The future of Back to the Future

[The Stud]

9 hours ago, BrickHat said:

Our usual leakers on Instagram claim there is a "possible" $130 DeLorean coming in September! Cautiously optimistic! If we do get a big DeLorean, I'd love it to have 2015 or 1885 Marty and Doc.

If this rumor pans out, then it most likely will not include any figures since last year’s Ghostbusters set and the James Bond Aston Martin didn’t include any, which is unfortunate as I really want those variants of Marty and Doc as well.

Personally, I usually only care about minifigure-scaled stuff so a giant Delorean doesn’t do much for me personally. Maybe if it looks really gorgeous I’ll consider it; I just think it’s funny that this new set will reportedly cost less than what I paid for the original Ideas set on eBay last year.  

Still, while I probably will skip on this set, I am very glad that Lego is doing more with Back to the Future. I hope that they do a couple more minifigure scaled playsets one day!

Edited April 18, 2021 by The Stud

[cehnot]

I wish they include minifigs from BTTF2 film. Ghostbusters minifigs would have been redundant, but they should have included the different bonds over then last 25 films or offered them in a separate series of micro sets. 

 

[Bobby Drake]

1 hour ago, The Stud said:

Personally, I usually only care about minifigure-scaled stuff so a giant Delorean doesn’t do much for me personally.

Yeah, I understand, but why only minifig scale? The Aston Martin, Batmobile, and Ecto-1 are all phenomenal. I am positive the DeLorean will be great too.

[The Stud]

1 hour ago, Bobby Drake said:

Yeah, I understand, but why only minifig scale? The Aston Martin, Batmobile, and Ecto-1 are all phenomenal. I am positive the DeLorean will be great too.

Believe me, I’ve been tempted by some of those types of sets, but I generally prefer vehicles that are to scale (or as close as you can get) with Lego minifigures. That’s the reason why I also don’t collect most of the Star Wars UCS sets. These sets definitely look nice though!
 

A lack of space is another reason why lol.

Edited April 18, 2021 by The Stud

[Childe_Roland]

4 hours ago, BrickHat said:

Our usual leakers on Instagram claim there is a "possible" $130 DeLorean coming in September! Cautiously optimistic! If we do get a big DeLorean, I'd love it to have 2015 or 1885 Marty and Doc.

From what I saw it's said to be in the same style as the Ghostbusters vehicle which didn't include figures. I probably wouldn't get your hopes up for any included, but maybe be pleasantly surprised if they are included.

[Kit Figsto]

I saw the rumor too but wasn't sure how legit it was, it seems to make sense, though.  Apparently 10290 is slated to be a Creator Expert set with release in the fall, which would be in line with the Batmobile/Ecto-1/Bond car, if I remember right, so in terms of famous movie cars, the DeLorean is probably next on that list in terms of fame.  The only other ones that are probably equally as famous are the Jurassic Park Jeep/Ford Explorer, KITT, Herbie, and the A-Team Van, but a van or SUV in this scale would be really big, I think the DeLorean is probably more well-known than KITT (although KITT could have some neat features) and they've never done anything Herbie related, plus there's already been a large-scale VW Bug recently, so it might be redundant since it'd basically just be a re-color without any additional features.  Couple that with the fact that they've kept their licensing with Universal and did the BTTF Dimensions sets, it seems more than plausible.  

I may or may not get it, it depends on the price and how good the model looks.  I'm a huge BTTF fan, but I've never been big on the large-scale models, I'm more a fan of minifigure scale vehicles.  If nothing else, though, I'm happy that there are still sets, because anything to continue the BTTF license, in my opinion, increases the likelihood of more minifig scale stuff in the future (as much as I like the Cuusoo DeLorean, let's be honest, almost a decade later they can do a lot better, and prices on that thing have gotten stupid.  I'm lucky to have gotten it when it came out, but there's probably tons of people who can't get the thing because of how ridiculously expensive it is on the secondary market.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Kit Figsto

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

I agree that we need to temper our expectations regarding which, if any, minifigs we might get. Lego has previously unexplicably sold some large sets without minifigs (Bond's car and the Ghostbusters car), and they have also made some disappointing minifig selections in large sets. Hence why I am cautiously optimistic. Hopefully we'll get some more solid intel soon.

