10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell is pulling people back into LEGO

It’s not even available to buy yet, but 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell is already helping the LEGO Group to find both brand new and returning fans.

Succinctly fulfilling the goal of opening the LEGO brand up to a wider adult audience (by way of licensing), the latest LEGO The Lord of the Rings set is drawing in adult fans who say they’ve ‘never wanted a LEGO set until now’ and ‘[have never] been a real LEGO kid’. You’ll find those comments on IGN’s Facebook page, which offers a peek at how the Middle-earth set is working exactly as intended for the LEGO Group.

The gaming and entertainment website’s post on the set’s reveal has racked up 25,000 reactions and 14,000 comments in total, proving there’s love for 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell beyond the core LEGO fanbase. That will be music to the LEGO Group’s ears, given its current strategy to introduce more adults to the brick (which started with 2020’s ‘adults welcome’ marketing campaign).

Yet more so than just putting LEGO in front of unfamiliar fans – adults who might not have even considered building with bricks, whether since being a child or ever – 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell is also working its magic on potential fans who’ve already outright dismissed the idea of buying a LEGO set.

“I’ve never bought a LEGO set for myself,” wrote Tedrick Vincent. “Always said I didn’t have the patience to do these… UNTIL NOW!” Joe Krolick, meanwhile, added: “This is literally the only normal LEGO set I have ever wanted in my life,” a conclusion echoed by Cassie Peters: “This is the only LEGO set I’ve ever seen that I actually want to build.”

Claire Langworthy-Garland wrote: “I [have never] been a real LEGO kid, but THIS. I don’t care what it costs, we are pooling our money for this,” while Ryan Beverly added: “Between this and the A-Frame Cabin… these just may get me back into LEGO.”

This is obviously all good news for the LEGO Group’s bottom line, but we’re not just pointing this all out to celebrate the company’s eventual financial results for the first half of 2023: from the perspective of LEGO Middle-earth fans, 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell selling well seems like a sure-fire way to guarantee more sets from Tolkien’s universe.

For now, you’ll be able to get your hands on 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell from March 5 if you’re a VIP member. The 6,167-piece set retails for £429.99 / $499.99 / €499.99 and includes a free copy of 40630 Frodo & Gollum during early VIP access. It will then go on sale to everyone (without the free BrickHeadz set) from March 8.

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