Paddington, Lord of the Rings, 007, BttF, Minions & More Rumored for Universal’s New Park
Only a few days after Universal Studios Great Britain was officially announced by Comcast and the UK government, rumors are already swirling about the intellectual properties that’ll be featured in the new theme park’s lands and attractions. This covers the latest rumblings and fan speculation, one conspicuous omission, and our own thoughts.
In case you missed it, the upcoming Universal Studios Great Britain park was revealed this week, with a timeline of when construction will start, an opening year for the park, investments from Comcast, and much more. This also included a high-resolution piece of aerial concept, sufficiently detailed to tip off certain IPs that would be featured but vague enough to cast doubt–or plausible deniability should plans change.
In addition to the Universal Studios Great Britain theme park, initial plans for the resort complex also feature a 500-room hotel and a retail, dining and entertainment complex. It will be the first Universal-branded theme park in the UK and Europe. Currently, a planning proposal has been submitted to the UK government with a projected construction start date in 2026, subject to the relevant planning approvals. Universal Studios Great Britain is projected to open in 2031.
In its announcement, Universal acknowledges the tremendous excitement its theme parks bring. However, the park operator indicates that it’s too early in the process to announce any of the attractions or experiences. More details about Universal Studios Great Britain will be revealed over time, and are subject to the necessary planning consent approvals. Officially, that’s where things stand with the new park–everything that follows is rumor or speculation, or a mixture of the two.
Despite this, as we’ve noted, the early Epic Universe concept art was almost completely accurate to what’s been built, and intrepid fans plus credible rumors almost immediately revealed all of the lands and attractions. Other analysis of recent concept art has been spottier.
Universal Studios Beijing (below) changed a lot from initial announcement to opening, and the Kids Resort in Texas has also evolved during its conception. So again, plans are always subject to change–especially with more government involvement and the licensing of outside IPs.
With all of that out of the way, let’s dig into what’s rumored for Universal Studios Great Britain according to the BBC, which reports that a “source close to the Universal UK project” has informed them of what fans can expect of the new park. Normally, we wouldn’t cover this type of thing coming from the mainstream media, as they often conflate “credible rumors” with “things their reporters read on social media that fans hope will happen.” And maybe that’s happening again here!
With that caveat out of the way, the tone and tenor of the BBC report suggest to us that there is a credible source working on Universal Studios Great Britain. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s even a sanctioned leak, with Universal wanting to generate excitement or, more importantly, support from locals with promise of beloved intellectual properties.
The reason for this approach would be that it’s too early to officially announce because not everything is set in stone, but it behooves Universal to reveal more. An illustrative example of this approach in action is with the “possibilities” presented during the DisneylandForward pitch. Except the big difference there is that the supposed details were direct from the company and completely made up, but many fans and locals didn’t really grasp that. This is purely speculative on my part, and just to be abundantly clear, the BBC report should be taken with a grain of salt, treated as rumor, etc.
Anyway, the BBC source revealed that James Bond, Paddington and Lord of the Rings would be coming to Universal Studios Great Britain. There will be a stunt show based on 007, similar to the The Bourne Stuntacular in Universal Studios Florida, per BBC. However, the accompanying art in the media report features the venue from the top of the art that looks like WaterWorld (see above).
My best guess is that this is a mix-up between the source and the BBC reporters. That the James Bond stunt show is slated for elsewhere in the park and WaterWorld is also planned. It might seem like nonsense to Florida-centric fans to base a show on WaterWorld of all things, but let me tell you, WaterWorld is awesome.
If anything, the big brains at Comcast need to stop remaking their good movies and remake WaterWorld. Solely for the sake of the show, which again, is awesome. There’s a reason it’s been cloned from Universal Studios Hollywood to the newer parks in Japan, Singapore, and Beijing decades after the film flopped. WaterWorld rules. I once had the pleasure of watching WaterWorld from the wet zone at USJ, and it was basically the equivalent of attending a baseball game in Japan. (If you know, you know.) Suffice to say, yes, WaterWorld should absolutely be cloned. The next portal at Epic Universe should start with a “W,” but it should be WaterWorld and not Wicked.
The BBC has been told that other themed zones and rides at the park will be inspired by Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and Minions.
Interestingly, these properties were mentioned rather matter-of-factly in the BBC’s original broadcast reporting on Universal Studios Great Britain as opposed to the follow-up rumor article with a credible source. This is another reason why I suspect the BBC is the beneficiary of a sanctioned leak–that someone in Universal PR briefed the company and provided that info on background.
