LEGO Ideas has spent years turning fan-submitted concepts into official sets, but few have leaned this hard into pure nostalgia. Set 21370, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, ships starting August 1, 2026 at 139.99 dollars, and it is exactly what it sounds like: a posable, 1,226-piece buildable figure of one of science fiction's most recognizable aliens, built specifically as adult-focused shelf decor rather than a play set.
Like every LEGO Ideas release, this set started as a fan-designed concept, was voted on by the LEGO Ideas community, and was then developed into an official product by the LEGO Group. That fan-first pedigree tends to produce sets built for a very specific kind of collector rather than broad mass appeal, and a screen-accurate E.T. figure with a light-up heart is about as specific as it gets.
This guide covers what is confirmed about the set directly from LEGO's own official product listing, what makes the build itself worth attention, and how to think about displaying it once it is finished, since a 24cm posable alien figure does not fit the same protective categories as a sealed box or a minifigure.
All of the following is confirmed directly from LEGO's own official product listing:
LEGO's own listing frames this explicitly as a building kit for adults, aimed at collectors of E.T. merchandise and fans of the 1982 film rather than a children's play set.
This is not a static sculpture once assembled. The head can be angled up and down and rotated a full 360 degrees, the mouth opens and closes, and the arms, wrists, and fingers are all adjustable, including a specific pose for pointing E.T.'s forefinger, a direct reference to the character's most iconic moment in the film. The set also includes a small pot of sunflowers to place in the figure's hands, mirroring the flowers E.T. famously revives on screen.
The standout mechanical detail is a switch at the back of the figure that activates a built-in light brick, making E.T.'s heart glow. It is a small addition, but it is the kind of feature that turns a static display piece into something that photographs well on a shelf and gives the set a genuine centerpiece moment beyond just the accuracy of the sculpt.
LEGO Ideas sets carry a different kind of appeal than a licensed set built directly by LEGO's in-house design teams. Every Ideas set began as a fan submission that had to clear a public voting threshold before LEGO agreed to develop and produce it, which tends to filter toward concepts with a passionate, specific fan base rather than sets designed for the widest possible audience. An E.T. figure with this level of posability and a working light feature is a clear example of that pattern: it is a deep-cut nostalgia pick for a specific kind of collector, not a mass-market movie tie-in aimed at kids.
Like most current LEGO sets, instructions are available through the LEGO Builder app, offering zoomable 3D instructions rather than requiring a printed manual, which is worth downloading before starting a build of this size. LEGO also awards 910 LEGO Insiders Points on this set for members of that loyalty program, on top of the standard purchase.
EVORETRO does not carry a dust cover or display case built specifically for this set, since a large posable figure like this one does not fit the same protective categories as sealed boxes, minifigures, or trading cards. Once assembled, though, a roughly 24cm figure is close in scale to a large action figure or premium vinyl piece, and a tiered acrylic riser gives a model like this its own dedicated shelf space rather than crowding it in next to smaller pieces.
If you are building out a broader movie collectibles or LEGO Ideas display shelf and want E.T. to sit at a different height than the figures around him, a stepped acrylic display stand works well for staggering pieces of different scale so a single large centerpiece does not visually flatten the rest of the shelf. As always with a general-purpose riser rather than a purpose-built case, measure the finished model against the riser's dimensions before assuming a perfect fit.
If you are planning to display this build once it ships, these EVORETRO products are a practical starting point:
It is available for pre-order now and ships starting August 1, 2026, according to LEGO's own product listing.
Just over 9.5 inches (24 cm) tall, 8.5 inches (21 cm) wide, and 6 inches (15 cm) deep once built.
Yes. The head angles and rotates 360 degrees, the mouth opens and closes, the arms and fingers are posable, and a switch activates a light brick to make the heart glow.
Yes, LEGO has capped orders at 3 per household for this set.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a straightforward set to evaluate: a confirmed price, piece count, and ship date directly from LEGO, built around a genuinely interactive centerpiece figure rather than a static display piece. If you have been waiting for LEGO Ideas to give a classic movie alien real display-piece treatment, complete with a working light feature, this is that set, and the glowing heart is the kind of detail that photographs well on a shelf.
Once it is built, treat it like any other display-first collectible: give it dedicated shelf space, keep the light brick switch easy to reach, and use a riser if you want it to stand apart from the rest of your collection rather than blend in.
For more on recent LEGO Ideas releases and figure display options, these guides may also help:
!
