A new space-themed Lego set is on the way and… it's being made in conjunction with Pharrell Williams? It's a very bizarre concept, but we're on board with it — especially when the set in question looks so cool.
Out on September 20, Over the Moon with Pharrell Williams is a 966-piece set depicting a space shuttle launching into the air. It appears to be suspended, with a large plume of rainbow-colored smoke acting as a base. The shuttle itself is black, with a golden canopy. Accompanying the set are two minifigures (Pharrell and Helen Williams as astronauts) and a wall of 49 interchangeable minifigure heads.
As random as it all sounds, Lego Over the Moon hasn't just come out of nowhere. It's releasing alongside an upcoming biopic of Pharrell Williams — one that's been made entirely out of Lego bricks.
Much of the movie is based on Williams' imagination as he grew up, and for him, the shuttle is a very pertinent choice. "When I was a child, my perception of reality was based on a 20-mile radius," he says, talking to Lego about the project. "We lived in the crash zone of the Air Force Base, where the Blue Angels would fly all the time. So, my reference for looking up was always jets. And when you think beyond — what typically flies the highest, if you will, is space shuttles."
Of course, it's not a realistic rocket like Lego's NASA Space Shuttle Discovery or the Artemis Space Launch System. Instead, it's a more fun Lego space set, but one that looks utterly eye-catching. If you're a Lego aficionado, you might be interested to know that some brand new color/piece combinations have been created especially for the set (including the shuttle's golden visor). There's also some neat Lego architecture that's gone into creating the set — and enabling it to stand at such a striking angle.
"Many different techniques were trailed, including making the entire bottom of the model out of slope bricks," says George Gilliatt, the Lego designer responsible for bringing Pharrell's vision of Over the Moon to life. "In the end, we settled for creating some triangles out of Lego Technic triangles that happened to perfectly match the angles of some of our slope bricks — which allows the jet stream to protrude seamlessly out of the cloud base." It sounds very technical, but judging by the images we've seen of the set, it's a trial-and-error process that has very much paid off.
As for that wall of minifigure heads? We're not convinced it pairs with the shuttle particularly well, but according to Pharrell Williams, it has a nice reason for being there. More than 30 of the heads were designed specifically for this set, and it's to symbolize that "anyone and everyone can travel along". We'd have preferred whole minifigures, but it's a sweet gesture all the same.
The Lego Over the Moon with Pharrell Williams set will cost $109.99, and pre-orders are open on Lego.com now. It'll start shipping on September 20. You can find out more about the set — and the movie that has inspired it — on Lego's website.
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