Regardless, Jurassic World and Minions having large lands with roller coasts to the left and right (respectively) of WaterWorld at the top of the park seem almost like sure things (see above). Both lands have become staples for Universal, and it’s possible the company could clone attractions or entire lands from Universal Studios Beijing. If you look back to the concept art for Beijing earlier in the post, both the Jurassic World and Minions areas look strikingly similar.
With that said, the BBC report also indicates that Universal aims to provide distinct attractions at each of its parks, with the Bedfordshire one set to feature unique attractions not found elsewhere. Paddington could be an example of this, as it’s expected to have a kids area between the in-park hotel and Back to the Future roller coaster set in Hill Valley’s Courthouse Square (see above).
Reading between the lines, my suspicion is that the subtext here is that there won’t be a lot of overlap between Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Great Britain. That the Bedfordshire park will have its own unique attractions, but also clones from the Asia parks.
That’s probably the sensible decision. Central Florida is viewed as the theme park capital of the world, and many Europeans take lengthy and lavish vacations to Orlando to visit Walt Disney World and Universal. Brits aren’t a high percentage of all guests, but they account for an outsized amount of spending. Universal probably doesn’t want to give those whales (non-derogatory) reason to skip their Florida holidays. By contrast, I would hazard a guess that not many Brits are making similar trips to Beijing. So purely as a strategic matter, clones from that new park are more pragmatic.
The BBC source insisted “contracts have been signed” and it would be unlikely things would change.
Rides have already been designed, with the majority planned as indoor attractions. Roller coasters based on Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and Minions are among the few rides that will not be under cover.
Additionally, UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told BBC Breakfast that Universal Studios Great Britain would be an opportunity to show off “great British creations to the world.” She continued by saying that “these are things like James Bond, Paddington Bear…Harry Potter. We’ve got so much to be proud of.”
Notably, a Harry Potter-themed area reportedly will not be part of Universal Studios Great Britain, as it is situated just a 40-minute drive from the Warner Bros Studio Tour in Leavesden, Hertfordshire.
The source told the BBC that “watertight exclusivity contracts” made it difficult to include Hogwarts in the plans, although it could be reconsidered alongside other brands such as Nintendo or Wicked if the park were to expand in the future.
“Warner Bros has the UK rights to Harry Potter attractions. They tried to find a way round it but couldn’t. That could change in years to come, though,” the source told BBC.
I don’t know anything about the Harry Potter rights, but this strikes me as likely. The first thing that stuck out to me when poring over the concept art was that there was nothing resembling Harry Potter. That’s one of, if not the, most logical IPs to highlight in this park, so it not being featured prominently presumably means that it cannot be. Another unique Wizarding World would’ve made this park a bona fide draw for American tourists, too. Alas.
If the BBC source is correct, what’s pictured above is almost certainly Lord of the Rings by process of elimination. If they’re wrong, it could be another DreamWorks or Shrek area.
There have been persistent rumors for a while now that Universal holds the theme park rights to Lord of the Rings. I cannot speak to the veracity of this, except that it strikes me as one of those, if there’s smoke type of things. If Harry Potter can’t be utilized in Universal Studios Great Britain, what better consolation prize is there than Lord of the Rings?
Personally, I hope the BBC rumor is true. I hate Shrek. I’ve been surprised by its staying power, as it feels very early aughts to me. Here’s hoping Ace Ventura: Pet Detective doesn’t make a similar comeback. I would’ve assumed Shrek is the antithesis of British humor and more emblematic of American comedy, but to my surprise, the franchise has performed well at the UK box office. So what do I know.
Coming full circle back to the front of Universal Studios Great Britain, this is obviously the park’s main thoroughfare, with the in-park hotel on the left. There are shops and such on the right, and perhaps an attraction. This could be where the James Bond show is actually going, as opposed to as a replacement for WaterWorld.
Above this is what could be an Amity Island and JAWS area. What this would entail is unclear, but the concept art does support the theory that it’s something based on JAWS. My hope had been that the show building behind the Hollywood Boulevard buildings would be for this, as opposed to a James Bond stunt show.
Ultimately, I hope Comcast has a surprise or two up its sleeve with Universal Studios Great Britain. While I absolutely understand the appeal of Jurassic World and Minions, the two seemingly surest things in the park, they don’t do a ton for me (especially with such similar lands existing elsewhere). Back to the Future is definitely much more intriguing, as is a James Bond stunt show (007 deserves more, although I’m not sure what; maybe an Indiana Jones Adventure type attraction?) and something JAWS.
