LEGO’s reaction times leaves a gulf between Star Wars and LEGO fans

The most recent LEGO Star Wars rumours have little or nothing to do with where the Star Wars community is focused right now.

It’s no secret that it takes a while to design a LEGO set. From conception to hitting shelves, the design and quality control process takes months, if not over a year, to come to fruition. That’s extended even longer when it comes to licensed sets, with approval needed from the LEGO Group’s partners.

While that’s partly just simply necessity, the most recent band of LEGO Star Wars rumours highlight where this can fall down. As TV shows and movies become more hit and miss (see the massive drop-off in interest in the MCU, for example), the LEGO Group seems increasingly cautious about putting its brick-built eggs in a movie basket too far down the line.

That’s perhaps why we’ve not got any LEGO DC Superman sets, even as the movie impresses critics. Unless the LEGO Group was already working on plans for sets, it will likely take the company until 2027 to react to the film’s success.

The same can be seen in LEGO Star Wars. 75437 Cobb Vanth’s Speeder, rumoured to be coming out in January 2026, comes long after fans were loving the character in The Mandalorian in 2020 and The Book of Boba Fett back in 2022, but well before any possible appearances in The Mandalorian movie, which is due for release in May 2026.

The other sets in the rumoured January wave are similarly Clone or Mandalorian-related, as well as some evergreen vehicles. However, this isn’t the only wave that doesn’t appear to have timeliness on its side. 75374 Onyx Cinder came out well before its TV show inspiration, Skeleton Crew (admittedly due to delays), while 2025’s 75412 Death Trooper & Night Trooper Battle Pack finally brought us Night Troopers en masse – but nearly two years after fans were loving their look in Ahsoka.

Now, the Star Wars community is talking about Andor, which just concluded its season two finale. However, there are hardly any Andor sets to be found. It speaks to a growing gulf between where the Star Wars community is focused and what the LEGO Star Wars sets are catering to.

While not every LEGO set can be timely, having such a separation between the community and the products means that the casual Star Wars fan is less likely to pick up the sets. While long-term fans will stick around for deep cuts and dated references, the vast majority of people want products that speak to their interests right now.

It’s a tricky issue to overcome, admittedly, with the long lead times of LEGO sets. However, perhaps at some point, the LEGO Group needs to take a punt on a future title. With the success of Andor season one, it seems like Andor sets hooked to season two would be a safe bet. Instead, the LEGO Star Wars theme constantly appears to be playing catch up, rather than leading the conversation within the fandom.

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