set number: 30212),[72] Gandalf at Dol Guldur (set number: 30213),[73] Legolas Greenleaf (set number: 30215)[74][c] and Lake-town Guard (set number: 30216).[d]
In 2013, it was announced that four sets was released on 2 December 2013.[77] The four sets[78][79] being released were Dol Guldur Ambush (set number: 79011),[e] Mirkwood Elf Army (set number: 79012), Lake-town Chase (set number: 79013) and Dol Guldur Battle (set number: 79014).[80][e][37]
In 2014, it was announced that theLego The Hobbit (video game) was released on 8 April 2014 and also included Bilbo Baggins minifigure as a free gift. Later, it was announced that the four sets would be released on 18 October 2014. The four sets[81] being released were Witch-King Battle (set number: 79015), Attack on Lake-town (set number: 79016), The Battle of Five Armies (set number: 79017) and The Lonely Mountain (set number: 79018).[82][37] Each of the sets feature 15 core characters,[56] named Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the Grey, Thorin Oakenshield II, Balin, Dwalin, Kíli, Fíli, Dori, Nori, Ori, Óin, Glóin, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur. The Goblin King, Goblin Scribe,Warg,[83] Mirkwood Elf Chief, Mirkwood Elf Guard, Goblin Soldier, Lake-town Guard, Mirkwood Elf, Gundabad Orc, Hunter Orc, Smaug and Gwaihir were also introduced for each of the sets. The theme was designed primarily for children aged 8 to 14.
Two board game sets were released as a part ofLego Games theme. The two board game sets were The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (set number: 3920) was released on 3 October 2012 and later The Battle of Helms Deep (set number: 50011) was released on 1 August 2013. The two board game sets based onThe Hobbit film trilogy andThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[84][85]
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (set number: 3920) was released on 3 October 2012 as a part ofLego Games theme and based onThe Hobbit film trilogy. The set consists of 389 pieces with dice, game board and 4 micro figures. The set included Lego micro figures of Gandalf the Grey, Kili the dwarf, Fili the dwarf and Dwalin the dwarf.[84]
The Battle of Helms Deep (set number: 50011) was released on 1 August 2013 as a part ofLego Games theme andThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The set consists of 338 pieces with dice, game board and 28 micro figures. The set included Lego micro figures of Aragorn, Haldir, Eowyn, Gimli, Legolas, King Théoden, 4 Rohirrim swordsmen, Uruk-Hai archer, 5 Uruk-Hai Berserkers, Uruk-Hai leader and 11 Uruk-hai swordsmen.[85]
Rivendell (set number: 10316) was released on the 8th of March 2023 as the part of theLego Icons theme. The set consists of 6,167 pieces with 15 minifigures, divided in 3 sections. Lego minifigures of Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Merriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck, Peregrin “Pippin” Took, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Aragorn, Elrond, Arwen, Bilbo Baggins, elves and were included.[86][87][88][37][89][90][91][92][93][94] Lego Design Master, Mike Psaiki explained, “We know many of our fans have been anticipating a set like this for a long-time – but a great Lego The Lord of the Rings set is never late, it arrives precisely when it means to! It was important to us that we created something really special in this recreation of Rivendell. We aimed to add as much detail as possible and create an engaging experience throughout the build to delight fans recreating scenes or proudly displaying Elrond’s home. We are really pleased with the final design and how we have brought Rivendell to life in brick form.”[7]
Lego designers Mike Psiaki, Wes Talbott, Chris Perron and Ashwin Visser discussed the development of Rivendell (set number: 10316). Mike said, “For the development of this, we’re collaborating with Warner Brothers,” and continued, “They’re the ones that made the Hobbit movies, and then I’m not an expert on this, I guess they currently own the rights to the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. They were quite good to work with. They have a good understanding of the limitations and capabilities of LEGO bricks. And so a lot of the suggestions we made, they’re very much on board with. They gave us access to a lot of great reference material from production – a lot of images that we could go through. So yeah, it was a super great collaboration, we didn’t work directly with anyone that had done any of the production design in the original film trilogy, which could have been awesome. But they had plenty of resources for us to get what we needed to make this model as authentic as it is.”[95]
Based onThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the game follows the original but spoofed storylines ofThe Fellowship of the Ring,The Two Towers andThe Return of the King, taking players through the epic story events, "re-imagined with the humour and endless variety of Lego play". The game utilises music and voice acting taken from all three films of the film trilogy. Developer Traveller's Tales has stated they toned down the slapstick humour found in otherLego-licensed titles. The game follows the events in the films; however, like theLego Star Wars series, some scenes from the films have been altered to become more family friendly or just provide comic relief to the player.
On 1 January 2019, all digital sales of the game were halted. This was confirmed a few days later by publisherWarner Bros. Interactive.[116] The game was later re-added toSteam on 27 April 2020.[117][f]
On 1 January 2019, all digital sales of the game were halted. This was confirmed a few days later by publisher Warner Bros. Interactive.[131] The game was later re-added toSteam on 27 April 2020 and onPSN Store on 6 May 2020.[117][f]
The crossovertoys-to-life gameLego Dimensions[132][133][134] developed byTraveller's Tales features content based on the originalThe Lord of the Rings. A "Starter Pack" includes an additional level that recreates the events of the original film and adds Gandalf as a playable character.[135][136][137][138] Additional "Fun packs" add Gollum, Shelob the Great, Legolas and Gimli as playable characters.[139][140][141]
A project based on Minas Tirith was uploaded to theLego Ideas site on March 4, 2021, and it was created by GJC15344. The project hopes to reach 10,000 supporters in order forLego to consider to make it into an official set. The project is based on Minas Tirith from the originalThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy and includes characters such as Gandalf the White, Pippin, Lord Denethor and Faramir.[142][143]
In November 2012, The Battle of Helm's Deep (set number: 9474) was listed as one of the Top 20 Toys for Christmas by Play.com, and The Mines of Moria (set number: 9473) was awarded "DreamToys" in the Construction category by theToy Retailers Association.[144][145]
In October 2013, Lego The Lord of the Rings video game was listed as one of the BAFTA Kids’ Vote Top 10s.[146]
In January 2021, aLego The Lord of the Rings fan build had set theGuinness Record for the "World's Largest Mini Brick Build" with a Lego build consisting of 150 million pieces.[147]
In September 2022, The Battle of Helm's Deep (set number: 9474), The Mines of Moria (set number: 9473), The Tower of Orthanc (set number: 10237), The Lonely Mountain (set number: 79018), The Council of Elrond (set number: 79006) and An Unexpected Gathering (set number: 79003) was listed on the "Six of the best Lego The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit sets" by Lego fansiteBrickFanatics.[148]
Rivendell (set number: 10316) received positive reviews, described byGizmodo as a "must have" for fans of the franchise, but criticised its price of US$500.[149]
