Warner Brothers Announces Harry Potter LEGO Extension, Pics Show Up

Everybody knew it already, and just a few days ago it was made official by Warner Brothers and LEGO in a joint press release:

Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) announced today an extension of its successful partnership with leading toy manufacturer, The LEGO Group, to bring the magical world of Harry Potter to fans everywhere. Under the agreement, The LEGO Group is creatively tapping into the Harry Potter magic to develop spell-binding construction sets and a board game inspired by the property in anticipation of the November 19 theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, as well as the upcoming release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011.

“We have enjoyed a longstanding, successful partnership with The LEGO Group around Harry Potter and we are delighted to continue this relationship as we approach the release of the seventh film,” said Karen McTier, executive vice president, domestic licensing and worldwide marketing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “Fans of the franchise will be excited to discover the wonderfully original LEGO products inspired by the beloved stories and characters.”

“The world of Harry Potter has inspired some of our most successful products and we are thrilled to continue creating imaginative play opportunities for fans everywhere,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president, global licensing for LEGO Group. “The magical stories brought to life in the films give us the potential for an incredible array of offerings, the best of which are represented in our upcoming lines.”

Full press release

We now have photos of the sets that were shown at Toy Fair 2010 in New York from Figures.com. I had expected they would have shown up officially at the London Toy Fair. Huw at Brickset who saw some of those sets in London had predicted that they would be well received and I believe they will be as well, if the pictures are a good indication.

lego-hagrids-hut

The sets shown:

4736 Freeing Dobby – 73 Pieces, Probably $10.99, 3 Minifigs – Dobby, Lucius Malfoy (looks like Draco), and Harry Potter. This is a remake of 4731 Dobby’s Release from 2002.
4737 Quidditch Match – 153 Pieces, $19.99 5 Minifigs including Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Madam Hooch, and two players from Gryffindor and Slytherin – Oliver Woods and Marcus Flint, Includes some very unique pieces/rings (Box art is incredibly rough). A possible remake of 4726 Quidditch Practice (128 pieces, Harry, Draco, Madam Hooch).
4738 Hagrid’s Hut – 442 Pieces, $39.99, “Batteries Included” so there must be a light brick, along with 4 Minifigs (Harry Potter, Hermione, Ronald/Ron Weasley, Hagrid), and a large Aragog. Some interesting looking apples/pumpkins. This is a remake of 4707 Hagrid’s Hut from 2001, and 4754 Hagrid’s Hut from 2004, with substantially more pieces than the predecessors. Update: Norbert is sitting above the doorway. The light brick could be a fireplace.
4840 The Burrow – 568 Pieces, Probably $59.99, Possibly 5-7 minifigs including Harry Potter, Ron or Mr Weasley and his shed,, Ginny Weasley, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley.
4841 Hogwarts Express – 646 Pieces, Probably $79.99, 5 Minifigs – Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Probably Hermione, and Luna Lovegood (box art seems off), comes with the Flying Ford Anglia which Harry and Ron crashed into the Whomping Willow (Chamber of Secrets) and apparently an owl.. It’s a remake of 4758 Hogwarts Express, and 10132 (Motorized Hogwarts Express).
4842 Hogwarts Castle – 1290 Pieces, Probably $119.99, probably 10-12 minifigs, It’s a remake of 4709 Hogwarts Castle (2001, 7 minifigs, 680+ pieces), 4757 Hogwarts Castle (2004, 8 minifigs, 900+ pieces), 5378 Hogwarts Castle (2007, 9 Minifigs, 950+ pieces).

Some notes on the sets:
– They match up with most of what has shown up before now on the web.
– There are going to be a lot of Harry Potter minifigs showing up on BrickLink/eBay since you could end up with more minifigs of Harry than you really want.
– All sets where you can make out the placards show them shipping in October, which puts it ahead of the November premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)
– Some of the box art is unfinished (which explains why the minifig photos are sometimes off)
– The sets do a good job of matching and covering some of the major events of the years covered in the LEGO game, as well as leading up to the 7th movie.
– If 4736 Freeing Dobby and 4737 Quidditch Match stay true to their pricing, it’ll be a good value for the price, similar to 8092 Luke’s Landspeeder in that you get a good mixture of minifigs and parts.
– My guess on 4840 The Burrow for minifigs is: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione, Ginny Weasley, Mr and Mrs. Weasley, and either another Weasley brother, or perhaps one of the Death Eaters
– 4842 Hogwarts Castle is substantially bigger than previous Hogwarts castles, and contains more areas and possibly more minifigs.

While all but 4840 The Burrow are remakes of previous Harry Potters, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Unless I’m off on my calculations, it’s been three years since any new Harry Potter LEGO sets have been released, and given the high amount of interest that will be generated from the last two movies as well as the video game (and LEGO Boardgame – Hogwarts), there’s a chance that they may release further sets. The interest will be incredibly high between November of this year and July of Next, the gap between Part I and Party 2 of the Death Hallows. There’s also a good chance that if the videogame sells well enough, we’ll see a sequel, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, which sets the stage for more sets. It also looks like they put some effort into making sure that these are not simply re-issued sets, but instead bring something new (along with some new variations of minifigs from the Harry Potter universe). As I said, they all seem to tie into either the LEGO videogame or lead into the movie.

I’m most interested in The Burrow followed by Hogwarts Castle. I like the parts selection of the Burrow especially. While there have been complaints about certain other licensed themes as far as pricing, the pricing looks good, especially with the numbers of minifigs. I also like the fact that most, if not all, have increases in parts and the number of minifigs over the previous sets.

I totally blanked and forgot this. This spring, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is set to open at Universal Studios. It’s 20 acres (81,000 square meters), and will feature quite a few locations from the world of Harry Potter, including Hogsmeade Village and Hogwarts Castle. 2010 is set to be a huge year for Harry Potter.