Indiana Jones 2023 - Rumors & Discussion

[Kaijumeister]

After eons of deliberating, I decided to bite the bullet and just buy the whole wave. I wasn’t overly sold on the Lost Tomb, but the value for money is phenomenal and this theme only has three sets anyway.

I’d absolutely love to see just one DoD set, if only to get an old Indy variant and a cool looking Greek tomb. However when all is said and done, the tiny scope of this theme doesn’t detract from the fact that the designers really put the effort into all three sets that did end up releasing. 

Edited June 18, 2023 by Kaijumeister

[Actor Builder]

I finally got myself one of the sets :) I got the fighter plane chase. It’s larger than I expected from new small detailed lego but I really miss the play features of the original version. 

Has anyone else had trouble with minifigure quality recently? This is my first lego set in a long time and the hats come off super easily.

[DrHenryJonesJr]

8 hours ago, Actor Builder said:

I finally got myself one of the sets :) I got the fighter plane chase. It’s larger than I expected from new small detailed lego but I really miss the play features of the original version. 

Has anyone else had trouble with minifigure quality recently? This is my first lego set in a long time and the hats come off super easily.

In general, I had no problems with the head pieces.
Only the kind of hat that Belloq has on his head often tends, by itself, to slowly slide up and then fall off.

But that was also the case with the Belloq and the Henry Jones Sr. figure from 2008.

I now have all three sets very often and apart from that I have not had any quality problems with the hats

Edited June 28, 2023 by DrHenryJonesJr

[Yperio_Bricks]

Speaking about Belloq. I upgradedy him using the legs from the Steve Irwin minifig from the regular CMF that is on shelves right now. But only the legs, not the hips, since two belts would be too much

[DrHenryJonesJr]

57 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

Speaking about Belloq. I upgradedy him using the legs from the Steve Irwin minifig from the regular CMF that is on shelves right now. But only the legs, not the hips, since two belts would be too much

Thank You for this hint, really nice idea!

LEGO Set fig-013456 Conservationist (CMF) (2023 Collectible Minifigures) | Rebrickable - Build with LEGO

LEGO PART 970c26pat19pr0001 Hips with Tan Legs and Reddish Brown Boots Pattern with Reddish Brown Belt, Pockets print | Rebrickable - Build with LEGO

[Actor Builder]

7 hours ago, DrHenryJonesJr said:

Only the kind of hat that Belloq has on his head often tends, by itself, to slowly slide up and then fall off.

But that was also the case with the Belloq and the Henry Jones Sr. figure from 2008.

Yes that’s the problem with the Henry Jones hat. I never had that problem in 2008 or maybe I just didn’t notice it because I was a kid.

Makes me wish even more that they had made a new hat for him.

[Tariq j]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8ojE7Nsfwc

[Yperio_Bricks]

That was fun! I want more Indy sets

[BrickBob Studpants]

Just saw the movie, loved it! Gah, now I’m even more disappointed in the lack of sets

[cookiemonster]

I also just saw the movie. It was great if you put it into perspective and don’t expect a second Raiders of the lost ark. 
 

It is really disappointing that it looks like we won’t get any sets for this movie. There was a great selection of scenes who could turn out very nicely as Lego sets in my opinion. 

Edited June 29, 2023 by cookiemonster

[Kit Figsto]

Long dissertation post ahead, essentially giving my thoughts/theories on the future of Indiana Jones merchandise as a whole.  No movie spoilers in here (haven't seen it yet, but I'm excited to do so, hopefully tomorrow!), I just spoiler tagged it to save space.

Yesterday, Hasbro did another livestream where, the main focus was revealing the third wave of their Adventure Series figures.  I'm not an action figure person, but I've collected a handful of the Indy figures, partly because this brand isn't like Star Wars or whatever where these types of figures will always be around, and they're really fun.  This wave is 6 figures, which were previously announced at SW Celebration, but not revealed until yesterday.  They didn't show off any other new toys from the other figure lines, nor did they announce any new figures to be revealed later.  They also said that there wouldn't be any new Indy reveals at SDCC (which, I think would be the only real next time that would make sense if they wanted to unveil another wave of action figures).  They didn't say anything about lines being finished, but I feel like one can read between the lines pretty clearly there that it doesn't look great for the future of the action figures.

That said, it really does seem like Indy merchandise is selling well.  I read a few collector sites for the action figures, and most people say that the Adventure Series figures specifically are constantly selling out around them, and a lot of people seemed to have the same experience that I did with the LEGO sets, being that they only really recently have become commonplace in stores despite coming out about three months ago.

