When researching repetition of heads for female versus male characters in Star Wars minifigures (see the first part of this analysis), we noticed there were several heads used for Star Wars minifigures that were used for characters in the Jurassic World Series and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Initially, our analysis of head repetition focused on only a few main characters. In this analysis, we dive deeper into secondary and background characters. However, we have not fully investigated all background characters, as there are simply too many (some Star Wars movie categories on BrickLink have over 50 Stormtrooper minifigures). The findings of background characters aren’t as important as the main and secondary characters, and the faces of background characters are more often covered. Stormtroopers, who make up a majority of background characters in Star Wars wear helmets for all of their screen time, so including them is not appropriate for this analysis.
Female heads
Looking at female heads, seven repeated heads could be found. On average, around 5.1 characters exist per head within Jurassic World, Star Wars, and the MCU. The number would be higher if characters out of those three universes are included. Each head is used for a mix of main characters, such as Jyn Erso in Star Wars Rogue One, Pepper Potts from the Avengers, and a Guard from Jurassic World. Out of the seven heads, only one has a flesh tone of color. Head 3626cpb2593, which has a reddish brown color, appears on three minifigures:
- Jannath, a member of the Resistance appearing in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
- Kayla Watts, a pilot for Biosyn in Jurassic World: Dominion
- Vi Moradi featured in Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures, and appearing in the amusement park Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Between all three characters, one has five minutes of screen time, the other is prominent enough to be part of press tours, while the third is most known for her role at the amusement park.
Male Heads
For male characters, ten repeating heads could be found. There are 6.8 characters per head on average, including the child head. These heads mainly stick to main characters or background characters, with little overlap. Two heads have flesh tones of color, both mainly representing background characters. Head 3626cpb1367 is used for 20 different minifigures (22 including characters outside of the subject universes of this analysis). 19 of those minifigures are used for various background characters from a range of Star Wars movies, while the last minifigure is a guard from Jurassic World: Dominion. A head only used for main characters, 3626cpb2108, is featured on three different Han Solo minifigures (all part of Star Wars Solo), Hawkeye (Avengers Endgame), and Steve Rodgers (Super Heroes). Even outside of Jurassic World, Star Wars, and the MCU, the rest of the minifigures this head is on (three characters, six minifigures) are all main characters in their own respective franchises.
The Chris Pratt Phenomenon
Through all of this discovery, we stumbled upon what we like to call the “Chris Pratt phenomenon”. Between all the franchises being examined, Pratt plays characters for two out of the three universities- Owen Grady in Jurassic World and Star-Lord in the MCU. Head 3626cpb2124 is on seven different minifigures- six Owen Grady’s from all three movies, and Star-Lord from Avengers Endgame. Another head, 3626cpb1152, is used for nine minifigures, six of which are Pratt’s characters. Star-Lord has minifigures from Infinity War, two from Guardians of the Galaxy, and two from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, with the last minifigure is for Owen Grady in Jurassic World. Using heads for different characters played by the same actor is one of the only- if not the only- justifiable reason for repetition, especially among prominent characters.
Hopefully the indication of the lack of flesh tones of color is good news- LEGO is choosing to make new heads for new characters of color. (It could also be a reflection on the lack of characters of color in the films themselves, but that’s a different story). Excluding the head that has 20 minifigures, each repeated male head has around 5.3 minifigures, which is extremely close to 5.1 minifigures for females. The numbers show equality between both genders which is albeit surprising, knowing LEGO, but still greatly welcomed. All in all, it was encouraging to see a majority of main characters sharing the same head across different franchises, and even more pleasing to see equality between male and female heads, while choosing to believe the lack of flesh tones, in this case, is a good thing to see.