NECA Talks Beetlejuice, Pee-wee, and Multitudes of Monsters

NECA ‘s booth seemed even more overstuffed with action figures than usual at this year’s Comic-Con, with a small walk-in area to allow for displays on both sides rather than just one wall. The Sesame Street figures we already wrote about were the most initially eye-catching, but what dominated the display the most was a massive Dante’s Inferno Room diorama from Tim Burton’s 1988 Beetlejuice — complete with an all-new Ultimate Betelgeuse figure in his spiked jacket. The mini-lightbulbs in the sign even light up, one letter at a time! Naturally, this will be a NECA Store exclusive, and we dread to imagine the price, but per NECA’s Blaine Rodenbaugh, “Stay tuned for lots more Beetlejuice, and not just from the 1988 film.” So you might want a place to display them all.

While the instant assumption is that Rodenbaugh means the sequel movie, which NECA already announced licensing rights to, the animated series would seem to be in play as well. Mainly because they’re using its image on a new series of Ben Cooper Halloween costume-inspired figures. The first waves are based on actual costumes that were for sale, but “we also have an incredible opportunity to create completely original costumes for both old and new IPs as if they had existed in the heyday of Ben Cooper,” says Rodenbaugh. On display were some new mashups based on Gremlins, Alien , and yes, animated Beetlejuice.

Monstrously Good

Speaking of Alien, the new movie Romulus has already inspired one xenomorph figure and an accessory pack — if there are other alien variants in the movie, they’ll undoubtedly try to make them all. In further horror news, NECA’s going back to the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre for a revised classic Leatherface with new accessories (“You will not feel like you’re re-buying the original”) and a “Pretty Woman” variant with female flayed face. A super-bloody two-pack from the original Evil Dead is also on the way, and new classic cinema monsters include Universal’s Invisible Man and Ardeth Bey, cloaked Count Orlok (Nosferatu), and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, to face off against the already announced Christopher Lee Dracula.

We’ve already reported on the oversized Krampus movie figures — more is planned from that movie if sales merit, potentially including the accessory pack shown a couple of cons ago, but not this time. Good sales are also essential in order to get more figures from The Thing (seriously, the dog monster is amazing …go buy that!)

Re-runs?

Among toy collectors, there has been some grumbling about NECA rereleasing older horror figures with less articulation, like Betelgeuse and Hannibal Lecter. Why that approach and not newly articulated Ultimates? It boils down to time and resources, says Rodenbaugh, who says, “there is only so much tooling budget for new Ultimates, and only so much time in a production year. We have lots of new product coming, and we wanted to take opportunities where we could in getting some of our classic characters out to people who may never have gotten them, or to our new generation of collectors. We will continue to give the Ultimates treatment where we can (i.e. Jigsaw) as well as re-release our classics.”

However, he would like to point out “when we put something out, we always try to give it an update. Fans of the Hannibal Lecter line will notice additional and updated expressions and deco in this new release.” About that Jigsaw, who seems to have an older face sculpt, he does at least have updated deco, using “Direct Inkjet (DIJ) technology for more life-like expressions.”

HAA-ha!

On a lighter note, after years of trying to make it happen, NECA will finally deliver a realistic Pee-wee Herman figure! He includes multiple facial expressions and Pterri from the Playhouse — all the puppet characters are included in the license, but anyone who wants Captain Carl or Cowboy Curtis may have to hope the appropriate actors or their estates sign a separate deal. Paul Reubens’ longtime pal Elvira has spawned several 8-inch retro-style variants this year, from a Pride version to a military version. Is it time yet for an Ultimate in 7-inch scale? “Let’s just say I would love to display her in scale with our Pee-wee and Vincent Price,” says Rodenbaugh.

As for their lucrative Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles license, expect plenty more from The Last Ronin, Mirage Comics, and even more Archie Comics, including a pro-wrestling themed four-pack which might play well with Mattel’s WWE crossover figures . Tatsu is coming from the second live-action movie, and a mildly creepy Christmas set who look like they might be based on the live tour Turtle costumes. NECA also hs the Nightmare Before Christmas license back, which will incorporate some pieces from their previous releases but generally feel like new takes.

Check out all the rest of the reveals below: