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Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) is widely credited as having popularized the big-screen comic book film adaptation genre that now dominates multiplexes. That film’s Batman, Michael Keaton, will be seen again in The Flash, opening in theaters on Friday, June 16. He can also be seen in LEGO form thanks to a massive new Batcave set—provided you have about $400 to spare.
This week, LEGO announced the LEGO Batman Returns Batcave Shadowbox set, a substantial (20 inches by 11 inches by 5 inches) interactive diorama in the LEGO mold. Based on the Batcave seen in 1992’s Batman Returns, the 3981-piece set opens to reveal Batman’s safe space, including his surveillance set-up, weapons, and parking space for his Batmobile.
The Batcave is sold as a shadowbox, which offers a glimpse of the interior through a bat-shaped symbol on one side. Several figures—including Catwoman, the Penguin, and a tiny Christopher Walken, who played Max Shreck in the film—are included.
Like other Batman merchandise, the set carries on the tradition of tie-in licensing that accompanied the original films. Warner Bros. moved over $500 million in product, double the box office gross of the 1989 movie. Jack Nicholson, who played the Joker, negotiated a cut of the merchandising and reportedly saw $50 million. (There were no LEGO sets, though. The company didn’t begin to offer licensed sets until 1999.)
LEGO VIPs will be able to get the Batcave set starting on Monday, June 5. Everyone else can try to grab it Thursday, June 8 on the LEGO site for the retail price of about $400.
This article was originally published on www.mentalfloss.com as This LEGO ‘Batman Returns’ Batcave Will Take You Back to 1992.
