The LEGO Extended Universe (LEU) is an American multimedia franchise and shared universe based on Lego-construction toys. The films of the franchise are produced by Warner Animation Group and owned by The Lego Group, and has expanded to include popular television series, music albums, short films, video games and theme park attractions. Collectively, the films have been in production since 2014, and in that time seven films have been produced, with nine more in various stages of development. The series has grossed over $4.3 billion worldwide, making it one of Warner Bros's biggest franchises and the 2nd highest-grossing animated film franchise of all time, behind Despicable Me.
Dan Lin is credited as the lead producer for all the films (attached to Roy Lee) with Warner Bros. Pictures distributing each one. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, directors of The Lego Movie (2014), have also served as producers. The first installment, The Lego Movie, was followed by The Lego Movie 2 (2017), Lego Batman (2017), Lego Ninjago (2018), The Billion Brick Race (2019), Lego Dimensions (2022) and The Lego Movie 3 (2024). The television series such as Unikitty and Girls Rule also have popular and international appeal.
The franchise as a whole is also one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, with gross receipts of up to $11.5 billion as 2024 and generally received positive reviews. It has also inspired several other themed attractions, related content, an art exhibit, television specials, walkthroughs for each film, multiple related video games, and commercials.
Development[]
Films[]
Released[]
| Film | Release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Composers | Producers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lego Movie | February 7, 2014 | Phil Lord & Christopher Miller | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | Mark Mothersbaugh | Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and
Christopher Miller | |
| The Lego Movie 2 | February 10, 2017 | Rob Schrab | Phil Lord & Christopher Miller | |||
| Lego Batman | August 24, 2017 | Chris McKay | Seth Grahame-Smith | Lorne Balfe | ||
| Lego Ninjago | September 28, 2018 | Charlie Bean | Bob Logan and Paul Fisher | Hillary Winston, Bob Logan and Paul Fisher | Mark Mothersbaugh | Dan Lin and Roy Lee |
| The Billion Brick Race | August 9, 2019 | Jorge R. Gutierrez | Drew Pearce | Jason Segel and Drew Pearce | ||
| Lego Dimensions | September 2, 2022[1] | Phil Lord & Christopher Miller | Steve Jablonsky | Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and
Christopher Miller | ||
| The Lego Movie 3 | TBA[2] | Phil Lord & Christopher Miller | John August, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller | Mark Mothersbaugh | ||
The Lego Movie (2014)[]
- Main article: The Lego Movie
The film presenst Emmet Brickowski, a normal minifigure goes on a adventure with a supercool girl called Wyldstyle and other the fabolous master builders as Benny, Unikitty, and even Batman. The heroes have to defeat the evil Lord/ President Business from Kragling (gluing) the world of lego.
Development of The Lego Movie began in 2008, when Dan Lin and Roy Lee discussed it before Lin left Warner Bros. Pictures to form his own production company, Lin Pictures. Warner Bros. home entertainment executive Kevin Tsujihara, who had recognized the value of the Lego franchise when engineering the studio's purchase of video game licensee Lego Traveler's Tales in 2007. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were in talks in June 2010 to write and direct the film. Warner Bros. greenlit the film in November 2011, with a planned release date of 2014 with Australian studio Animal Logic contracted to provide the animation, which was expected to comprise 80% of the film. By this time, Chris McKay had also joined Lord and Miller to co-direct. The Lego Movie was released in North America on February 7, 2014, to positive reviews, and was a box office success, grossing $480.9 million worldwide against a budget of $65 million.
The Lego Movie 2 (2017)[]
- Main Article: The Lego Movie 2
Emmet, Lucy and the gang embark on an adventure through a wacky world full of weird characters.
Before the critical acclaim and blockbuster success of The Lego Movie, talks for a sequel were already in motion. On February 3, 2014, Jared Stern and Michelle Morgan were tasked to write a screenplay. On February 21, 2014, the studio scheduled the sequel for a May 26, 2017, release. On March 12, 2014, Deadline reported that the first film's animation co-director Chris McKay would direct the sequel with Lord and Miller as producers and writers. On July 28, 2014, it was reported that on the internet, Chris Pratt expressed interest in reprising his role as Emmet for the sequel. It was also reported that Will Arnett might return as Batman, but had not decided yet. In October 2014, Warner Bros. scheduled The Lego Movie 2 for February 2017. In February 2015, Warner Bros. announced that Rob Schrab, co-writer of Monster House replaced McKay as director. On March 23, 2016, multiple actors were confirmed to be returning, including Pratt as regular guy turned master builder Emmet Brickowski, Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle, Arnett as Batman, and Channing Tatum as Superman. The film was released in North America on February 10, 2017 grossin $622 million worlwide.
