A friend pointed out this hidden little gem inside one of the Prince of Persia LEGO display cases at Comic-Con International. Sure looks like a prototype Captain Jack from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Thanks for the tip, Bruno!
UPDATE: Julie Stern from LEGO Brand Relations tells The Brothers Brick, “Yes, that is a pirate among the prince of Persia sets. Stay tuned for more details surrounding this 2011 line.”
I was wondering about that. I thought it was an exceptionally good custom.
I kinda like the idea. :)
Didn’t Mega Bloks do this already?
^ Well, LEGO now has the Disney license, and there’s a new PotC movie coming out at some point, so I guess it’s now LEGO’s license. (These licenses seem to go back and forth between the two companies. LEGO had Disney for a while several years ago, then Mega Bloks had it, and now LEGO has it again.)
I call B.S. of the highest degree, but I sure would love to be convinced otherwise. And why is he on a camel?
If anyone can point me to a customiser who is able to a) make this and b) sneak it into the official LEGO displat at ComicCon I might buy into the conspiracy theories. Until then I’ll believe that what looks like a very expensive 3D print can only come from a company rich enough to afford a very expensive 3D printer.
Well, you can see in the picture that Gambort is correct. It is a painted 3D print in blue material. Though it does not rule out a hoax as it could be just Lego messing with people or subtly trying to gauge interest.
All said though, if they came out with an exclusive, huge set of the Black Pearl, I would be on that like a fat kid on a snickers.
See I fully believe this to be from an upcoming theme, however I have to wonder why they’d use a Chinese Daston fig for their big SDCC display.
The clincher for me is the saddle. It appears to be on backward, but a customiser wouldn’t make a mistake like that.
^^ What is a Chinese Daston fig? Is Jake Gylenhaal’s surname a cunning ruse to disguise his true ethnic heritage?
A PotC was almost inevitable from the moment the following ‘stars aligned’: Lego regained the Disney license, the Pirates line was very prematurely shelved, a new PotC movie was announced and Steve Witt was quoted as saying: “Pirates was always planned to be an in and out theme, but it doesn’t mean it can’t come back. Don’t worry everyone, things that make money always have a way of making a comeback.” Disney and Lego very obviously didn’t want another line of cheaper, non-licensed Lego Pirates on the shelves when the movie comes out (tey explaning to his grandparents that Little Timmy wants the expensive pirate and not the cheap pirate!).
^^I’m referring to the Chinese-made figs. I believe the fig used was from the magnet set, given away by the octagonal hilt guards. I guess they just grabbed whatever was at hand.
^ Ahhhhh. So you’re referring to the fact that it was made with lower manufacturing tolerances for a non-core product.
Well not really, I just thought it was strange that for a display of their products at such a large con, they used a fig whose molds don’t accurately reflect the parent line. Of course I could just be overestimating the importance of their displays. It was just something I thought was a bit odd, that’s all
I’d be very surprised to see a figure from a franchise that Lego doesn’t have production rights to make sitting in a display case at major trade show a few dozen miles away from Disneyland. If TLG wasn’t signed on to make Pirates of the Carribean it would be a very reckless move likely to anger one of their major franchise partners.
Claim here is that it’s legitimate:
http://modelbuildingsecrets.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/comic-con-2010-thursday-and-friday/
^ Unnamed “sources” don’t make it automatically legitimate; its context does.
^ That said I’ll add my own “unnamed” sources to the list. I’ve heard well-founded rumours and all-but-confirmations for about a year.
Updated post with official comment from The LEGO Group.
Of course it’s real, I can’t believe how many people here thought it wasn’t, even the Eurobrick people knew it was.
LEGO has the Disney license, they announced the Disney license the same week as LEGO canceled the Pirates line, and Disney announced PotC4.
LEGO isn’t stupid enough to make a fake minifigure and stick it in a display, LEGO has Disney license therefor they have the right to do it. None of this is very shocking as long as we use common sense.
As others have pointed out, the writing has been on the wall for some time about a PotC LEGO line, no real surprise here.