LEGO Icons The Shire may be hinting at the next Middle-earth model

One piece tucked away inside 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire may hold the key to the next potential future LEGO Icons Middle-earth set.

The LEGO Group officially revealed 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire yesterday, a 2,017-piece build that's due to launch next month. The LEGO Icons theme will be returning to The Lord of the Rings source material once again for a third large-scale model, one that’s already causing a stir within the wider fan community.

Although 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire doesn’t seem to appear to be as intricate or detailed as previous LEGO Icons additions to the series, one specific element included in the set may hint at an unexpected journey for the next potential Middle-earth release.

As with 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell and 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr, 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire also boasts what looks to be a stickered map piece as an accessory. The element can be spotted in just one promotional image for the model, secreted behind Gandalf while he stares at The One Ring in Bilbo's fireplace.

While the first two LEGO Icons sets teased fans with possible locations such as Isengard and Minas Tirith, neither of those builds have materialised so far. However, the map in 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire points to a completely different place and movie trilogy altogether.

As can be seen in the image above, the stickered tile boasts just one Middle-earth location, the Lonely Mountain. As seen in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films, that’s also where the fearsome Smaug dwells and an image of the red dragon also appears on the map in 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire.

That might mean we could be getting something akin to 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's Tale at some point, although the 3,745-piece LEGO Ideas set only launched last year, so the LEGO Icons design team might want to put a bit more distance between the two models.

Having said that, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is said to be arriving on big screens in 2026, which could be perfect timing for another LEGO Icons release.

Adding fuel to the fire for a potential future LEGO Icons build based around the events of The Hobbit films is the wording of the official press release for 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire. The text states that the upcoming release ‘completes the trilogy of sets,’ which means possible future Middle-earth models might be following in young Bilbo Baggins’s hairy footsteps instead.

That all remains pure speculation on our part for now though, so do treat the above with a large pinch of salt until the LEGO Group confirms any additional sets based on Tolkien's epic fantasy world.

10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire will be launching early for Insiders members on April 2, while everyone else will be able to pick up the set from April 5. The LEGO Icons model is priced at £229.99 / $269.99 / €269.99 and early adopters will be able to snag the accompanying 40761 The Lord of the Rings: Sméagol and Déagol GWP for free until April 8 (while stocks last).

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO using our affiliate links. Thanks!