Indiana Jones 4 Merchandise, Books and Toys - Indiana Jones Cereal

With Indiana Jones 4 on the horizion and the anticipation of his return don't you think it's time LucasFilm got the Indy machine moving again and started releasing new Indy merchandise? I want to see books, toys, clothes and anything else they can slap the Indy logo on.

For this first post I'd like to discuss new Indy books. DK Publishing has been releasing incredible Star Wars books over the last 7 years. Their Visual Dictionaries and Cross-Section books are extremely popular. I would love to see Indy get the DK treatment with his own Visual Guide.

I can see them doing three different books. The Indiana Jones Trilogy, the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Indiana Jones 4. I could see them releasing the first two books to build up the anticipation of Indy 4's debut.

I'll post some ideas I have on other products later on.

 

I'd love to read some of the grown up Indy's adventures. Though there is a book series on the Young Indy, I read them awhile back, got em off amazon if I remember.

I also love the idea of a DK Indy book

 

Yes I agree about the visual dictionaries.

 

There is a locked topic which discusses some Indiana Jones Fiction. You may find some of it interesting.

I like the idea of DK books.
Despite my opinions in that other thread, I really don't know about IJ fiction anymore.

-Seldon

 

Upping thread. It's a shame that in the two years since I started this thread no new Indy merchandise has been released.

Well picking up on the book discussion we now know that J.W. Rinzler is working on a "Making of Indiana Jones" book. I have a feeling that all four films will be looked at instead of a book for each individual film. I feel that same way about a possible DK Visual Dictionary, all four films in one book. I don't think DK will be making one for Young Indy, although I still want one. I would also love to see an "Art of Indiana Jones" filled with all the concept art for all four Indy films. Rinzler wrote "The Art of Revenge of the Sith" so I would say an art of Indy book would be a possibility.

I would also like to see the soundtracks for all three films re-released on 2-CD sets containing every note recorded by John Williams for each film. They would be very similar to the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition Soundtracks that were released by RCA back in 1997 and reissued by Sony Classical in 2004.

With the report that LEGO will be making Indy 4 products that leads me to toys. I have been waiting for years for Hasbro to start a line of Indiana Jones action figures. I had assume they would eventually start scrapping the bottom of the barrel for Star Wars toys and turn to Indy for fresh ideas. Boy was I wrong as Hasbro has not only scrapped the bottom of the Star Wars barrel they've discovered several more buried underneath. But with Indy 4 on the way sure Hasbro can make a line of figures? Heck they've already got dozen of Harrison Ford head sculpts lying around so they already have a head start.

And please don't give me the "You can't make Nazi action figures." line. They're several WWII action figure lines that have German soldiers. I wouldn't be opposed to leaving the swastikas off.

 

Indy fans deserve some new Indiana Jones merchandise. Its long overdue.

 

A visual dictionary would be awesome... and a re-release of the scores is a must.

As for new stuff I'd like to see...

- A fast food tie in with 'Indy' glasses (Ala the old BK 'Star Wars 'glasses) covering all 4 movies. You don't see actual glasses much anymore as fast food premiums (Usually plastic cups ), but they just did it at McDonald's with 'Shrek'

- A new metal Lunchbox

- Some 'Indy' 'Choose your own adventure' books would be cool... Yeah, I know I'm 33 years old, sue me

 

A visual dictionarie is well overdue. This would be the #1 thing as far as I'm concerend.

 

I think the visual dictionary and cross-sections books should deal with the complete Indy saga (Young Indy, Raiders, Temple, Crusade, and Indy 4).

 

I bet action figures would sell like hotcakes.

If I were in LFL marketing, though, I'd look into creating non-fiction educational books where Indy plays "host". You know, "Indiana Jones Takes You to the Pyramids / the Amazon Jungle / the Great Wall of China / the Mens' Room at EuroDisney / whatever". With the same intent as the educational aspect of the TV series.

It would be a great way to get kids to read and to learn about history and faraway places, and essentially all they'd have to do is hire some decent ghostwriters and illustrators and slap a few pictures of Harrison Ford around. Schools, book fairs and parents would buy them.



