LEGO has an entire line of sets dedicated to ideas generated by the community. Fans submit their custom builds onto the LEGO Ideas website, and if they can gather enough support, those sets go up for review to potentially become an actual product.
For years, this community has been submitting Studio Ghibli-themed builds. LEGO has never selected them for official release, but there’s still hope one of them could become a reality.
The first round LEGO Ideas of 2026 that are officially getting reviewed were announced back in May. Among all of the sets up for review this year (and from last year), four Studio Ghibli sets are still in the running. Here are the latest MOCs that have the potential become the first LEGO build for the franchise:
Studio Ghibli – 40th Anniversary – By UAKhanMy Neighbor Totoro – Studio Ghibli 40th Anniversary – By On The BricksideMy Neighbor Totoro – By TrumanBricksChihiro & No-Face (Piggy Bank) – NasqBrick
Why Hasn’t There Been a LEGO Studio Ghibli Set Yet?
There are a lot of different reasons why a LEGO Idea, regardless of its popularity, might not get the approval to become a real set. For something so tied to an existing IP, it’s most likely due to licensing rights. Some of the biggest LEGO themes on the market right now are tied to intellectual property owned by a major corporation. Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney sets are all officially licensed to LEGO via The Walt Disney Company for example. For something connected to the Studio Ghibli movies, however, LEGO would need to get approval from the the studio itself.
If LEGO were able to work out a licensing deal through existing partners like Disney, Nintendo, Warner Bros., or Netflix, it’s more than likely that one of the many set ideas submitted over the years would already be a product you can buy. As it is, it isn’t impossible that a deal could be struck, but there’s more hoops to jump through than something like an X-Files set.
The fact that there are still four LEGO Ideas in the review process is a promising sign that an official set could be in our future. It’s certainly not the first time a Ghibli build was sent through the review process (that honor belongs to this Spirited Away concept), but the fact that two separate MOCs are tied to the 40th Anniversary seems promising.
Jacob Kienlen is a Senior Audience Development Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor’s degree in communication and 10 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different pop culture topics — from TV series to books and the latest LEGO sets..
