User:SOTO/Forum Archive/Inclusion debates/@comment-4028641-20170222073756/@comment-24894325-20170228203935

In the absence of in-universe confirmation, I think I found the explicitly formulated intent behind the use of the Phantom Zone: "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It’s one thing for a movie to throw in a quick cameo or two, but LEGO Batman’s entire third act is crafted around getting these iconic pop culture villains. Tell me about the genesis of this whole idea.

CHRIS MCKAY: The Joker needed to up his game and prove himself, and we talked about this being the Joker’s big romantic grand gesture. So in order to do that… I loved the [1978 Richard Donner-directed] Superman and the idea that the Phantom Zone, in our world, could possibly house all of the villains from other LEGO universes. It’s almost like Cabin in the Woods. Or, in Last Action Hero, when Charles Dance says, I can go into all these movies and I can bring out Jack the Ripper or King Kong. When I was younger, watching that movie, I was somehow expecting a scene between King Kong and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I was always bummed it didn’t go there. [Laughs.] But in our world, we can do something like that and unleash all these characters into Batman’s world."

- Director Chris McKay in interview for Entertainment Weekly

For me this quote settles the question that the creators intended to represent villains from another LEGO universe rather than toys from a child's collection.

Oh, and further in the same article regarding licensing. It does not say explicitly how they got the license for Daleks but it says that they had to employ lawyers in order to get the correct license: "EW: Was licensing a nightmare?

C.MK: You need an army of lawyers and producers who are willing to run around and do all the hard work of finding out all the rights-holders. Fortunately, Warner Bros. made a lot of those movies, but for others, we had go to out and get them. I wanted characters from all over the world. I wanted Daleks. ... But even for the actual Batman villains, even though that’s all [property of] DC, someone still has to go out and find it, you know, the guy that wrote Gentleman Ghost into the issue where he first shows up. I definitely kept a lot of coordinators, producers, and lawyers busy on this movie. I’m sure I drove people crazy."

- Ibid