As the latest Mission: Impossible hits cinemas today it got me thinking about the time the long-running espionage series officially became part of the LEGO® lexicon thanks to LEGO Dimensions. Back in 2015, TT Games and the LEGO Group combined their expertise to enter the once-thriving toys-to-life market. The result was LEGO Dimensions which combined the much-loved LEGO Games formula with physical LEGO models. It also made exceptionally canny use of the LEGO Group’s ability to attract partnerships with iconic IPs.
In 2016, Mission: Impossible was the subject of a LEGO Dimensions Level Pack. The set featured Ethan Hunt in minifigure-form along with an IMF Sports Car and an IMF Scrambler. Adding Ethan Hunt to the LEGO Toy Pad unlocked a Mission: Impossible Level in LEGO Dimensions. The ‘Your mission if you choose to accept it…’ level. This was inspired by the storyline of the very first film and like other LEGO Games titles, it used audio lifted directly from the film to voice characters. As well as unlocking the Mission: Impossible Level, the set also added an Adventure World and Battle Arena inspired by the franchise. The level featured many of the iconic moments from the film, which became gameplay features such as disguises, fuse mazes and even the famous moment when Ethan descends from the ceiling to retrieve the NOC list.
The physical aspects of the Mission: Impossible pack were a little ambiguous. Unlike other franchises, the iconic aspects of Mission: Impossible are the theme tune and the over-the-top stunts so the two mini vehicles don’t really scream M:I but the minifigure certainly looks like Ethan Hunt from the first film. The highlight of the set was the use of the audio from the film as Ethan Hunt would randomly yell “Red Light, Green Light”.
