LEGO’s New Nightmare Before Christmas Set Should be The Tip of The Iceberg

LEGO recently announced an official set based on Disney’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, delighting fans of the classic movie. With the new set confirming LEGO’s continued partnership with Disney, LEGO games fans are hoping for a bit more to come.

Disney and LEGO have a strong partnership, delivering fans sets based on several classic Disney movies. The latest building set to come from their partnership is based on the fan-favorite movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. Well regarded as one of the best Halloween movies ever made, and topping many fans’ Christmas movie list as well, it’s almost a surprise it took LEGO this long to bring the world of Jack Skellington into their signature style. While many fans are delighted at the news of the upcoming LEGO set, some have their hops set a bit higher. It’s not uncommon for LEGO games to follow the movies that have sets based on them, and The Nightmare Before Christmas has the makings of an incredible LEGO game.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is no Stranger to Video Games

Despite never receiving a direct video game adaptation of the movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas has plenty of experience in the interactive world. In the mid-2000s, almost a decade after the release of the movie, two games were released that acted as sequel stories for Jack and company, Oogie’s Revenge on the PS2 and Xbox, and The Pumpkin King for the GBA. Both games were met with middling reviews and have mostly been forgotten to time. Kingdom Hearts 2 was also released in 2005 and featured a world based on The Nightmare Before Christmas. Halloween Town is also arguably one of the best Kingdom Hearts 2 worlds. Still, fans remain waiting for a proper video game adaptation of the movie.

Throughout the years, Jack Skellington has become a go-to character for Disney crossover games due to the cult popularity of his movie. He was one of the earliest characters added to Disney Infinity, Disney’s entry in the toys-to-life genre. Being introduced in the 1.0 version of the game shows that Disney had faith in the character’s ability to draw in new players. Disney is fond of featuring him in their crossover mobile games, such as Disney Crossy Road and Mirrorverse, as well. More recently, he has appeared as one of the most popular villagers in Disney’s Dreamlight Valley, and also became a purchasable skin in Fortnite. With all these appearances in various games, it can only be a matter of time before Jack gets a starring role.

A New Nightmare Before Christmas Game could give LEGO Disney’s Reputation a Boost

The LEGO games made by TT Games are a massive series, covering dozens of IPs and popular characters, but their Disney-centric games somehow end up at the bottom of most fans’ lists. Aside from the LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Marvel games, which technically fall under the Disney umbrella after their acquisitions, LEGO has made games based on two other Disney properties.

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean was somewhat disappointing when it launched alongside the physical sets released with the theme. Although the movies lend themselves well to action gameplay, the LEGO games aren’t known for their combat. The more recent release of LEGO The Incredibles fared slightly better but still wasn’t a fan favorite. Many saw the game as a missed opportunity to include more Pixar titles and wished that it had been a stepping stone to a more successful LEGO/Disney partnership.

Despite their struggles in the past though, TT Games was planning a large-scale Disney crossover game at one point. It would have included classic Disney characters and movies such as Frozen, The Jungle Book, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. The most common theory is that this game proved too difficult to develop alongside LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. But now, with LEGO renewing its interest in The Nightmare Before Christmas, TT Games might finally get another chance to bring Jack’s story to the LEGO games world.