On a purely personal note, if there was one piece of Indy merchandise I could get, I'd love a poster or print of the final shot of Raiders. I'm not really Mr. Indiana Jones Fan, but it's one of my favorite shots in all of cinema.



Rick McCallum loves you!

 

Out of print now, but that has been done:

http://biography.jrank.org/pages/712/Malam-John-1957.html

Indiana Jones Explores Ancient Egypt, illustrated by Jeffrey Burn, Evans (London, England), 1991, Arcade (New York, NY), 1992.

Indiana Jones Explores Ancient Rome, Evans (London, England), 1991, Arcade (New York, NY), 1992.

Indiana Jones Explores Ancient Greece, Evans (London, England), 1992, Arcade (New York, NY), 1993.

Indiana Jones Explores the Incas, Evans (London, England), 1992, Arcade (New York, NY), 1993.

Indiana Jones Explores the Aztecs, Evans (London, England), 1993, Arcade (New York, NY), 1994.

Indiana Jones Explores the Vikings, Evans (London, England), 1994, Arcade (New York, NY), 1995.

Time for a reprint, I guess!

 

Source

 

"Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen."

 

Yes... Yes!... YES!

That's the best news yet .

 

I came across a thread over at The Raven messagebaord about a slew of upcoming Indiana Jones books listed on Amazon.com and I made a post adding some info about the authors and what the books could possibly be liked based on experience from Star Wars. Came back a while later and they had added my info into a article on the main site.

From TheRaider.net

New Indiana Jones books in the making
23/06/07, 2:38pm EST

When searching for Indiana Jones books at Amazon you'll discover that there are new Indy novelizations and other books scheduled to be released in 2008. Here under follows a list of what the USA as well as the Canadian version of Amazon show.
Lucasfilm is apparently aiming for a younger audience with these new Indiana Jones books.

Announced at Amazon.com (USA):

1. Glow-in-the-Dark Indiana Jones (Ultimate Sticker Books)
- Reading level: Ages 9-12
- Paperback: 16 pages
- Publisher: DK Children (March 17, 2008)

2. Indiana Jones (Ultimate Stick Books)
- Reading level: Ages 9-12
- Paperback: 16 pages
- Publisher: DK Children (March 17, 2008)

3. Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
- Reading level: Ages 9-12
- Hardcover: 144 pages
- Publisher: DK Children (March 17, 2008)

4. The Adventures of Indiana Jones
by Campbell Black, James Khan and Rob MacGregor
- Paperback: 720 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey (February 26, 2008)

It looks like The Adventures of Indiana Jones will be a bind up of the three original Indiana Jones film novelizations. Campbell Black, James Khan and Rob MacGregor are the authors of these original books plus it's listed as being 720 pages long.

Announced at Amazon.ca (Canada):

1. Indiana Jones: Last Crusade Novelization
by Ryder Windham
- Paperback
- Publisher: Scholastic Us (April 1 2008)

2. Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark Novelization
by Ryder Windham
- Paperback
- Publisher: Scholastic Us (April 1 2008)

3. Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom Novelization
by Suzanne Weyn
- Paperback
- Publisher: Scholastic Us (April 1 2008)

4. Indiana Jones: Movie Novelization
by James Luceno
- Paperback
- Publisher: Scholastic Us (April 1 2008)

5. Indiana Jones: Movie Reader
by Ben Harper
- Paperback
- Publisher: Scholastic Us (April 1 2008)

6. Indiana Jones Scrapbook
- Paperback
- Publisher: Scholastic Us (April 1 2008)

7. The Adventures of Indiana Jones
by Campbell Black, James Khan and Rob MacGregor
- Paperback: 720 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey (Feb 26 2008)

Ryder Windham previously wrote two scrapbooks for Star Wars; Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. These books are basically heavily illustrated, hardcover "behind the scenes"movie guides for children (approx. ages 12 - 16). The books contain info about the characters, the storyline, and the people behind the scenes.
And Scholastic Us also released three such scrapbooks for the original Star Wars trilogy back in 1997.

Special thanks to 'walker' and 'Gobi-1' from The Raven message boards for the info.

 

Legos? Sticker books? Does Lucasfilm even understand the consumer base they should be marketing this film's merchandise to? Indiana Jones isn't Star Wars. It skews to a demographic that is way past the age of interest in those kind of materials.

