Seven LEGO rumours that turned out to be false in 2024

From a disappearing Death Star to the minifigure that never was, here are seven LEGO rumours that turned out to be false in 2024…

The LEGO rumour mill stepped up its game in 2024, at least compared to the past three years, with fewer falsehoods slipping through the net and leading us astray. But there were still at least seven stories that didn’t quite pan out as expected, whether in the broad strokes or the finer details – so, as we have done since 2021, we’re reflecting on the past 12 months by picking at the bones of those rumours with the benefit of hindsight.

It’s all in good humour (as it ever was), and serves as a joint reminder that the LEGO rumour mill is both a fun thing to engage with and something not to take too seriously. That’s especially prescient given 2025 rumours are coming thick and fast at the moment, including word of the first-ever $1,000 LEGO set. See you in 12 months to see how that one turned out…

7 – A Tantive IV diorama

Two different LEGO Star Wars sets based on the very first ship we saw on screen back in 1977 arrived on shelves in 2024, but neither matched the rumour of a new diorama set (akin to 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama, 75352 Emperor’s Throne Room Diorama and so on). Instead, that model ended up being 75387 Boarding the Tantive IV, a playset absent any black base and printed quote tile. That hasn’t stopped the community from cooking up diorama-driven modifications, of course…

6 – Age of Ultron’s final battle

The first list of LEGO Marvel sets rumoured for summer 2024 included 76291 Avengers: Age of Ultron Final Battle, a product that promised – by name alone – to revisit a moment previously only covered properly in a San Diego Comic-Con set. But when it eventually bowed in August this year, 76291 The Avengers Assemble: Age of Ultron passed up the film’s final battle in favour of its opening sequence.

5 – Fortnite flip-flopping

A couple of months after LEGO Fortnite dropped on consoles and PC, rumours of physical LEGO sets started to emerge, among which was a 954-piece Battle Bus with 10 minifigures that was expected to retail for $79.99. But sources couldn’t agree on the veracity of that rumour: one reported it was happening, then another refuted it as an ‘educated guess’. The flip-flopping was for naught, as 77073 Battle Bus did eventually materialise – only with nine minifigures for $99.99.

4 – An old adversary and a new ‘do

Initial reports of 75396 Desert Skiff & Sarlacc Pit pegged the LEGO Star Wars set as a 558-piece set due to retail for $79.99 – both details that ended up being correct. But those early rumours also claimed it would include seven minifigures rather than six, with a new Weequay skiff guard (previously seen in three different Return of the Jedi sets) alongside Han, Luke, Lando, Chewie, Boba Fett and a 25th-anniversary minifigure.

They also said Luke would feature another new Return of the Jedi hairpiece, which seemed odd at the time given he’d only just received a new ‘do in 75352 Emperor’s Throne Room Diorama. Neither the fabled Weequay or the new hairpiece came to pass, and we were instead left with the five main characters (alongside Nien Nunb).

3 – A residential townhouse

Modern modular buildings often encompass so many different businesses in one set that it’s little wonder the rumour mill can find it difficult to pin them down ahead of release. But so it was in 2024 with 10350 Tudor Corner, which was initially said to be a ‘residential townhouse’. The finished model does include an attic apartment on the top floor, but you’d have to be feeling very, very generous to call that a townhouse. The rest of it comprises an inn, haberdashery and clockmaker’s workshop.

2 – A Death Star conference room

It’s rare that the LEGO Group manages to unveil a LEGO Star Wars set completely by surprise, but that’s essentially what happened with 75394 Imperial Star Destroyer, a summer 2024 set initially believed to be a Death Star conference room. Revisiting the capital ship was obviously a much better idea given a set based on a work meeting sounds like the dullest thing ever, and we’ve got that $1,000 Death Star to look forward to in 2025 for a conference room anyway…

1 – Superhero real estate

While most of these false rumours pertain to 2024 sets – so we can confirm definitively that they did not come to pass – we can already fairly confidently include a pair of 2025 rumours in this list. Polish fan site Fanklockow, which had previously proven to be a reliable source of rumoured information, reported in October that a Dark Knight Batcave and Tony Stark’s Malibu Mansion would both be arriving next year. They then quickly backtracked on those claims, suggesting that they’re likely fake.

The rumour mill is in full swing for 2025 already, and you can check out a complete list of reported and confirmed sets for next year here.

Don’t miss the rest of our look back over 2024 in LEGO, which also includes our favourite sets and minifigures of the year, the most underrated sets from the past 12 months, the year’s biggest news stories, surprises and disappointments, and deep dives into specific sets and themes.

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