[Brick Clicker]

I would have good faith in that rumour 

[adwind]

I only hope that Mike Psiaki is the designer for this upcoming set (if it's true at all)...

I think Dave's (sorry don't remember the second name) Delorian which is on Brick Vaults store is absolutely gorgeous and I really really hope the official one will be at least at the same level!

[MatthewRC]

On 4/18/2021 at 9:06 AM, BrickHat said:

Our usual leakers on Instagram claim there is a "possible" $130 DeLorean coming in September! Cautiously optimistic! If we do get a big DeLorean, I'd love it to have 2015 or 1885 Marty and Doc.

Great Scott!!! That would be awesome if this rumor is true!

Here’s hoping LEGO will do a D2C Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine next.

[RichardGoring]

6 hours ago, Brick Clicker said:

I would have good faith in that rumour 

I really hope you're right. And assume that you wouldn't have posted it if you didn't think it was true!

5 hours ago, adwind said:

I only hope that Mike Psiaki is the designer for this upcoming set (if it's true at all)...

I think Dave's (sorry don't remember the second name) Delorian which is on Brick Vaults store is absolutely gorgeous and I really really hope the official one will be at least at the same level!

I saw Brick'n It on YouTube show the minifigure scale BTTF DeLorean on BrickVault, so I got it, and it's awesome. Spent far too much on the license plate and Doc and Marty Dimensions minifigs/accessories, but otherwise it's all pretty standard stuff that's easily available. It looks awesome. Far better than the the CUUSO original (although to be fair, also much more modern).

https://www.brickvault.toys/products/delorean-time-machine

Edited April 19, 2021 by RichardGoring

[adwind]

8 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

I saw Brick'n It on YouTube show the minifigure scale BTTF DeLorean on BrickVault, so I got it, and it's awesome. Spent far too much on the license plate and Doc and Marty Dimensions minifigs/accessories, but otherwise it's all pretty standard stuff that's easily available. It looks awesome. Far better than the the CUUSO original (although to be fair, also much more modern).

https://www.brickvault.toys/products/delorean-time-machine

This one is 8 studs wide and uses some illegal techniques. I'm more into 6 studs standard actually. I was talking about UCS one 

 

[Bobby Drake]

On 4/18/2021 at 2:32 PM, Kit Figsto said:

The only other ones that are probably equally as famous are the Jurassic Park Jeep/Ford Explorer

This would be great, especially with another Jurassic Park set already out.

[RichardGoring]

16 hours ago, adwind said:

This one is 8 studs wide and uses some illegal techniques. I'm more into 6 studs standard actually. I was talking about UCS one 

 

Yes, I realized, sorry. But if anyone was looking at minifigure scale over the original Ideas one, it's nice. I don't recall anything illegal in it, but it's definitely a MOC and not as stable as a formal LEGO set usually is. The UCS one is amazing, but I think it's about $300 to get all the pieces. It does look terrific though.

[Blondie-Wan]

Hm. I see this thread jumped from 2015 to 2019, and completely passed over the last official Back to the Future thing LEGO made with nary a mention, the Brickheadz set of Marty and Doc.

That set came out in 2018, so not all that long ago. The timeframe from then to now is very comparable to the timeframe that separated it from the first LEGO Dimensions pack for this franchise - and in fact, a not-dissimilar span separated that from the very first LEGO BttF product, the CUUSOO set. In fact, if we lump the two Dimensions packs together, it looks an awful lot like LEGO Back to the Future is almost a very low-key but still ongoing theme, on a roughly two-to-three-year cycle:

2013: 21103 DeLorean Time Machine (LEGO CUUSOO)

2015: 71201 Back to the Future Level Pack w/ Marty McFly (LEGO Dimensions) / 71230 Back to the Future Fun Pack w/ Doc Brown (January 2016)

2018: 41611 Marty McFly & Doc Brown Brickheadz

If I were inclined to read much into that (I’m actually not, but for the moment let’s say we are, just for kicks), I’d say it actually bodes rather well for a new LEGO Back to the Future thing for 2021, and as it happens we do have rumors swirling about of a new UCS- / Creator Expert-style DeLorean Time Machine.

