Mixing up licenced characters in The LEGO Movie 2 and beyond

The LEGO Group’s Vice President of Licensing has discussed getting some of the biggest franchises to collaborate on movies and more.

With The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part arriving in cinemas tomorrow, one of the LEGO Group’s Vice Presidents has explained how the company convinces differences licenced properties to have the brick treatment – and then be mixed together to make movie magic.

“We’re able to convince partners about the way kids play with LEGO. Kids don’t follow whether characters are from DC or Lucasfilm, they play with them all as LEGO characters and mix them together,” LEGO Vice President of Licensing Jill Wilfert explained in an interview with the Drum.

“We really pioneered it. We do this better than anyone else, and we did it first, it is why we have been so successful in breaking barriers that other people haven’t had permission to play.”

Despite having some of the most recognisable film, television and sporting personalities in the world to play with, she described the experience of developing The LEGO Movie ahead of its 2014 as “daunting”. “We’ve had people coming to us and knocking on the door for years to do it. We didn’t just want to have something out there, it had to contribute to the brand.”

As those who have seen content such as LEGO Elves and LEGO BIONICLE know, the LEGO Group is working with Netflix – with that point noted in the article, suggesting that there may be more streaming content coming in the future.

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