The LEGO Group is never afraid to try new things and some experiments from throughout 2024 had all of us shocked – in good and bad ways.
It would be a boring day when we can predict every single new LEGO set or fresh theme that the company comes out with, and 2024 certainly wasn't that year. As 2025 gets closer, we've been thinking back over the year to some of the good, the bad, and the just wild surprises that the LEGO community has been treated to in 2024.
We've highlighted five of the biggest shocks below, but feel free to leave your own suggestions in the comments down below.
A weird and wonderful year for LEGO Star Wars
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy was perhaps the most shocking in that the entire show is one surprise after another. Darth Jar Jar alone would have made any Star Wars fan laugh out loud this time last year, let alone adding Jedi Bob, Beach Luke, an evil Dark Falcon, and Uglies coming to brick-built life in 75393 TIE Fighter & X-Wing Mash-up to the mix.
The animated series and its accompanying sets were a testament to how in tune the LEGO Star Wars designers and the TV show creators are to the community's wants and needs. There might be some misses out there or practical reasons behind the scenes that sometimes leave the community unsatisfied but ticking off community in-jokes one by one in this series demonstrated that there are genuine fans working behind the scenes.
After all, how else would Jedi Bob have made such a triumphant return, or how could we have otherwise actually heard the phrase 'meesa going to hurt yousa'?
LEGO Creator 3-in-1 being the gift that keeps on giving
Another pleasant surprise was LEGO Creator 3-in-1 knocking it out of the park with every wave. The sets that are designed to be rebuilt in various ways have often in the past been overlooked by older fans, with many writing these sets off as just for kids or as gimmicky sets with little value.
However, the sheer intelligence that goes into designing these versatile sets is, at this point, tried and tested. Even more impressive, it's a theme that manages to cater for all ages, with simple sets like 31145 Red Dragon and 31148 Retro Roller Skate geared more towards younger builders but also room for larger ones for more mature LEGO fans.
Prime among them is 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox, packing a wealth of detail and impressive realism into just 667 pieces. With a price of just £44.99, it's also affordable as a display model – a rare find in the world of LEGO nowadays.
Other honourable mentions include 31152 Space Astronaut and 31109 Pirate Ship but honestly you can throw a dart and you'll hit an impressive LEGO Creator 3-in-1 set. If you'd asked us last year to name a theme that delivered only impressive builds, it probably wouldn't have been this one – but we're happy to see it in action.
Blind CMF boxes being not so blind after all
Reactions to the LEGO Group's introduction of cardboard blind boxes in 2023 were mixed but largely negative among the community but 2024 brought with it a solution. The scannable codes on the outside of boxes could reveal the minifigure inside, thanks to Brick Search's minifigure scanner.
For three series in 2024, we've been able to easily hunt for the minifigures we want, without needing to buy dozens of duplicates or engage in unsociable behaviour like ripping open boxes in stores. If boxes are the future, it's a pleasant surprise to see there's a way to skirt the problem – and long may it continue, with scannable codes now added to Brick Search ahead of Series 27's release in January 2025.
You can try it for yourself by downloading Brick Search for iOS devices here and Android devices here. Brick Search Plus members can enjoy unlimited use of the best-ever LEGO minifigure scanner, or you can scan up to 12 for free.
Another LEGO movie that nobody expected
LEGO fans have been begging for another LEGO movie for years and it's finally here – just not quite what we expected. Pharrell William's biopic, Piece by Piece, is a documentary-style film that features various famous faces, from Pharrell himself to Snoop Dogg. It's certainly not what fans of Emmett might have wanted to see – and that's reflected in some lacklustre box office results.
Still, it did get us a pretty cool and unusual LEGO set in the form of 10391 Over the Moon with Pharrell Williams, even if it's a little overpriced. The spaceship itself is a sturdy and engaging build, made all the more eye-catching with the rainbow stand. And what can be more surprising than an abacus full of heads?
Returning to LEGO Horizons – and for a reasonable price
Last but certainly not least, while it makes total sense to release a LEGO Horizon set to accompany the LEGO Horizon Adventures video game, we certainly wouldn't have expected such a reasonable price for a licensed set. 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth technically doesn't come out until next year but we're including here since the reveal has already happened and the game is already out.
That leads to another surprising detail around the set – why do we have to wait so long? People are already playing LEGO Horizon Adventures and have been since November 14. Would a release alongside the game have made more sense, so people can get into the brick-built spirit both digitally and physically? Sure, but at £39.99 / $44.99 / €44.99 for over 700 pieces, including one new and exclusive minifigure, we're not complaining.
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