Lord of the Rings would definitely be Universal Studios Great Britain’s “killer app,” so hopefully that rumor is accurate. It would be unfortunate if this ends up being yet another Shrek thing. And of course, like everyone who is not dead inside, I love Paddington the Bear; so hopefully that rumor is correct. I’m also hopeful that a whole new region of the world will be exposed to the greatness that is WaterWorld; maybe this will finally lead to the remake we need. All in all, I’m cautiously optimistic about Universal Studios Great Britain and hope that these rumors (the good ones) will pan out. We’ll take any excuse we can to spend more time in the United Kingdom and Europe!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you make of the rumored intellectual properties coming to Universal Studios Great Britain? Think it’ll get Lord of the Rings, Paddington, James Bond, Jurassic World, Back to the Future, Minions, and more? Any of these IPs you think are unlikely to come to fruition? What potential lands and/or attractions would you like to see Universal build in the United Kingdom? Think this will be a worthy addition to Universal’s theme parks portfolio? Expect Disney to “respond” with a big announcement of its own? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
Why no Nintendo?!
It seems they want to keep things distinct from USA, which is fine, but a Luigi’s Mansion ghost house satisfies an indoor attraction that’s all age.
Personally I’d rather a Zelda than Lord of Rings..
Just imagine a 007 dark ride. So many possibilities. I would prefer that over a stunt show.
The only thing I can’t get my head around with a Waterworld show (or any water show) is how it can work in the UK. As everyone will be aware, we often have a damp/cool climate year-round and though winters here are generally relatively mild that dampness makes it feel much colder. Summer daytime temps are typically only 65-75F. So splash zones would be out and I can’t imagine it being great for any actors working with water, outdoors in the UK?
Of all the things to still be around at Universal since my last visit as a teenager, I would not have predicted the Water World show would be it. The last time I was there Back to the Future, ET and Jurassic Park were all still there. JP was still fairly new. What’s next, I’m going to find out the Conan the Barbarian show is still running too? (That was also way more awesome than one would expect)
A LOTR area sounds amazing. If done right, there is so much potential.
Speaking of larger than life shows, I will be sad for life to see the car stunt show disappear.
I would go every time in Paris when it was running. Shame !
I live in Orlando & am familiar with those Universal parks, but I did take a day trip to Universal Hollywood once on a Disneyland vacation. I skipped over doing versions of the rides we also had in Orlando, but did see Waterworld! According to signage, it looked like some actors got their start performing in that show & went on to bigger things. Unlike poor Skipper Dan of the Jungle Cruise ride in Weird Al’s “Skipper Dan” song.
I don’t hate Shrek with the heat of a thousand suns, but I have issues with it. Namely that it kept blasting Disney. Fiona’s failed transformation scene at the end of the first movie was made to look a lot like the Beast’s transformation in the climax of “Beauty and the Beast”, & when Fiona ended up remaining an ogre, it’s like they were criticizing the beloved Disney movie for not having the Beast remain a Beast (and then Belle would’ve been guilty of bestiality for marrying him in that state). Plus they made fun of theme parks (namely Disney parks) but nonetheless, because of that I find it hypocritical that Shrek ended up being a staple of Universal parks. And I hate the crude humor that’s infected so many animated projects ever since “Ren & Stimpy”. I love animation, but I haven’t been checking out new animated films much in recent years for fear of being grossed out rather than moved emotionally. Disney has often been better about still telling moving stories over being crude humor showcases, except for “Lilo & Stitch”. I hate Lilo. I hate Stitch. They’re both obnoxious. I almost walked out of the theater 3 times while watching that movie. I handmade a tee shirt that says, “Stitch drools; Iago rules”. Iago is obnoxious, too, but in a truly witty, endearing way rather than crude (Stitch) or bratty (Lilo) way.
Lord of the Rings would absolutely make up for a lack of Potter. They may not be as visible as Potterheads these days but there are still a ton of LotR fans out there and this would be the only place they could get a theme park experience. That said, I think still think Universal and WB should work out the rights because Potter in the UK is a license to print money. And if they have BOTH franchises??? That would make this park a destination unto itself, even if London wasn’t a couple hours away.
I think I am one of the few who liked Water World the movie. So they blew the budget. Happens a lot in Hollywood. LOTR and James Bond, if done well, are home runs.
“If Harry Potter can’t be utilized in Universal Studios Great Britain, what better consolation prize is there than Lord of the Rings.” I think you actually have that backwards – Harry Potter was the consolation prize for LotR!
When I was a team member at Universal Hollywood, whenever a guest asked me what my favorite ride in the park was, I’d always tell them to make sure they watched Water World… a few of them would even come back to my ride, find me, and say thank you because it was so good! That show is totally fantastic. It especially fits in the Hollywood park, but yes it would go great anywhere.
