The LEGO Group provides context for rejected Stranger Things Ideas projects

The LEGO Group has commented on why a property like Stranger Things may be released by the company, but would be rejected by LEGO Ideas moderators.

With fans speculating about a possible LEGO Stranger Things set or theme, some are questioning why projects based on the IP (intellectual property) were rejected by the LEGO Ideas team. Given that the series is not targeted at children, LEGO Ambassadors have queried why it would have been rejected.

LEGO Ideas users who submitted Stranger Things projects had them rejected, being told: “We reviewed your project submission and unfortunately it refers to a brand or licensed property that doesn’t fit the LEGO Group’s standards for appropriate content or themes.”

That was relatively unsurprising given the mature nature of the content, but given that a new image strongly suggests Stranger Things sets are on the way, fans have been questioning why such projects were rejected.
Sara Skahill, part of the LEGO Community Engagement Team, used to be part of the LEGO Ideas team. While she cannot comment on any future products, she is able to share insight into products that have already been released.

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“When I worked on LEGO Ideas we also rejected the Simpsons and the car from James Bond,” she explained. “The LEGO Ideas team takes the LEGO brand values and does their best to apply them to every IP imaginable. Generally they err on the side of caution – which means sometimes the company makes a different decision on an IP.”

In further comments, Sara elaborated, explaining that LEGO Ideas moderators are more likely to reject “borderline” projects, that could fall either side of the LEGO Group’s guidelines, than approve them: “Remember LEGO is a big, big company – LEGO Ideas moderators do not work with licensing on a daily basis on specific IPs. Moderators instead have to determine what their team thinks is appropriate – and again, they are more conservative in guidelines. Occasionally, (very occasionally, if you consider the amount of different IPs submitted to LEGO Ideas on a daily basis) the LEGO Ideas team decides something isn’t appropriate, but the licensing team decides otherwise.”

For fans who are curious about the way decisions are made on the LEGO Ideas platform, this is quite illuminating – it demonstrates that the LEGO Group’s guidelines relating to what type of themes are appropriate can be applied differently, and that specifically the LEGO Ideas team take decisions more conservatively than other areas of the business.

Stranger Things Season 3 will arrive on Netflix on July 4, 2019.

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Author Profile

Graham
Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education.

Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

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Graham

Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education. Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

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