This June, Michael Keaton will don Batman’s cape and cowl for the first time in 30 years with The Flash. Equally exciting in my humble opinion: Lego is commemorating the occasion with a truly incredible Batcave set partly based on 1992’s Batman Returns.
It’s called the Lego Batcave Shadowbox, and that’s because it’s designed to be both a toy and a display piece for your shelf: the space-saving diorama swings open to reveal an entire cave playset with the spacious, suspended-over-a-pit feeling I associate with Batman’s lair.
The 3,981-piece set is filled with play features, too, including four dials on the back that open the vaults that hold Batman’s gadgets and garb, spin his chair, and rotate the images on his surveillance screens.
The set houses a light brick, too — though just the one, in spite of what Lego’s original press release stated. It can illuminate Batman’s suit after you lower the drawbridge.
The set also comes with a 1989 Batmobile with pop-up machine guns activated via its own little dial, plenty o’ hand tools in the garage to “repair” it, and a garage door with a push-button to close. Lego tells us the Batmobile’s cockpit opens and closes for Batman to fit inside, as long as he's wearing his cloth cape while doing so. The engine flame rotates as you drive.
Speaking of mini-figs, you get seven in the box, including both hard plastic and cloth capes for Batman as well as a dedicated Bruce Wayne figure, Alfred with his teapot, villain Max Shreck (remember Christopher Walken’s turn?), and brand-new mini-figs of Catwoman and the Penguin, according to Lego.
One more thing: while Lego says the set is based on Batman Returns and the villains fit the bill, it’s also clearly inspired by the new Batcave that Warner Bros. built for Keaton’s appearance in The Flash.
Sure, 1992’s Batman Returns did have a dedicated platform for the Batmobile and the drawbridge vault for the Batsuits:
But The Flash’s filmmakers built what will apparently be the first full-scale Batcave set ever made for a Batman movie — and this Lego set looks a lot more like the Batcave we’re seeing in the first few Flash trailers.
All I’m saying is Lego really needs to get cracking on a compatible Batwing hanger expansion.
Not that I have enough money for two sets — or necessarily even the one! The Lego Batcave Shadowbox will cost a pricy $400, € 400 or £345 when it arrives on June 8th. It’ll go on presale on June 5th for Lego VIP members (it’s a free signup). I passed up Lego’s Lord of the Rings: Rivendell set at $500, and I’ve yet to justify the $800 UCS Millennium Falcon that’s been at the top of my wish list since 2017.
At least this one will fit on my shelf if I ever scrounge up the cash!
Correction, 12:37PM ET: Though Lego’s press release originally listed the Batcave at $449.99 and €449.99, Lego confirms it will start at $399.99 and €399.99 instead. Lego also wrote that “several light bricks” would come with the set, but the company tells The Verge that only one is included. We also added a few more details to this story.
Correction, May 17th: I accidentally typo’d the metric dimensions of the set in millimeters instead of centimeters. The entire Batcave in the palm of your hand? Sorry, no! Just the latest proof that the imperials need to lose.