What if… LEGO made (more) sets based on books?

The first LEGO Project Hail Mary set is coming over the horizon, and it’s got us thinking: what if the LEGO Group designed more sets based on books?

11389 Project Hail Mary is based explicitly on Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s cinematic adaptation of Andy Weir’s 2021 sci-fi novel, but because it’s been revealed ahead of the movie’s debut (in a rare move for the LEGO Group), our only cultural reference for it at the moment – aside from initial trailers – is the book itself. And with that in mind, we’ve been mulling over the possibility of the LEGO Group adapting novels into sets.

It might seem like an unrealistic prospect, because TV shows, movies and video games (all prime fare for LEGO sets) are visual mediums, and books are obviously not. But what’s interesting is that back in the ‘90s, before the LEGO Group had officially broached any of those other forms of entertainment in a licensed capacity, the company actually came very close to launching an entire wave of sets based on the Harry Potter books.

“The LEGO Group was actually exploring it before it was a movie,” The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks author Daniel Konstanski told Brick Fanatics. “They had found it themselves, someone had come back from Great Britain and said, ‘Hey, there’s this book series that’s really popular over there, maybe we should check that out.’ They handed it to the design team and they all went and read it, and said, ‘Yes, this is amazing, this is awesome.’

“They actually did an entire line of Harry Potter products based solely on what they imagined from having read the books, and the descriptions and everything contained in there. They were ready to start moving that towards launch, when all of a sudden it was announced [as a movie], so they had to go back… there were some like the Hogwarts Express, which is described [in detail], so they were able to transition some of the models.”

With so many films, shows and games to pull from these days it’s difficult to imagine the LEGO Group putting too many resources into books, but there are a couple of times it’s flirted with the concept – most notably in 10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook, which isn’t based on any particular TV or movie adaptation but the books themselves, and also in gifts-with-purchase like 40690 Tribute to Jules Verne’s Books and 40410 Charles Dickens Tribute.

Beyond even those, though, there are plenty of novels and series that could result in very cool builds – and with only the designers’ imaginations to go on, there’s arguably more room for creativity than licensed sets that are simply adapting an existing visual interpretation (from the movie version of a book, for example).

While further details on that initial pre-movie Harry Potter wave are scant, Daniel offered one telling detail that demonstrates how it would have deviated from the films based on the designers’ imagination. “One [thing] that the designers specifically pointed out to me was: ‘We did not have a round Hagrid’s Hut in our initial wave,’” he added. “That was a real challenge to figure out how to do in the end.”

With all that in mind, here are a few suggestions for books that could prove fertile ground for LEGO designers. We've started with classic novels here that (for the most part) have so many adaptations already that it would be easy for the LEGO Group to add its own into the mix, rather than feeling bound by a singular, definitive adaptation of a particular work.

The Iliad & The Odyssey (Homer)

If we’re talking books, why not go all the way back to the beginning? Okay, maybe not the very beginning – the poems of Enheduanna might not make for compelling LEGO sets – but at least one of the earliest works of literature in Homer’s The Iliad & The Odyssey. The latter is currently being turned into a movie by Christopher Nolan, but that’s probably a bit too heavy for a LEGO adaptation, so a historical set loosely tied to the epic poem feels a bit more likely (LEGO Trojan Horse, anyone?). 

Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a great example of a book with so many interpretations and adaptations that the LEGO Group could easily return directly to the original source material instead. A LEGO set of Frankenstein’s laboratory could be an awesome Icons release at a relatively accessible price point, for example, with plenty of potential for interesting pieces and builds to render scientific instruments, the operating table and the monster itself. (Plus, LEGO minifigures can already be taken apart, so…)

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)

Let’s forget the Tim Burton adaptation for a moment, and the countless other screen, radio, stage, opera and other versions, because really, who needs them? Lewis Carroll’s wonderful slice of literary nonsense is all the LEGO Group needs to get creative with its own interpretation of this eccentric fantasy world. There are enough imaginative animals alone to make for an entire line of buildable characters…

The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

Is one of the finest revenge stories ever written suitable for a LEGO set? Probably not, but there are some thrilling moments in this epic French tale that could make for nice display pieces in the 18+ range: the Pharaon; Dantès’ imprisonment in Chateau d’If; his discovery of the treasure of Monte Cristo; his duel with Albert; and so on. Also, this is my favourite book, so call it author bias.

Dracula (Bram Stoker)

Another literary classic that’s had endless adaptations over the decades, Dracula as a novel feels ripe for an original interpretation by the LEGO Group. It’s skirted around it a few times before, most recently (and closely) in SleeplessNight’s incredible BrickLink Designer Program set Adventure in Transylvania, but a widely-available Dracula’s Castle would be a thing to behold. (We also wouldn’t say no to LEGO Whitby.)

James and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl)

Roald Dahl LEGO sets could run for years and years, but we’d pick James and the Giant Peach as a starting point. Just imagine: a series of brick-built bugs housed inside a giant peach pulled through the air by hundreds (okay, some) seagulls. The illustrations would make this one sort of a halfway house between creative interpretation and adaptation, but it’d still be fun to see.

Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Treasure Island is ripe for plundering by the LEGO Group, especially given it could act as a sort of backdoor into the dormant LEGO Pirates theme: ships, an island, treasure, mutiny, buccaneers… it’s got it all and more. It’d be interesting to see a Pirates theme with a core narrative and named characters (beyond the surface-level LEGO lore of the original line-up) too.

We’re obviously just scratching the surface of classic literature here, and we also considered Austen, the Bronte sisters, Christie and plenty more, but this list had to end somewhere. And that’s before we even get to the countless modern novels that have either never been turned into movies or have only been realised half-heartedly or not to completion. Let us know your suggestions for books that could inspire LEGO sets in the comments…

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