The great LEGO goat saga continues this summer

The most intriguing LEGO saga of our age is rearing its head once again this summer, as 71799 NINJAGO City Markets teases the return of a long-awaited animal…

Goats: LEGO fans love ‘em, the LEGO Group doesn’t make ‘em. You can see the problem. The minifigure-scale moulded goat has appeared in just one set – 2011’s 7189 Mill Village Raid – and now fetches an insane sum of money on the aftermarket. If you want to add one to your collection in 2023, you’re going to need to pay roughly £60 (before shipping). By comparison, 7189 originally retailed for £66.99 in the UK… and included two goats.

Even if you haven’t been following the great goat saga over the past couple of years, you won’t be surprised to learn that the fan community has pretty consistently called for the animal to return – and the LEGO Group has consistently ignored those calls. This about sums it up:

To give you a quick summary of the LEGO Group’s responses so far: the original mould is apparently no more, which prevented the Ideas team from bringing it back for 21325 Medieval Blacksmith (the initial concept for which included a goat). But then the same team managed to resurrect another lost mould for 21331 Sonic the Hedgehog – Green Hill Zone, recutting the blue blur’s original minifigure design from LEGO Dimensions.

LEGO Ideas Design Manager Sam Johnson then told Brick Fanatics that the same process is technically possible for the goat. “There’s definitely a 3D file of it somewhere,” he said in February last year, “so who knows, maybe there’ll be a return of the king.”

Which brings us to today, just over a week out from the launch of 71799 NINJAGO City Markets. The 6,163-piece set is the latest in a now four-strong line of NINJAGO modular buildings, and like its predecessors, comes packed with plenty of fun stickers to decorate its cityscape. And one of those stickers just might be teasing the imminent return of the LEGO goat.

Squirrelled away on the outer right hand side of the build is the above sticker, which features an image of a LEGO goat and tearaway tabs, in the style of a classic ‘lost pet’ flyer. The kicker? The Ninjargon (that’s the NINJAGO language) above the image translates to ‘missing’.

Now, this alone is obviously not proof that the LEGO Group is about to bring back the goat. But it has two things in its favour: first, it would seem needlessly cruel to taunt LEGO fans clamouring for the animal without actually being prepared to rectify the situation. And second, the company has actually already set an in-universe precedent with this style of sticker.

LEGO City 60321 Fire Brigade arrived on shelves in January 2022, and among its printed pieces was a tile advertising a missing cat (using the same flyer design as the goat sticker in 71799 NINJAGO City Markets). Six months later, 60335 Train Station included a sticker revealing that the lost pet had been found. What are the chances we’re going to see a sticker in a future LEGO set confirming the return of the goat, alongside the physical return of the piece?

It could even happen in whatever the next NINJAGO City modular building ends up being (if there is one at all, but it seems pretty likely now the subtheme has continued beyond 71741 NINJAGO City Gardens). We’re calling it now: 71XXX NINJAGO City Farms, coming to a shelf near you in 2025, complete with two or three goats.

Or, you know. It could just be a multi-billion-dollar company mercilessly mocking its fans. But we live in hope.

71799 NINJAGO City Markets launches June 1 for £319.99 / $369.99 / €369.99. Check out our early review of the set here, and consider supporting the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO using our affiliate links. Thank you!