Lego Batman (2017)[]
- Main Article: Lego Batman (film)
Bruce Wayne(Batman) is scared of having a family and he has to deal with it when he accidentally adopted Dick Grayson (Robin). After The Joker gets sent to the Phantom Zone, Batman soon finds out it was The Joker's plan to get sent there and get all the villains in there out. It is Batman and his friend's job to stop The Joker.
In July 2014, Warner Bros., announced plans of The Lego Movie spin-offs. In October, Warner Bros. scheduled the release of Lego Batman, a spin-off starring Batman, for May 26, 2017, the original release date for The Lego Movie 2. Will Arnett returned to voice Batman, with Chris McKay, who was earlier attached to the sequel, directing the film, the story written by Seth Grahame-Smith, and the film produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Lord and Miller. On April 20, 2015, Warner Bros. scheduled Lego Batman for a August 2017 release. Michael Cera was cast to voice Robin, Zach Galifianakis entered final negotiations to voice the Joker and Rosario Dawson was cast to voice Barbara Gordon. The first trailer for the film was released on January 29, 2017. The film was released in the United States on August 4, 2017, to positive reviews, and was a box office success, grossing $589 million worldwide against a budget of $80 million.
Lego Ninjago (2018)[]
- Main article: Lego Ninjago (film)
Six young ninjas Lloyd, Jay, Kai, Cole, Zane and Nya are tasked with defending their island home, called Ninjago. By night, they're gifted warriors, using their skills and awesome fleet of vehicles to fight villains and monsters. By day, they're ordinary teens struggling against their greatest enemy: high school.
Brothers Dan and Kevin Hageman, who wrote Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu and co-wrote the story of The Lego Movie, co-wrote the film adaptation of Lego Ninjago, which features a new take that diverges from the TV series. Charlie Bean, who produced Disney's Tron: Uprising, directed the film, produced by The Lego Movie team of Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The spin-off movie was scheduled to be released on September 23, 2016. On April 20, 2015, the film was delayed until September 22, 2017 as Storks took over the original release date of the film. In November 2016, the cast was announced to include Jackie Chan, Dave Franco, Michael Peña, Abbi Jacobson, Kumail Nanjiani, Zach Woods and Fred Armisen respectively. After another date change, the film was released in North America on September 28, 2018, to mixed reviews, and although I made a profit it was considered a box office disappointment, grossing $292.6 million worldwide against a budget between $70 million.
The Billion Brick Race (2019)[]
- Main Article: The Billion Brick Race
Gracious racing fan Brody Reyes sets out to compete in his first major tournament, before finding himself and his brother on the run from the CIA when he gets into a mysterious internal affair with a very strange girl.
In March 2015, Warner Bros. announced that a third Lego Movie spin-off, titled The Billion Brick Race, was in development. By July 2016, Jason Segel and Drew Pearce signed onto the project as co-directors and co-writers. In August 2017, it was announced that Jorge R. Gutiérrez was assigned as director. Segel left the project and Parce stayed on as screenwriter. In July 2018, the film's plot was announced by Pearce to be a Lego racing movie, inspired by pre-existing racing films, including The Cannonball Run. At the time, the film was scheduled to be released on May 24, 2019, before being pushed back to August. In December 2018, concept art of the film's main characters was revealed by the film's initial director, ahead of the trailer's release in February 2019. The Billion Brick Race was released in North America on August 16, 2019.
Lego Dimensions (2022)[]
- Main Article: Lego Dimensions (film)
Several super-famous pop culture heroes join forces to combat a massive multiversal crisis, unaware that there is someone else they must defeat.
The film began development in late 2017 and was announced in January 2018. The film's writers room met in March and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were announced as associate directors and writers in May 2018. Production began in November 2019 and concluded in January 2022, after being pushed back from its July 2021 release date due to COVID -19. The film serves as a super-crossover for the franchise, was released internationally on August 29, 2022, and was released in North America on September 23, 2022. The film The film received generally positive reviews and was a box office success, breaking records and grossing $1.068 billion, becoming the highest grossing in the franchise and one of the highest grossing animated films of all time.
