Perhaps The Terminator had it only partly correct. Instead of SkyNet, an omnipresent grouping of military weapon systems, being the robot menace that would usher the Earth into a post-humanity apocalypse, it would be robot LEGOs?
Can you imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger as a LEGO? I mean, of course, I can. But one that’s actually ending society would be the saddest, funniest outcome for humanity imaginable.
Videos by VICE
Anyway, LEGO announced on Monday, January 5, 2026, the introduction of LEGO bricks that, based on their proximity to other bricks, will play certain sounds or light up. It’s called LEGO SMART Play, a platform made up of LEGO SMART Bricks, and yes, I had to use all those capital letters, because it’s LEGO.
a Star Wars original trilogy debut
The first SMART Play kits will be Star Wars sets from the original trilogy, including a 584-piece kit of Luke Skywalker’s Red Five X-Wing. It comes with two SMART figures—Luke and Princess Leia, his sister that he unknowingly smooched in The Empire Strikes Back—and R2-D2, who I suppose is smart enough and doesn’t need to be a SMART figure, and other notorious dummies: Stormtroopers and Rebel troopers.
This set’s SMART bricks emit sounds from laser weapons, engines, refueling equipment, and repairs, as well as engine lights.
The second SMART Star Wars kit is a 473-piece set that includes Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter from A New Hope (the first Star Wars movie from 1977), a Rebel outpost, an Imperial fueling station, plus a Rebel trooper and a SMART Darth Vader. That poor trooper doesn’t stand a chance. When Vader’s TIE Fighter swoops by, the twin engines roar to life, thanks to the included SMART bricks.
And the third SMART Star Wars kit is the Death Star II’s throne room, scene of Return of the Jedi’s climax. This behemoth comes with 962 pieces and three SMART figurines: Vader, Luke, and Emperor Palpatine. When Palp sits in his throne, the SMART bricks will play the Imperial March. The A-Wing’s engines roar, and when Luke and Vader approach each other, their lightsabers cackle with energy.
There’s even a SMART cannon turret that reacts to shoot down the A-Wing Rebel starfighter, the sickest of Star Wars fighters. There’s a Rebel pilot and two Imperial Royal Guard figures, both non-SMART.
Can’t wait? Well, you’ll have to, because they launch for sale on March 1, 2026. And start saving now, because in the US they’ll cost $70, $100, and $160, respectively.