I will say that while obviously I recognize there isn’t anywhere nearly as much potential with this theme as there is with certain other licensed themes such as Star Wars, there actually is considerable untapped potential, and Back to the Future could easily given more than what it has been so far. Honestly, I think it has comparable potential and appeal to Ghostbusters, and that’s already had both more and larger sets than Back to the Future. Both themes began with CUUSOO / Ideas sets of the franchise’s iconic central vehicles, continued with LEGO Dimensions packs in 2015 / 2016, and then got Brickheadz figure two-packs in 2018, but Ghostbusters has had a lot of “bigger and more” - a larger & more lavish Ideas set, two Dimensions Fun Packs instead of just one plus a whole Dimensions Story Pack for the reboot, a huge D2C building set for the Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters, a regular mass-market set for the reboot’s central vehicle(s), and finally last year’s Creator Expert set for the Ectomobile.

Back to the Future could conceivably still get much of this. The two franchises have a lot in common - both arose in the ‘80s and are beloved to this day, both have multiple movies, both have animated TV adaptations, both have iconic vehicles as well as memorable building locations, etc. The main obstacle for BttF receiving further attention from LEGO of the sort comparable to what Ghostbusters has gotten is that BttF doesn’t have ongoing media support from new productions the way Ghostbusters does. Most of LEGO’s GB products - all four Dimensions packs (for both versions of the franchise), the Firehouse, and the reboot Ecto-1 - were all released in a single year (2016, the year the reboot came out), while the Creator Expert Ectomobile came out last year, the year Ghostbusters Afterlife was originally supposed to come out (before the pandemic disrupted everything, of course). Back to the Future doesn’t have any more movies due anytime soon, quite possibly ever.

Still, I think Back to the Future is about as popular as is possible for any no-longer-active franchise, and it does still have as-yet untapped potential for sets.

[Kit Figsto]

51 minutes ago, Blondie-Wan said:

Still, I think Back to the Future is about as popular as is possible for any no-longer-active franchise, and it does still have as-yet untapped potential for sets.

I would agree for sure.  I think the biggest detracting factor is that the franchise is never going to be re-booted, at least not with any sort of live action thing.  The creators of the movie have said as much (and frankly, I think 99% of the series' fans wouldn't want to see a remake, there's no chance of them making a 4th movie with MJF's health and Christopher Lloyd being like 82 years old, and recasting Marty and Doc would be, well, awful), whereas Ghostbusters or Jurassic Park, despite being made in approximately the same era, have had reboots or recent sequels that keep people talking about them.

That said, while the franchise's fanbase isn't as large as that of, say, Star Wars or Marvel, and it's not in the spotlight like those are, there is a super dedicated fanbase and collectibles from the movies seem to be in really high demand, because they aren't made on the scale of toys from SW or whatever.  Obviously the CUUSSO DeLorean is an example, another one I came across recently was a phone charger for your car that was shaped like the Flux Capacitor and lit up when plugged in.  It was originally like $15-20, it's been discontinued and now a brand new one can run almost $200.  

But, one of the biggest issues is that there's fewer iconic buildings that really have feasibility as a set.  I think something like the Hill Valley Town Square, with pieces to change it over from 1955/1985/2015 could work really well, including the various iterations of the cafe, clock tower, and park, possibly the movie theater as well, Doc's garage would be neat but I don't know if it's iconic enough, and that's probably about it.  Possibly a separate set for the skateboard chase in 1955 with Biff's car and manure truck.  

As far as vehicles, they could do a remake of the DeLorean, maybe Doc's truck, Marty's pickup truck (the Libyan national bus with the photo stand and Twin Pines Mall sign would be a great little set, but I don't think they'd make that), and of course the time train.  There are definitely a lot of potential sets, and I'd LOVE to see literally any of those made, I just hope Lego feels the same way!

Edited April 21, 2021 by Kit Figsto

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

1 hour ago, Blondie-Wan said:

Hm. I see this thread jumped from 2015 to 2019, and completely passed over the last official Back to the Future thing LEGO made with nary a mention, the Brickheadz set of Marty and Doc.