In the original post covering the announcement of this park, I wrote: “My other question is in regard to Harry Potter. I’d assume the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio tour outside of London is a cash cow for WB, so the licensing agreement for Universal to build a big Harry Potter-centric park on their proverbial doorstep might be tricky to iron out? But there’s no way on God’s green earth that Universal would build this without Harry Potter being front and center. I could imagine them cloning multiple attractions from Orlando and building a mega-land with Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and the Ministry of Magic (among others?) all included”
….I still hold these views. And in terms of the licensing, there is one huge glaring issue — the new HBO Harry Potter mega-series currently in pre-production. Warner Bros is not done milking that cash cow!
But in a best-case scenario, maybe Universal and Warner Bros. are thinking even bigger? Could you imagine the negative fan reaction if a Harry Potter land in the UK paled in comparison with the lands in the US or Japan? This one has to be the best iteration, right? My thought is that instead of a mega-land or multiple connected lands, Harry Potter could conceivably get its own SECOND GATE there. If they cloned all of the attractions and sets/locations from all of the Harry Potter lands worldwide, there would be enough for a massive park with multiple E-ticket attractions and immersive experiences. Demographically would this be a challenge in terms of attracting non-Potter fans…probably. But it would also become THE destination worldwide for anyone with an affinity for those books/movies — with the ability to literally travel from London at the same train station where Harry departed for Hogwarts.
Also, Tom, I understand how the Shrek universe can get a little tiresome but it’s still holding up with today’s kids (my 13yo da. Shrek 2 is a really hilarious movie…it deserves more attention as the highlight of the film series. But in terms of Mike Myers vehicles to leverage at this UK park, Austin Powers should get some love — I know this won’t happen, but many scenes were filmed at the Universal backlot so there’s some connection there.
Finally, as someone in the core demographic for the Waterworld movie in the ’90s (and yes I saw it in the theaters), at first I thought you were extolling the virtues of the movie. For a moment I thought you’d gotten delusional from lack of sleep. I’d never heard of the show until this post!
I was 16 when the first Shrek came out and 19 when the second one came out. Never saw any of the other sequels. My dumb teenage boyness loved the first two when they came out but I strongly suspect I would hate them now and that I don’t ever want my children watching them.
Oh please, please, please make it LOTR. The untapped potential here is astounding and think of the broad swath of population that have had these stories as a part of their life. Honestly, I have been a bit befuddled by the lack of a LOTR theme park. Seriously LOTR, is the Star Wars of the fantasy genre. If I didn’t love theme parks so much I might grumble about the “Disneyfication” of LOTR but I am a sucker. Plus Tolkien was British so it would fit the British theme.
I gotta say, I love your passion for WaterWorld. I had to scratch my head and view YouTube to see if it was still the same show I remember at Uni back in the 90s. YEP. It amazes me how popular it still is—and I guess you answered why.
The main area looks very Califorinia-Hollywood with the Spanish tiles and style. Not sure if Bond would work there.
The Back to the Future area sounds most appealing to me and then Lord of the Rings.
It’s funny, I remember not being all that impressed with the Epic Universe art when it came out. But now I am dying to go. I wonder if this will be the same for me.
WaterWorld still plays to relatively full houses at USH. Locals love it, domestic tourists love it, international tour groups love it–WaterWorld is something that transcends our differences and unites the world.
When it comes to James Bond, I don’t think it really matters if their Hollywood Boulevard (or whatever it ends up being called) is done in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. The Kung Fu Panda show at USH is in a very similar building.
Tom, I fully agree with you about Waterworld. That aside, competition in the theme park industry is healthy. Universal is aggressively forcing Disney’s hands to step up their game. We fans win again!
Tom, your post made my day! Lord of the Rings would be that one thing that would entice me to take that trip across the pond! The books are a veritable gold mine for theme park settings. Rivendale, Hobbiton, Lothlorien, the mines of Moria…hopefully it will be done in a manner befitting the classic books.
Not to digress but WaterWorld is one of those attractions that has become timeless despite being very much a product of the 90s. The show’s stunts, pacing, and spectacle is still the high watermark for theme park stunt shows.
100% agree. I’d add that WaterWorld (stunt show) arguably gets better with the passage of time, as the show itself is not dated in the least. With each year removed from the film flopping, there are fewer guests who even realize the stunt show is based on a movie from the 1990s. It’s evolved into its own thing, almost an original theme park IP–even though it obviously isn’t.
I would kill for a lord of the rings land at a theme park! The sets are gorgeous so if they wanted to make it Rivendell or even hobbiton that would be so awesome.