The Lego Movie 3 (2024)[]
- Main Article: The Lego Movie 3
Emmet Brickowski (Pratt), Wyldstyle (Banks) and their friends team up to save the world from the catastrophic threat of an alien army
Before the release of The Lego Movie 2, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller expressed interest in returning to direct and write a third film. By then they had discussed what they would want in a possible third film. For 2018, both prepared treatments, however, they decided to change the narrative to be a science fiction adventure that they began to develop in the following months and July 12, the film was officially announced. In June 2020 it was confirmed that Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks would be returning, reprising their lead roles from the previous films. As of July 28, Will Arnett was in final talks to play his Batman character. In February 2021, production was scheduled to begin that same year at the Animal Logic studio in Vancouver, Canada and finish in 2023. The Lego Movie 3 had its premiere in Hollywood on January 27, 2024 and was released internationally and in Northamerica in February 16.
Upcoming films[]
| Film[3] | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producers | Composers | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lego Batman: Super-Villains | April 18, 2025 | Chris McKay | Dan Harmon & Michael Waldron | Dan Lin and Roy Lee | TBA | Production | |
| Legends of Chima | September 19, 2025 | Jon Saunders & Ross Evans | |||||
| Ninjago | February 6, 2026 | Mike Mitchell | Josh Cooley | Josh Cooley, Adam Cozad | Pre-production | ||
| Lego Harry Potter | February 19, 2027 | Patrick Osborne | TBA | TBA | In development | ||
| Lego Dimensions: Break the Rules | April 14, 2028 | Peter Ramsey | Phil Lord & Christopher Miller | ||||
Future[]
Warner Bros. has been schedule a multiple untitled films to be released on February 15 and September 27, 2030.[3]
Television[]
Unikitty! (2017–2021)[]
- Main article: Unikitty!
As the ruler of the Unikingdom, Princess Unikitty has various misadventures in her land with her brother Prince Puppycorn, scientist Dr. Fox, bodyguard Hawkodile, and advisor Richard. They also deal with the threats of Master Frown from the neighboring Frown Town.
In May 2017, Warner Bros. and The Lego Group announced that Unikitty, a character from The Lego Movie, would get a spin-off television series on Cartoon Network. For the show, she is voiced by Tara Strong. The premiere date was January 1, 2018 and the show's executive producers are Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Jill Wilfert and Sam Register. Ed Skudder (creator of Dick Figures) and Lynn Wang (co-creator of The Lego Movie) are signed as producers while Aaron Horvath serves as supervising producer. On December 27, 2021, the series concluded with a two-part finale titled "Everyone Everywhere".
Girls Rule (2022–present)[]
- Main article: Girls Rule
Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman join forces as the Gotham City Sirens after being abandoned and accused of treason by the Joker's gang.
On December 23, 2019, The Lego Group and Warner Bros. Animation were developing a spin-off Lego series based on DC's Gotham City Sirens, with Lego Batman director Chris Mckay serving as writer and director and with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Dan Lin, Roy Lee as executive producers. In February 2020, a series order was placed for October 2022 and Mckay revealed the title of the series on his social media as "Girls Rule", based on promotional material for Lego Batman. The cast included Jenny Slate, Riki Lindhome and Zoë Kravitz reprising their roles as Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman from the 2017 film. Girls Rule premiered on HBO Max and Cartoon Network on October 15, 2022, and its first season consisted of eight episodes.
Short films[]
- See also: Warner Animation Group § Short films
Short films set in the franchise were produced, most of which were published in the films' home press releases or in simultaneous theatrical releases.
The Master (2016)[]
The Master is a 2016 computer animated short film written and directed by Jon Saunders, co-written by Ross Evans, Carey Yost and Remington D. Donovan and produced by Ryan Halprin. The short film was released on September 23, 2016, with Warner Animation Group's Storks, as well as early showings of The Lego Batman Movie in the United Kingdom. It stars Jackie Chan as Master Wu, Abbi Jacobson as The Chicken, and Justin Theroux as Narrator. The short follows Wu and an annoying chicken. This is the first Lego short film to be released in theaters, and is also the first theatrical short film from the franchise.
