Concept
After suffering a decade-long downturn in the 1990s, the Lego Group went forward with the idea that a theme with a storyline behind it would appeal to consumers. Their first attempt was the space opera franchise Star Wars, which became an instant success; however, the royalty payments to Lucasfilm marginalized Lego's profits, prompting them to conceive their own story-driven themes.[6]
The concept for Bionicle originated from an idea by co-creator Christian Faber named "Cybots", a line of humanoid action figures with attachable limbs and ball-and-socket joints. Faber recalled: "I was sitting with Lego Technic and thought I would love to build a character instead of a car. I thought of this biological thing: The human body is built from small parts into a functional body just like a model. What if you got a box full of spare parts and built a living thing?". He pitched the idea to Lego, but was initially implemented as the themes Slizer/Throwbots in 1999 and RoboRiders in 2000.[7]
A new project called "BoneHeads of Voodoo Island" was later conceived by Faber and Lego employees Bob Thompson and Martin Riber Andersen from a brief by Erik Kramer that was sent to outside writers, one of whom was Alastair Swinnerton, who rewrote the concept and was later invited to pitch it to the Lego Group at their headquarters in Billund, Denmark. The revised concept was well received and Swinnerton was commissioned to expand his initial pitch into a full 'bible'. On his second visit to Billund, the project was given approval and entitled "Bionicle" at an internal Lego meeting (a portmanteau constructed from the words "biological chronicle",[8] with reference to the word "bionics"). The names "BioKnights" and "Afterman" were also considered prior to the finalization of the brand.[9]
To accompany the theme, Lego worked with Swinnerton and the creative agency Advance to create an elaborate story with extensive lore centering on artificial part-organic, part-robotic (3:17 ratio) characters and telling it across a vast multimedia spectrum including comic books, novels, games, films and online content. Māori culture became a key inspiration behind the story and the theme at large. The use of tropical environments and characters based on classical elements were also carried over from Slizer/Throwbots and RoboRiders. The toys themselves would be an expansion of the Lego Technic sub-series, featuring the same building system that was already featured in the aforementioned themes. One particular element – the then-innovative ball-and-socket system which created free joint movement – would feature heavily in Bionicle's run and later across other Lego themes.
Launch and success
The first wave of Bionicle sets were initially launched in December 2000 in Europe and Australasia as a "test market" to predict how well the series would sell in North America. The official website, explaining the premise of Bionicle, also debuted around the same time. After a positive reception, Bionicle premiered in North America in mid-2001, where it generated massive success and garnered the Lego Group £100 million in its first year.[10] New sets were released every six months, ranging from buildable action figures to play sets and vehicles, and would gradually increase in size and flexibility with every new wave. Collectibles such as weapon ammo and the "Kanohi" masks that certain characters wore were also sold; some became rare and valuable and withheld secret codes when entered onto the official Bionicle website, provided the user with "Kanoka Points" that enabled them to access exclusive membership material.
As Bionicle's popularity rose, it became one of Lego's most successful properties, accounting for nearly all of their financial turnover from the previous decade. It was named as the #1 Lego theme in 2003 and 2006 in terms of sales and popularity, with other Lego themes at the time failing to match the profits generated by Bionicle. Its popularity led to high web traffic on its official website, averaging more than one million page views per month, which included further kinds of merchandise such as clothes, toiletries and fast-food restaurant toy collectibles.
Discontinuation
In November 2009, Lego made the decision to cease production on new Bionicle sets after a final wave was released in 2010. The decision was made due to recent low sales and a lack of new consumer interest in the brand, thought to be brought on by its decade-long backstory and extensive lore.
At his request, long-term Bionicle comic book writer and story contributor Greg Farshtey was given permission to continue the Bionicle storyline, with chapters for new serials arranged to be posted regularly on the website BionicleStory.com.[11] However, Farshtey stopped posting new content in 2011 due to his other commitments and the website was shut down in 2013, leaving a number of serials incomplete. Farshtey regularly contributed new story details and "canonization" of fan made models via online forums and message boards until his departure from Lego in 2022. Nevertheless, he continues to play an active role in the Bionicle fan community.[12]
Reboot
Work on a reboot of Bionicle began in 2012. Matt Betteker, a junior designer who had previously worked on Hero Factory, a successor theme to the original Bionicle line, was promoted to senior designer for the project. The theme's comeback was announced in September 2014, with the first wave of sets and story details revealed at New York Comic Con on October 9.[13] Dubbed colloquially as "Generation 2" by fans and later Lego themselves, the new storyline was based on the premise of the original, albeit with simplified lore and a smaller trans-media platform.
The reboot launched in January 2015 to a mixed reception from toy critics and fans of the original Bionicle franchise, with the playability of the new sets and the inspiration taken from the theme's first wave being praised, but the simplified story and undeveloped characters receiving less positive feedback.
Lego discontinued the reboot in late 2016, citing low sales, despite plans to release new sets through to at least 2017. It is widely believed by fans that a lack of marketing and reliance on fans to promote the theme, coupled with the new simplified story, were factors in Generation 2's decreased interest.
Legacy
During and after its run, Bionicle became the inspiration for several other Lego themes including Knights Kingdom, Exo-Force, Ninjago, Legends of Chima, and Nexo Knights. They all followed a similar story narrative about a group of heroes, each with varying abilities, battling the henchmen of an ally-turned-foe in a fantasy world. Bionicle writer Greg Farshtey would also go on to write material for the some of these themes, most notably Ninjago.
A direct successor theme to Bionicle, Hero Factory, was launched in 2010. Like Bionicle, Slizer/Throwbot, RoboRiders, and Galidor, Hero Factory was composed of Constraction sets. In 2012, Constraction sets were standardized to use the Character and Creature Building System (CCBS).[14] CCBS was carried over into other Lego sets and themes in the following years, including Bionicle's 2015 reintroduction. Hero Factory itself ceased after 2014.
Despite its ending as a toyline, Bionicle's popularity has persisted and was acknowledged by Lego in its 90th anniversary poll, winning the first round.
