Studio Update: Happy Summer, Johnny Thunder 3, Jolly Roger Re-Release, Central Florida, and More.

By: Andrew Bermudez

(LEGO Studios; June 1, 2014)

     For many, summer vacation has started, which means great news for our fan base: plenty of time to participate in our contests, watch our previous films, and anticipate the release of our upcoming films! With that, more news has surfaced about happenings here at the studio. Here we go!

     First off, the filming for Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients is almost done! "We have very little left to film," said director Steven Lawrence. "However, the huge set is taking forever to build. We're going to have to film on the other sets first for this last location before filming on the mega set." Filming is set to be completed by the middle of the month, with a planned release on July 18.

     While filming is set to conclude right on schedule, editing is going to be tight. "Since this is a massive project, editing is taking longer than we hoped. Fortunately, we haven't had any technical problems, unlike on the first film." Because of this, completing the film will be a photo finish.

     Moving on to a more positive note, a premiere for the film will be held on the day of the film's release, where the film will be screened for the cast and crew and the winners for both the Nexus Force Character Creation Sweepstakes and the Crazy Birthday E-Card Contest will be announced and screened. There are hopes of setting up a live feed of the event, but tests will have to be run to see if this is possible. If there will be a live feed, we will let you know prior to the event.

     In other news, this month is contest madness month! Not only are we concluding the Nexus Force Character Creation Sweepstakes at the end of this month, with the Crazy Birthday E-Card Contest ending the week after, we are also starting the Extreme Exploration Contest on June 15. Tying into the on-going Global Explorations promotions, this contest will challenge the participants to make an animation about extreme vacationing. More details will be unveiled at the contest start.

     Speaking of Global Explorations, plans are being finalized for the upcoming event on the Vacation: Unlimited Travel Journal: The Central Florida Experience. An itinerary, especially the order that the tourist attractions will appear in, has been set down. The order currently stands as follows:

• Downtown Disney
• Magic Kingdom
• Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Epcot
• Disney's Animal Kingdom
• SeaWorld Orlando
• Universal Studios Florida
• Universal's Islands of Adventure
• Kennedy Space Center
• Gatorland

     While this list is subject to change, this does give you an idea of what to expect when the posts go online in July. What's New to Do reviews for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and (hopefully) Diagon Alley will be released at the same time. Videos to go along with these posts will also be uploaded to showcase photos and videos of each location.

     Finally, word has gotten out that the re-release for Jolly Roger and the Pirate Queen will indeed feature both casts. This is mainly because some story elements will not make sense otherwise, despite our previous insistence that this re-release would not include the cast switching. However, it will be kept to a minimum, since Coo Koo Macaw will be removed from the film. This re-release will debut August 9.

     With that said, this concludes our latest update. Thank you for reading, and we hope you are just as excited about all of these developments as we are!