Cooking with Alfred (2017)[]
Cooking with Alfred is a short film released on Youtube and alogside as post-credit scene in Lego Batman. Alfred hosts a cooking show with Batman and Robin as his guest stars.
Emmet's Holiday Party (2018)[]
On December 10, 2018, Warner Bros. released a Christmas-themed promotional short for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, titled Emmet's Holiday Party. In the short, Emmet and the citizens of Apocalypseburg throw a big Christmas Party to make everything awesome again despite the concern of attack from the Systar System from Lucy. Although originally released as an online short, it was eventually included as a bonus feature on The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part's home media release.
Contagious (2019)[]
Contagious is a 2019 computer-animated short film written and directed by Patrick Osbourne. The short film premiered on August 9, 2019 with The Billion Brick Race. It is an original silent short film, which follows a group of cowboys.
Emmet Amuck (2021)[]
Emmet Amuck is a 2021 computer-animated short film written and directed by Jon Saunders and Ross Evans. The short film premiered on February 26, 2021 alongside Tom & Jerry (2021).
- The list only lists theatrical short films.
Reception[]
Box office performance[]
- Each film is linked to the "Box office" section of its article.
| Film | Release date | Opening | Box office gross | Budget | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. and Canada | Other territories | Worldwide | ||||
| The Lego Movie | February 7, 2014 | $69.8 million | $261.4 million | $219.4 million | $480.9 million | $65 million |
| The Lego Movie 2 | February 10, 2017 | $79.3 million | $293.8 million | $298.9 million | $582.7 million | $80 million |
| Lego Batman | July 28, 2017 | $92.4 million | $298.1 million | $321.1 million | $619.2 million | $80 million |
| Lego Ninjago | September 28, 2018 | $35.4 million | $107.5 million | $135.1 million | $243.6 million | $70 million |
| The Billion Brick Race | August 9, 2019 | $71.3 million | $241.6 million | $251.1 million | $492.7 million | $75 million |
| Lego Dimensions | September 2, 2022 | $124.4 million | $497.8 million | $698,8 million | $1,196 billion | $100 million |
| The Lego Movie 3 | February 2, 2024 | $113.6 million | $398.4 million | $532.6 million | $941.7 million | $100 million |
| Total | - | - | $4,374,576,666 | - | ||
- Note: Only grosses from the original theatrical runs. They do not include any theatrical re-releases or home media releases. Grosses have not been adjusted for inflation.
Critical and public response[]
- Each film is linked to the "Critical response" section of its article.
| Film | Critical | Public | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore | |
| The Lego Movie | 96% (255 reviews) | 91 (43 reviews) | A |
| The Lego Movie 2 | 90% (319 reviews) | 85 (41 reviews) | A |
| Lego Batman | 91% (335 reviews) | 83 (49 reviews) | A |
| Lego Ninjago | 65% (135 reviews) | 68 (42 reviews) | B+ |
| The Billion Brick Race | 91% (265 reviews) | 96 (44 reviews) | A+ |
| Lego Dimensions | 98% (392 reviews) | 98 (49 reviews) | A+ |
| The Lego Movie 3 | 84% (347 reviews) | 79 (47 reviews) | A− |
Other media[]
Videogames[]
Multiple games based on the movies have accompanied them in their release periods, being developed by TT Fusion, TT Games and Feral Interactive.
Attractions[]
On December 16, 2015, a promo video for a new 4D film at Legoland Florida based on The Lego Movie called The Lego Movie: 4D – A New Adventure was posted onto Lego's YouTube channel. This attraction was followed by expansions, spaces in LegoLand as well as a roller coaster open in 2028.
Music[]
Various composers have created the film and television soundtracks for the LEU's films, television series, One-Shots and other related projects, with Mark Mothersbaugh participating in most projects. Original songs have also been created specifically for use in the franchise.
See also[]
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ Hipes, Patrick (March 2, 2019) "Warner Bros’ ‘Lego Dimensions’ Animated Movie Moves To 2022 Scredule". Deadline Hollywood. March 18, 2019.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 16, 2021). "Warner Bros Dates ‘Blue Beetle’, ‘Last Train To New York’ & ‘The Lego Movie 3’ For 2023 & Beyond". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Connelly, Brendon (July 21, 2023). "Warner Bros announces a list of LEGO Movies, including 'Lego Dimensions 2'". Deadline Hollywood. March 18, 2024.