Does LEGO ever rerelease retired sets?

LEGO regularly retires older sets to make room for others. While it can be annoying, does LEGO ever unretire or rerelease sets it discontinued?

It can be disappointing for LEGO enthusiasts when a particular set gets discontinued or “retired”, especially if they missed buying it.

However, sometimes LEGO decides to re-release previously retired sets, but not strictly the same. Most examples of LEGO rereleasing its retired sets usually come with an upgrade. A Yoda Jedi Interceptor set which was retired in 2017 returned in 2023 with a few tweaks from the Danish company.

One famous comeback set is the LEGO Taj Mahal, which originally retired in 2010 and was one of the biggest LEGO models at that time. However, LEGO announced a rerun for the set in 2017, with an updated kit. This also had small tweaks and one extra piece from its previous version.

Even with no new sets being built by LEGO, fans’ interest in owning a few of these retired sets stays strong. This convinces LEGO to occasionally restart set production so more fans can purchase them.

Why does LEGO retire sets?

There are many reasons why LEGO retires sets, including contracts expiring for its movie tie-ins to LEGO simply wanting to refresh its stock. Larger sets that get discontinued also no longer need to be kept on shelves in warehouses or official stores, making room for new products.

What does retired mean on the LEGO website?

Once LEGO retires a set, it leaves official stores and websites. When you look up these sets on the official website, you can view them but they will have a “retired” tag next to them. If you want to get these sets, you’ll need to track them down through a third party.