LEGO has forever been associated with one of the most successful children's toy brands in history, but it took on an entirely new form when it was applied to video games. Many licensed pop culture franchises have already received LEGO treatment, creating some of the most charming and beloved video games of the era. The popularity of the games shows no signs of stopping, with LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga set to release this year.
There are so many more untapped franchises that could adapt the LEGO formula while expanding on the gameplay mechanics that have already been established. From adult fantasy series, to pop culture icons that have spent decades at the forefront of fandom, there is a lot of material to draw on.
James Bond
The James Bond franchise has had multiple iterations over the years, so there's plenty of material to draw from. The exciting storylines include many far-fetched elements that practically border on sci-fi, which makes for great escapist entertainment value.
A James Bond LEGO game could try its hand at the multiverse by focusing on a story that includes all the various versions of 007 over the years. James Bond's best villains could be harnessed alongside their respective henchmen, not to mention a slew of iconic scenes that could be parodied in LEGO format.
Game Of Thrones
While the concept of bringing a show with such adult themes into the LEGO sphere is a bit dubious, the end product would be quite interesting. There's enough content there to flesh out a LEGO-based GOT game, but the key would be to turn all of the show's darkest and most taboo elements into something family-friendly.
And therein lies the opportunity to do something really creative and fun with the property. Despite the franchise's darker themes, many youngsters know what Game of Thrones is all about, and LEGO video games have always turned some of the most adult-oriented material into a cute parody.
The Witcher
The Witcher already has roots in video games, having been adapted from the original novels, but a LEGO treatment could also work. A big draw for the game would be the opportunity for Geralt to do battle with various monsters built entirely out of LEGO blocks, including some Witcher monsters that haven't featured in the Netflix show.
This would allow gamers to experience a very different take on the traditional Witcher formula, by turning the most terrifying elements of the franchise into something cute and innocent. There are enough characters in the franchise to allow for simultaneous co-op gaming, as well.
Aliens
The Aliens franchise has been ported to just about everything at this point, so a LEGO adaptation feels like a guaranteed hit. Once again, the approach would be to leverage the horror elements of the franchise and turn them into something more family-friendly and fun.
LEGO xenomorphs and heroic characters seem like a match made in heaven, and there's a lot of opportunities to replay key scenes from the original quadrilogy and turn them into something hilarious. Seeing how the developers handled the chest-bursting scene from the first film would be worth the price of purchase alone.
Doctor Who
Why there hasn't already been a Doctor Who LEGO game is anyone's guess, but it seems like a prime candidate. The franchise has many antagonists to draw from, including monsters many Doctor Who fans sometimes forget about and seeing them get the LEGO treatment would be something special indeed.
Doctor Who has decades worth of content to draw on, and it would be hard to choose what era to focus on. Perhaps one game with an original story that utilizes every single Doctor would be the way to go, which would keep the story fresh and fun. The Doctor's companions could even be selectable for co-op gaming.
The Matrix
The Matrix is a pretty vast property with a lot of status behind it, even if the latest film was met with critical and commercial failure. Seeing the original trilogy get the LEGO video game formula would be absolutely fantastic, and something Matrix fans would undoubtedly enjoy.
There are so many iconic key scenes from the first three films that could be parodied to great effect via LEGO. Plus, the game could bounce back and forth between the real world, and the Matrix digital world, with different objectives to achieve.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man has proven that he's one of the most sellable comic book superheroes in history, and everything he touches seems to turn to mountains of cash. The enormous success of Spider-Man: No Way Home has opened the doors for a LEGO-based adaptation, and the developers should capitalize on it immediately.
The franchise has a ton of supervillains and story material to draw from, and fellow superheroes could be selectable for co-op gameplay with friends. If done right, it could mix the best elements of 1990s co-op Spider-Man games like Maximum Carnage, with the LEGO formula that has worked so well in the past.
Star Trek
Star Wars has already been given the LEGO treatment, which means Star Trek is the next logical step. It's a vast property with so much canon and material to draw from, not to mention a host of alien races and strange new worlds to explore. A LEGO-based Star Trek game presents an opportunity to do something different, as well.
If the developers wished it, they could broaden the scope of the game to include more open-world style elements. Players could team up via co-op to explore strange new worlds never before encountered while dealing with established antagonists like LEGO'd Borg, Romulans, and Klingons.
The Terminator
A LEGO Terminator game could, and should be set in the war-torn future depicted at the beginning of the first two films. However, it could also weave a story that starts out in the past, before moving into Judgment Day. The difficulty would be parodying a nuclear holocaust, and the dystopian future that followed.
It's not impossible, as evidenced by games like Fallout, which brought a lot of satire to the wasteland theme of the game. Plus, it would be fun to go up against LEGO-fied T-800s, HKs and other lethal Terminator killing machines SkyNET has developed throughout the franchise timeline.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Ninja Turtles franchise got into video games years ago, beginning with Konami's iconic and legendary 4-player arcade 1990s arcade game. Since then, the fab four have been ported to numerous consoles, while enjoying mainstream success in TV shows and Hollywood productions.
With Dotemu set to release a new 4-player TMNT game hopefully in 2022, the demand has not waned. A LEGO version of TMNT would probably perform the best if it adapted the 1980s cartoon series that so many grew up with, though that's not a hard requirement.