Steven Spielberg Finally Gets His Own Action Figure To Be Unveiled At SDCC

Just over 30 years after dinosaurs stomped their way across the big screen in the classic action movie blockbuster "Jurassic Park," the creative genius behind the film is finally being commemorated for his work with his own action figure.

Mattel told IGN that the toymaker is producing a 3 and 3/4-inch action figure of Steven Spielberg based on the director's on-set appearance while making "Jurassic Park" as part of an exclusive playset to be sold at the 2023 San Diego Comic Con.

"We're always looking at new ways to bring the films to life and SDCC gives us the ability to bring more out of the box offerings to life," Mattel's VP and Global Head of Action Figures PJ Lewis told IGN. "To celebrate the 30th, we wanted to honor the visionary that brought Jurassic Park to the big screen. Spielberg is a legend and we've never seen an action figure of him before, and he is just as much a part of the legacy as the dinosaurs and characters in the film. The team created the first-ever action figure of Steven Spielberg based on a behind the scenes photo from filming Jurassic Park."

Mattel released several photos of the Spielberg figure, where the filmmaker is wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt with dinosaur deco, a baseball cap, and removable sunglasses. The figure is packaged in a box that functions like a "Jurassic Park" film clapboard, which also includes a director's chair, a movie camera and a Dilophosaurus dinosaur on a stand.

Officially known as the "Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Steven Spielberg Figure," the release is part of Mattel's "Jurassic Park" Hammond Collection, which is named for ‎Richard Attenborough's character, Dr. John Hammond, in the film. The Spielberg figure and accessories are in the same scale as previous releases in Mattel's "Jurassic Park" toy line. Several action figures of characters from "Jurassic Park" have previously been released — featuring the likenesses of the stars who played them — for the Spielberg figure to direct.

Those figures include Dr. Allan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck), and Dr. Hammond (Attenborough), as well as an assortment of dinosaurs and vehicles from the film. The company has similarly released an action figure line based on the more recent "Jurassic World" movies, which includes figures in the likeness of Chris Pratt's character Owen Grady and Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire Dearing, as well as other human and dinosaur characters.

Fans who can't attend the San Diego Comic Con will be able to purchase the Spielberg figure and accessory set online at Mattel Creations after it makes its debut at the annual fan convention.

Steven Spielberg has been available to collectors in plastic form before as a LEGO character in the legendary block toymaker's "Steven Spielberg Moviemaker Set" in 2000. However, as a fully articulated toy molded in his exact likeness, Spielberg becomes the latest in a small group of directors who have their own action figures. 

Apart from Mattel, other companies who have produced figures of directors include NECA, which has released figures of Guillermo del Toro, Quentin Tarantino (wearing a "Hateful 8" costume), and James Cameron (wearing an Space Marine costume from "Aliens"). In addition, Toy Biz produced a Hobbit-sized figure of Peter Jackson — complete with hairy feet deco — from the "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings," and Super 7 crafted an action figure of Alfred Hitchcock that had accessories from "The Birds" and "Psycho."

Hasbro made director George Lucas a surprise member of the "Star Wars" universe to get his own action figure in 2021, which was joined by figure releases of "The Mandalorian" creator Jon Favreau and writer-director Dave Filoni in Paz Vizsla and X-Wing Pilot gear, respectively.

While it seems like a no-brainer, only time will tell if Mattel will follow-up it's director toy trend with the release of "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig as a Barbie doll. To date the company have several dolls in the works based on the characters in the live-action film, including the Margot Robbie version of Barbie and Ryan Gosling's Ken.