LEGO has a Shrek problem to solve in the next Ideas review

The next LEGO Ideas review looks sure to give the team a tough problem to solve, as two projects based on the same franchise have reached 10,000 supporters simultaneously.

Both Ashnflash and danielbradleyy have submitted incredibly similar builds based on the Shrek franchise to Ideas, and both of their designs have crossed the 10K mark within a few days of one another. That means they’re now both in contention to become future LEGO Ideas sets – but if a LEGO Shrek set does sound appealing to the Ideas team, how will they navigate satisfying both builders?

If the builds were substantially different, the LEGO Group could easily point to one over the other as better fitting for a LEGO set (as long as it then stuck pretty closely to its design for the final product). But both of these projects recreate Shrek’s swamp home, complete with a separate outhouse build, and even include (mostly) the same minifigures: Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots and a couple of supporting characters.

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With very little to separate the two models, the review board may be forced to find an unprecedented solution for the LEGO Ideas platform: crediting, working with and financially rewarding both Ashnflash and danielbradleyy simultaneously for a single product.

That’s if it chooses to pursue an official LEGO Shrek set, of course – but with clear demand for the green ogre across both projects, and the LEGO Group’s existing history with Dreamworks, it seems like an easy win. (Beyond the complex situation we’re discussing here, obvs.)

There’s always the possibility that the LEGO Group is already teeing up official LEGO Shrek sets for the long-gestating Shrek 5, which is still thought to be in development by Dreamworks. That would put a spanner in the works for both of these projects – but with no official timeline for the fifth Shrek film on the cards, releasing a celebratory set for the second movie’s 20th anniversary in 2024 could be a much brighter idea.

We’ve got a good while to wait yet before finding out the results of the first 2023 review – they’ll likely drop around October, based on previous years – but it’s already shaping up to be one of the most intriguing reviews to date. Check out the table below for a full list of LEGO Ideas projects in contention to become official sets in this round (so far).

Every LEGO Ideas set in the first 2023 review so far

Number	LEGO Ideas project	LEGO Ideas user	Date qualified
1	Dr. Seuss and LEGO	LegoFan_506	January 2, 2023
2	Sweet Honey	RobertVII	January 4, 2023
3	The Botanical Garden	Goannas	January 9, 2023
4	The Crown – A Piece of History	Piraten	January 12, 2023
5	Stargate SG1: Embarkation Room	Starbrick_SG1	January 12, 2023
6	Roscosmos Soyuz MS Spacecraft	Tom_Brick	January 15, 2023
7	Motorized Howl’s Moving Castle	ericlego321	January 16, 2023
8	The Stargate	Captain Mutant	January 16, 2023
9	Medieval Seaside Market	bricks_fan_uy	January 17, 2023
10	Brick Boulevard	Bricky_Brick	January 19, 2023
11	Retro Comic Store	LEGOverwatch	January 22, 2023
12	Shrek’s Swamp – 20th Anniversary	The Real Ashnflash	January 22, 2023
13	Baby Green Sea Turtle – Kinetic	QuaintWolf082	January 23, 2023
14	Humpback Whale	Les Briques de Loïc	January 25, 2023
15	Shrek’s Swamp	danielbradleyy	January 26, 2023

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