That set came out in 2018, so not all that long ago. The timeframe from then to now is very comparable to the timeframe that separated it from the first LEGO Dimensions pack for this franchise - and in fact, a not-dissimilar span separated that from the very first LEGO BttF product, the CUUSOO set. In fact, if we lump the two Dimensions packs together, it looks an awful lot like LEGO Back to the Future is almost a very low-key but still ongoing theme, on a roughly two-to-three-year cycle:

2013: 21103 DeLorean Time Machine (LEGO CUUSOO)

2015: 71201 Back to the Future Level Pack w/ Marty McFly (LEGO Dimensions) / 71230 Back to the Future Fun Pack w/ Doc Brown (January 2016)

2018: 41611 Marty McFly & Doc Brown Brickheadz

If I were inclined to read much into that (I’m actually not, but for the moment let’s say we are, just for kicks), I’d say it actually bodes rather well for a new LEGO Back to the Future thing for 2021, and as it happens we do have rumors swirling about of a new UCS- / Creator Expert-style DeLorean Time Machine.

Dang, you are right. I completely forgot about the Brickheadz. Funny how you are the first person to mention them in this thread. There is an interesting pattern for sure. Your insights give me hope as to how Lego recognizes that BTTF is still part of pop culture, with opportunities for sales for them.

15 minutes ago, Kit Figsto said:

As far as vehicles, they could do a remake of the DeLorean, maybe Doc's truck, Marty's pickup truck (the Libyan national bus with the photo stand and Twin Pines Mall sign would be a great little set, but I don't think they'd make that), and of course the time train.  There are definitely a lot of potential sets, and I'd LOVE to see literally any of those made, I just hope Lego feels the same way!

Maybe I am somewhat pessimistic, but I think that asides from the time train and DeLorean, the franchise doesn't have as much potential for sets. The best options I can think of are builds from 1885 Hill Valley and maybe Cafe 80s. Minifigure-wise, though, there is a lot of untapped potential.

Probably the most potential for BTTF would be a UCS-style DeLorean that can be changed between all 4 versions. I would also really like one that you could put in front of a train to recreate Part III's climax.

[MatthewRC]

1 hour ago, Blondie-Wan said:

Hm. I see this thread jumped from 2015 to 2019, and completely passed over the last official Back to the Future thing LEGO made with nary a mention, the Brickheadz set of Marty and Doc.

That set came out in 2018, so not all that long ago. The timeframe from then to now is very comparable to the timeframe that separated it from the first LEGO Dimensions pack for this franchise - and in fact, a not-dissimilar span separated that from the very first LEGO BttF product, the CUUSOO set. In fact, if we lump the two Dimensions packs together, it looks an awful lot like LEGO Back to the Future is almost a very low-key but still ongoing theme, on a roughly two-to-three-year cycle:

2013: 21103 DeLorean Time Machine (LEGO CUUSOO)

2015: 71201 Back to the Future Level Pack w/ Marty McFly (LEGO Dimensions) / 71230 Back to the Future Fun Pack w/ Doc Brown (January 2016)

2018: 41611 Marty McFly & Doc Brown Brickheadz

If I were inclined to read much into that (I’m actually not, but for the moment let’s say we are, just for kicks), I’d say it actually bodes rather well for a new LEGO Back to the Future thing for 2021, and as it happens we do have rumors swirling about of a new UCS- / Creator Expert-style DeLorean Time Machine.

I will say that while obviously I recognize there isn’t anywhere nearly as much potential with this theme as there is with certain other licensed themes such as Star Wars, there actually is considerable untapped potential, and Back to the Future could easily given more than what it has been so far. Honestly, I think it has comparable potential and appeal to Ghostbusters, and that’s already had both more and larger sets than Back to the Future. Both themes began with CUUSOO / Ideas sets of the franchise’s iconic central vehicles, continued with LEGO Dimensions packs in 2015 / 2016, and then got Brickheadz figure two-packs in 2018, but Ghostbusters has had a lot of “bigger and more” - a larger & more lavish Ideas set, two Dimensions Fun Packs instead of just one plus a whole Dimensions Story Pack for the reboot, a huge D2C building set for the Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters, a regular mass-market set for the reboot’s central vehicle(s), and finally last year’s Creator Expert set for the Ectomobile.

Back to the Future could conceivably still get much of this. The two franchises have a lot in common - both arose in the ‘80s and are beloved to this day, both have multiple movies, both have animated TV adaptations, both have iconic vehicles as well as memorable building locations, etc. The main obstacle for BttF receiving further attention from LEGO of the sort comparable to what Ghostbusters has gotten is that BttF doesn’t have ongoing media support from new productions the way Ghostbusters does. Most of LEGO’s GB products - all four Dimensions packs (for both versions of the franchise), the Firehouse, and the reboot Ecto-1 - were all released in a single year (2016, the year the reboot came out), while the Creator Expert Ectomobile came out last year, the year Ghostbusters Afterlife was originally supposed to come out (before the pandemic disrupted everything, of course). Back to the Future doesn’t have any more movies due anytime soon, quite possibly ever.