Will there be Gentle Giant and Sideshow Collectibles-quality figures, busts and statues? I hope so, because this seems the perfect (and long-overdue)opportunity to develop a line of high-end Indy collectibles based on the four movies. Sideshow, for instance, has developed full lines of high quality 12" figures based upon varied franchises from Planet Of The Apes to The Twilight Zone, which have all done quite well.

It seems to me that the demand for comparable Indy product would be at least as strong, if not considerably stronger, than those relatively modest franchises.

There's a whole nation of older Indy fans out there who would pony up a lot of green for such items. I hope Lucasfilm marketing realizes this.

 

Don't underestimate huge Adult-Fan-Of-LEGO consumer base out there. Who do you think buys the UCS Star Wars LEGO sculptures. Not kids, in most cases.

 

I understand that there is an audience for such a product. I used to work for a guy who took great pride in the fact that he had built the Lego Star Destroyer, AT-AT and Falcon himself. He even displayed them in the main lobby of his business.

So, while I see your point about the Lego demographic, it does seem that the majority of the "exciting" products announced so far skew unusually young for a film from an almost 20 year dormant franchise starring a 65 year old man. Personally, I cant see Indy IV generating much interest with those below (at least) high school level, and more than likely college level. Kids won't care, and teenagers will sneer at the "lameness" of a retirement age action hero and the lack of wall-to-wall CGI.

Quality Indy merchandise has been relatively hard to come by since the series was first produced. Most of what was made was crap geared to sell to kids during the series heyday, and later to sell a Disneyland ride. The time for high-end Indy collectibles is long overdue. Lucas need look no further than the millions it generates from it's comparable SW collectibles to see the potential marketing bonanza. Judging by the press release, it seems this might be the case(although the whole thing about "parents introducing their kids" to the films sounds as if the vast majority of product will be of the junky variety).

Also, does Indiana Jones really lend itself to Legos like SW does? I just don't see it.

 

Almost the entire "Adventures" / Johnny Thunder line was a homage to Indiana Jones. One set even had a rolling ball trap.

http://www.adventurers.dk/

 

I think huge temples and rolling boulders lend themselves quite easily to the LEGO medium.

Also, I am intrigued that they apparently picked Luceno to write the novelization for the movie. Someone want to rob his house to get the script?

 

No offense to the Lego-centric crowd, but if that link was supposed to convince that Indy-themed Legos will be a worthy product to get behind, ummm...well, just um.

Personally, I would say a prayer to the Gods of expendable cash that we get some items stratospherically head and shoulders above that.

(And maybe I'm a relic, but when I see the name Johnny Thunder(s), I think of the guitarist for The New York Dolls, not some plastic snap together crap

 

I'm not trying to get YOU to buy LEGO, it's clear that range isn't for you. Personally I can think of nothing more boring than mini statues & maquettes, but I certainly won't be down on them if they're produced.

 

I think most Star Wars fans are also Indy fans, and the Star Wars LEGO line has been very popular among adults (as well as kids). Indy 4 is going to introduce the franchise to a new generation, just like the Prequels did to people like me who weren't around in the late '70's and early '80's. I don't see the Indy LEGO line as being as big as the Star Wars one, but I could certainly imagine two or three sets each year.

 

New info regarding the upcoming Hasbro action figure line.

From Jedi Defender's Questions for Hasbro? - Session 33

OK, last time we asked, you couldn't say. But, now that the cat is out of the bag thanks to the LFL press release, what can you tell us about your upcoming Indiana Jones IV toy line? Scale? Vehicles? Playsets? New and old movies? Will we see a preview at Comic Con? Will we have to wait until Toy Fair '08 for our first glance? (as you can tell, we're all pretty stoked about Indy toys )

**We are glad to hear it, because we are stoked too! While we will be sneak-previewing some figures at Comic Con International in San Diego, we have to keep the details under wraps for now. We can divulge that there are some very familiar scales, as well as a few surprises in the line. Suffice to say that we have top men working on it. The same top men that have been bringing you the Star Wars line, so there should be a lot of consistency in approach.

---

Great news. Comic Con is July 26 - 29.

 

Can you still get tickets for Thursday?