In the land of monsters, in a haunted castle, that…even among haunted castles, stands out as especially brooding and grim, we find the infamous mastermind, Lord Vampyre–who has just completed his research and concoted an evil spell nearly ready to be released—

If …he can just…combine…6 moonstones… currently guarded, by 6 (count ‘em, 6) monsters, his spell will eclipse the sun for good!  Flooding the world in eternal darkness—awakening an entire Monster Army and unleashing MASS HYSTERIA.

Pretty grim.  Right?    But….

Somebody’s keeping L. Vampyre’s sordid group of monster lackeys from bringing him the 6 moonstones he needs.  Who’s waxing the Werewolf? Stifling The Swamp Monster? Vexing The Voodoo Doctor and his Zombies? Keeping The Crazy Scientist and his Monster in check? Making sure The Mummy is under wraps? And who’s keeping Lord V’s Army of Ghosts in their trenches? Who is keeping them all from crossing the threshold to the world of humans???

Five Monster Fighters. Five fearless adventurers.  Five indefatigable heroes of countless creepy confrontations—five faithful who have sworn to do battle with these ghouls, sworn to retrieve the moonstones safely, and sworn to prevent Lord Vampyre from plunging the world into eternal darkness!

•  Dr. Rodney Rathbone – the brilliant, aristocratic team leader.  Natch.

• Ann Lee – adept with a broomstick – a peeerless destroyer of Ghosts.
• Frank Rock – a motorcycle rebel.  He’s avenging a (paranormal) dog-snatching at the hands of Swamp Monster.
• Major Quentin Steele  – an old-fashioned big game hunter, with a taste for exotic prey.  Right… werewolves.
• Jack MacHammer – the burly Scottish lumberjack with telescopic vision (keyed on The Crazy Scientist’s Monster).

Together, they are the Monster Fighters.  And their battle to save the world is on!

The LEGO Group first acquired the rights to manufacture LEGO toys based on the Star Wars universe in 1999, marking the first time in its global history that the world’s leading construction toy manufacturer would represent someone else’s story and characters in the LEGO world. What was once considered a licensed novelty is now considered a core LEGO franchise, similar to LEGO CITY, and ranks among the company’s global top themes.

A best-seller since its introduction, LEGO Star Wars has experienced tremendous growth over the last six years in particular, due to the continued strength of core construction toy development and expansion to video games, publishing, television and video content and other relevant categories for fans of all ages.

“It is very rare to find an evergreen property that delivers growth year on year in toys, even in years without events driving box office buzz, yet Star Wars defies all odds, continually reinventing itself, and our LEGO business continues to grow exponentially,” said Jill Wilfert, Vice President of Licensing and Entertainment for The LEGO Group. “Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon that shares many characteristics with the LEGO brand–cross generational appeal, versatile story and character content, creativity and imagination—and we believe that we can continue to grow LEGO Star Wars for many years to come.”

“We are delighted to have extended our long and very successful relationship with LEGO Group,” said Derek Stothard, Senior Director for Global Toys and Hardlines at Lucas Licensing. “Bringing together these two iconic global brands has created something special that is enjoyed by kids, families and fans everywhere.”

Star Wars is as relevant—perhaps more relevant—today than it was in 1977 when it was introduced, and in 1999 when the first of the next three episodes began to be told. For 2011, Star Wars is the #1 property and #1 license for Boys ages 6 and older according to NPD Group, and has been a top 3 boy’s license for the last 11 years. The LEGO share of the property continues to grow, as new generations of children discover, engage with and explore the Star Wars stories through constructive play.

A global toy phenomenon
LEGO Star Wars continues to rank among the best-selling global toy lines, with in excess of 200 million boxes sold worldwide since its 1999 launch. More than 340 LEGO Star Wars models have been developed, replicating iconic scenes and starships, as well as more than 425 minifigures from the Star Wars universe. Sets depict everything from the feature film Saga to the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Four cross-platform LEGO Star Wars video game titles have changed the face of casual gaming, selling in excess of 30 million units, and are reciprocally driving desire for building toys and video games while also bringing families together to share both forms of play. The line has inspired short- and long-form entertainment in the form of mini movies and the first-ever 30-minute television special, LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace, aired on top children’s networks around the world, including Cartoon Network in the U.S., Super RTL In Germany and on France TV, and is now available on Blu-ray/DVD. LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary from Dorling-Kindersley has been on the New York Times Bestsellers list for 81 weeks, topping the list at number-one for 18 weeks. Additionally, the franchise is the basis of the first-ever LEGOLAND® Park Miniland display area based on a fictional environment, which debuted last year in Carlsbad, California, Billund, Denmark and Gunzburg, Germany and opens this year in Windsor, England.

Not pictured, but included in the press guide – the Lego Architecture line is continuing into 2012 with releases pending of Big Ben, the Sydney Opera house and the Namdaemun Gate. When I get back to Phoenix, I’ll post images of those sets – but very glad to see Architecture continuing another year.

Check out the gallery below for tons of Lego goodness.

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Today’s announcement focused on the addition of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ to Lego’s list of licensed properties. I’d expect these sets to be on display at Toy Fair in February with a global launch in June 2012.  You can read the full press release here.