Still, I think Back to the Future is about as popular as is possible for any no-longer-active franchise, and it does still have as-yet untapped potential for sets.

I wouldn’t mind seeing the Traveling Time Train from BttF 3 as a LEGO set!

Edited April 21, 2021 by MatthewRC

[Kit Figsto]

1 hour ago, BrickHat said:

Maybe I am somewhat pessimistic, but I think that asides from the time train and DeLorean, the franchise doesn't have as much potential for sets. The best options I can think of are builds from 1885 Hill Valley and maybe Cafe 80s. Minifigure-wise, though, there is a lot of untapped potential.

A CMF series would actually be amazing, and could actually sell well I think, since it's pretty cheap and would have appeal to casual fans who may not want to spend a lot of money on big sets.  I highly doubt they'd make it, but three years ago I would've said there's no way they'd ever do a Looney Tunes one, and, well, here we are.  I think a town square set could work if they included parts to change it over for the different eras, but the builds would mostly just be facades, since we only really see the inside of the cafe.  I definitely agree that at the very least, we need an updated DeLorean and the time train.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

51 minutes ago, Kit Figsto said:

A CMF series would actually be amazing, and could actually sell well I think, since it's pretty cheap and would have appeal to casual fans who may not want to spend a lot of money on big sets.  I highly doubt they'd make it, but three years ago I would've said there's no way they'd ever do a Looney Tunes one, and, well, here we are.  I think a town square set could work if they included parts to change it over for the different eras, but the builds would mostly just be facades, since we only really see the inside of the cafe.  I definitely agree that at the very least, we need an updated DeLorean and the time train.

Mini mates did a bunch of BTTF characters a few years ago. Unfortunately, unlike Looney Tunes, BTTF does not (and will likely not) have a new movie coming out, lessening the incentive for a CMF series. However, just looking at what mini mates did, it's clear there is a lot of potential.

Edited April 21, 2021 by BrickHat

[jabz10]

Is the picture/vid of the rumoured new larger Delorean in this video a mockup or a picture of the actual set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldlYcptNNj4

Edited May 31, 2021 by jabz10

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

12 hours ago, jabz10 said:

Is the picture/vid of the rumoured new larger Delorean in this video a mockup or a picture of the actual set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldlYcptNNj4

Link is broken, but I suspect you were looking at the box mockup made by let_them_fly_lego on Instagram that uses Dave Slater's design. Some people sometimes repost it as the real thing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHvhH-ypVKO/

Edited May 31, 2021 by BrickHat

[jabz10]

On 6/1/2021 at 1:24 AM, BrickHat said:

Link is broken, but I suspect you were looking at the box mockup made by let_them_fly_lego on Instagram that uses Dave Slater's design. Some people sometimes repost it as the real thing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHvhH-ypVKO/

Actually its different,

Is this another mockup

 

[Kit Figsto]

On 6/3/2021 at 8:19 PM, jabz10 said:

(video removed)

Definitely a mockup.

[Prometheus87]

On 4/21/2021 at 10:55 AM, BrickHat said:

Dang, you are right. I completely forgot about the Brickheadz. Funny how you are the first person to mention them in this thread. There is an interesting pattern for sure. Your insights give me hope as to how Lego recognizes that BTTF is still part of pop culture, with opportunities for sales for them.

Maybe I am somewhat pessimistic, but I think that asides from the time train and DeLorean, the franchise doesn't have as much potential for sets. The best options I can think of are builds from 1885 Hill Valley and maybe Cafe 80s. Minifigure-wise, though, there is a lot of untapped potential.

Probably the most potential for BTTF would be a UCS-style DeLorean that can be changed between all 4 versions. I would also really like one that you could put in front of a train to recreate Part III's climax.

I'd also enjoy seeing a Modular-style 80s Cafe or the Courthouse. These would possibly work as cross-appeal. A McFly House would be pretty neat too but can't see it being too popular besides die-hard fans.