So, why the small offering of toys despite all of this demand?  I think that the "problem" with the Indiana Jones brand is that it has sort of in an in-between state with its popularity, meaning that IJ is clearly not as popular as things like Star Wars or Marvel/DC, which warrant constant merchandise and attention (partly because they're constantly making new movies, but there's still going to be Spider Man toys regardless of when the last Spider Man movie was put out). 

In addition to being a bit less popular, I think there's a couple of factors that cause the merchandise to not be as popular.  IJ doesn't necessarily lend itself to toy/collectible form in the way that other brands that might be similar in popularity do (like, say, Transformers, which I know started out as toys instead of movies, but the comparison still seems somewhat fitting).  Other than Indy himself, a lot of the main characters are literally just people in suits.  Transformers movies may not be as relevant as they were in, like, 2007, but kids are going to be a lot more interested in a semi truck that becomes a robot compared to a random Indy character.  Same with something like Fast and Furious, where I see more people complaining about the movies than saying they like them, but there's tons of merchandise for them, which I assume is mostly just because you can break it down as "cool cars" and don't have to actually associate a diecast model of a '70 Charger with F&F if you don't want to. 

Second, the movies are a little bit less kid-appealing than something like a super hero movie or Star Wars or even Jurassic World, because that seems to be exploding in popularity for the past few years, and I think that's one strike against the brand's popularity.  You also have the issue of them not making movies constantly, whereas there's always a new Marvel/DC movie or show in production, and there's dozens of SW movies and shows that have been made in the last decade, just to name a few examples.

The best comparison in terms of merchandise that I can think of is Back to the Future.  They're both franchises that are hugely popular, but aren't constantly putting out new movies, and merchandise for both franchises is kind of few and far between.  With BTTF, there's some action figures, there's been an occasional LEGO set, I think some Funkos, and then a mix of random stuff.  A lot of these items, once they're out of production, go for a lot of money online (for example, there was this really cool Flux Capacity USB charger for your car that was like a $20-30 thing when it was for sale a few years ago, now if you want one on eBay, it's like $100 to get a sealed one), indicating that there's clearly demand for these kinds of things, but the demand doesn't appear high enough to warrant constant production of the merch other than very small amounts of stuff.

Sound familiar?  It seems kind of like you could take that same paragraph and swap it with Indiana Jones.  If you look at some of the popular 2008 Indy toys (the LEGO sets, some of the rarer/desirable action figures, sealed boxes of the Topps trading cards), they go for pretty big money online, and it appears that people do pay these prices for the merch.  Problem is, there was basically a 13-14 year gap between any major efforts at Indiana Jones merch (2009 until late 2022, it seems).  It's also evident if you compare the amount of stuff from the 2008/09 merchandise explosion with what we're getting today.  We got a LEGO video game, a regular video game, like three waves of LEGO sets, two Topps trading cards sets, a Burger King toys promotion, M&Ms promotion, Hasbro Mighty Muggs, a 30-ish figure wave of action figures, like 20 of the kid-focused Adventure Heroes figures, and other miscellaneous stuff.  This time around, we got a much smaller LEGO wave (like half of the size of a normal wave), we did get about 25 Adventure Series figures, 10 Retro figures, and about 5 of the Worlds of Adventure (essentially the new version of the Adventure Heroes), and a handful of Funkos (which are basically the same niche as what the Mighty Muggs were), but that's really it.  Not nearly as many tie-ins with other brands, and most of the Hasbro offerings were more adult-oriented.

This is all to say that I think Indiana Jones is one of those franchises that, like BTTF and some others, has a strong popularity, but it's a smaller following that isn't as crazy about buying up collectibles and things compared with other major movie/TV brands.  That might explain why there was this massive boom of merch during KoTCS's marketing campaign, but then basically nothing up until last year.  I'm pretty sure the only major thing before the DoD hype really started ramping up was Bethesda (or something?) announcing a video game that's been in a state of ??? ever since, and that was about it.

My personal hope for the brand is that, while it may not be evergreen, the LEGO and Adventure Series stuff seems to have sold well enough to where brands might be willing to make an occasional item every couple of years, or to just do stuff in smaller waves.  With LEGO, this would probably look something like a D2C quote set every 2-3 years.  The Grail Temple would make a lot of sense with the "You have chosen...wisely" quote, if we were really lucky, maybe the truck chase ("Truck?  What truck?"), the Map Room ("They're digging in the wrong place!"), no idea what the situation with the Temple of Doom stuff is but throw that into the mix maybe, possibly something from Dial of Destiny, etc.  With the action figures, maybe it'd be smaller waves only available online or at hobby shops versus being put out at major retailers.  That sort of thing.

That's just pure conjecture on my part, but I think if the toys have sold well enough so far (especially if they've outsold what the brands actually expected), it would make sense that they continue, even if they're not willing to go all-in with it in the way SW/Marvel get products made.

[Pop Star c o]

1 hour ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Just saw the movie, loved it! Gah, now I’m even more disappointed in the lack of sets

 Man, I want DoD sets so much! I own a set for each other movie, I'm just missing something from the new one. I still hope they'll put at least one set.

[JVM]

I've just run through the movies for the first time in the last two weeks, and suddenly can place a lot of the old sets into more proper context. (mostly the Crystal Skull stuff.)

I think Kig Fisto's reading is fairly accurate -- in general, a lot of Hollywood film franchise marketing I've heard is based around slightly longer-term success now, and it's often the sequel to the reboot that is most judged for merchandising purposes. Notice for example that while LEGO made Jurassic World sets in 2015, the line didn't graduate to "evergreen" until Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom -- this is in line with some of Universal's strategizing behind the scenes. Indiana Jones is especially hurt by this because we know there isn't going to be a sixth film; or rather if there ever is, it probably won't be a sequel to Dial of Destiny but something entirely different.

I'm hopeful that LEGO may revisit the theme if DoD performs well. I don't expect it much, but hey, if we get three great sets like the ones we did this year, even just once more, I think it'd still be pretty spiffy. I'd be partial to them getting a Temple of Doom-based set out somewhere...

[Murdoch17]

@Kit Figsto, technically, we got two LEGO video games. the Original Adventures and the Adventure Continues. 

As for possible sets for the future that are begging to exist:

Temple of Doom: Shanghai Chase from 2009 was DYING to be remade. You can't tell me that two '30's-vintage cars wouldn't sell, or even have a Ford Tri-motor as an additional set. Plus, it avoids the Thugee issue entirely.

Also, a KotCS "Doom Town" set with a small retro-style house, mannequin family, 1950s car of some kind (the US staff car, perhaps?) and a fridge to place Jones would be a fantastic value! Maybe a break-apart feature for the house to indicate damage?

...Or the circus train (maybe multiple sets for this one) from Last Crusade's opening sequence? You could do the loco, tender and a few cars in one, and the few more with caboose / Jones house facade as an add-on pack.

Edited June 30, 2023 by Murdoch17

[BlueberryWaffles]

55 minutes ago, Murdoch17 said:

Also, a KotCS "Doom Town" set with a small retro-style house, mannequin family, 1950s car of some kind (the US staff car, perhaps?) and a fridge to place Jones would be a fantastic value! Maybe a break-apart feature for the house to indicate damage?

Unfortunately, I don't think KotCS would be considered even if the theme continued because of its ongoing reputation. Having just rewatched it, I've definitely grown fonder of the movie, but that's not the case for many judging by social media comments.

At this point, I think our best bet for more sets would be diorama-style 18+ sets like the idol temple. I'm afraid the ship on standard sets has sailed, though I would love to be proven wrong.

[cookiemonster]

A new rumor on IG suggests that 77020 will be a SDCC exclusive with the fridge scene selling for $ 49.99. 

Edited July 1, 2023 by cookiemonster

[Kit Figsto]

50 minutes ago, cookiemonster said:

A new rumor on IG suggests that 77020 will be a SDCC exclusive with the fridge scene selling for $ 49.99. 

That seems really, really, really wishlisty/too memey to be true.  I mean, it'd be a cool set, but I just don't really see it.

Didn't they also say no more con exclusives after the Cloud City duel thing?

[EdWebhead]

Saw the film a few nights ago and had a good time! Definitely lacks the magic of the originals, but that was expected since Spielberg didn't come back to direct this one.

Definitely so many missed opportunities for sets and I'm really sad none were made. With the film seemingly not doing particularly well at the box office, I don't see them ever making any sets in the future. Next year is Temple of Doom's 40th anniversary though, so I'm hoping we get another wave to celebrate that, like how Jurassic Park got an anniversary wave this year.

[spiderfan2000]

If we get anything for ToD's 40th anniversary, a new Shanghai chase set seems like the safest bet.  The odds of getting a representation of the temple itself seems to depend entirely on what the exact reason for removing the set from this year's lineup was.  A bridge set could still include most of the same minifigures, so I'd take that as a compromise.

Or maybe The Last Crusade's 35th anniversary will get acknowledged instead.

Or perhaps this theme really is over now, but that would just be rather underwhelming.

[Jack Sassy]

4 hours ago, Kit Figsto said:

Didn't they also say no more con exclusives after the Cloud City duel thing?

They keep saying something similar, but soon we find that another exclusive set has been released. 

5 hours ago, cookiemonster said:

A new rumor on IG suggests that 77020 will be a SDCC exclusive with the fridge scene selling for $ 49.99. 

Would make that joke about the fridge scene as a set couple pages ago quite true. 

[BrickBob Studpants]

7 hours ago, cookiemonster said:

A new rumor on IG suggests that 77020 will be a SDCC exclusive with the fridge scene selling for $ 49.99. 

An SDCC exclusive with a regular set number, featuring a print that has been out of production for ages, and that‘s based on one of the most infamous scenes in the entire franchise. Yeah, sounds extremeeeeely believable

[Mandalorianknight]

After what I heard about the ending of Indy 5, I'm kinda glad that if we were only getting a few sets, they were based off the original trilogy. 

Seriously. I mean c'mon!

Spoiler

If nothing else, I would have admired the guts to just kill him off. Staying in the past, becoming what he studied, would have been an incredible ending for the character and the franchise. Having Pheobe Waller Bridge's character-who was somehow worse than Mutt- PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE AND TAKE HIM BACK is so mind-bogglingly stupid it makes me incensed. You remove all agency, all choice, from Indy's fate. He doesn't sacrifice himself to destroy the dial. He doesn't even get shot trying to help Waller-bridge's character escape. This movie makes me appreciate the crystal skull. 

They came so close to what at the very least would have been an incredible end to the character, even if the rest of the movie was mediocre, and they somehow jumped from that to the worst possible end.

[Kit Figsto]

On 6/29/2023 at 4:19 PM, BrickBob Studpants said:

Just saw the movie, loved it! Gah, now I’m even more disappointed in the lack of sets

I feel the same way.  Even if it was just that initially rumored 4 set wave (which I guess was never a thing to begin with), it would've been pretty perfect.  Like, they could've done:

A small set of the parade chase with Indy on the horse, Helena in her outfit from the start of the movie, Klaber on the motorcycle, maybe Agent Mason, and then some barricades or something

The tuk-tuk chase with at least Voller's car, maybe both cars, the tuk-tuk, and some small side builds to crash into, and then Indy, Helena, Teddy, Voller, and the big henchman

Archimedes' tomb, with a ramped floor section that can lower, some columns, a skeleton, and general temple-ish architecture, and then Indy, Helena, and Voller

Voller's plane, with a pilot, Voller, Klaber, Helena, Indy and Archimedes (though realistically he wouldn't have come out this soon, because that'd be a massive spoiler)

Renaldo's boat would also have worked well as a set (plus some of the shipwreck sections), and maybe the motorcycle chase from the start of the movie, too.

[JeanGreyForever]

5 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

After what I heard about the ending of Indy 5, I'm kinda glad that if we were only getting a few sets, they were based off the original trilogy. 

Seriously. I mean c'mon!

  Hide contents

If nothing else, I would have admired the guts to just kill him off. Staying in the past, becoming what he studied, would have been an incredible ending for the character and the franchise. Having Pheobe Waller Bridge's character-who was somehow worse than Mutt- PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE AND TAKE HIM BACK is so mind-bogglingly stupid it makes me incensed. You remove all agency, all choice, from Indy's fate. He doesn't sacrifice himself to destroy the dial. He doesn't even get shot trying to help Waller-bridge's character escape. This movie makes me appreciate the crystal skull. 

They came so close to what at the very least would have been an incredible end to the character, even if the rest of the movie was mediocre, and they somehow jumped from that to the worst possible end.

I wonder if Lego deliberately avoided making sets for this movie because they predicted it would be a commercial and critical flop.

Reviewers from Cannes were saying that the scene you mention in particular would be very polarizing for fans.

[PGBQW]

1 hour ago, JeanGreyForever said:

I wonder if Lego deliberately avoided making sets for this movie because they predicted it would be a commercial and critical flop.

Reviewers from Cannes were saying that the scene you mention in particular would be very polarizing for fans.

I mean, it's not like they got to see the movie before release.

Like if they'd done any sets at all, they'd been designed at the verly least 1-2 years ago with concept art as a reference.