LEGO Across the Spider-Verse animator debuts Barbenheimer clip

The animator behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s LEGO universe has debuted a new short celebrating the release of Barbenheimer.

‘Barbenheimer’ is the portmanteau affectionately given to the double bill of Barbie and Oppenheimer, two box office hits that have seemingly benefited from being released on the same day. Effectively polar opposites in presentation and subject matter – one’s a colourful fantasy comedy, the other a biographical thriller about the father of the atom bomb – the two films have together inspired memes, merchandise and even a dedicated Wikipedia page.

They’ve also prompted animator Preston Mutanga (known on Twitter as @FG_Artist) to create his own brick-built spin on the Barbenheimer meme. You might recognise Mutanga’s name from this summer’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, as filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller – awed by his recreation of the superhero sequel’s trailer in bricks – reached out to the 14-year-old to ask him to animate the movie’s LEGO universe.

Barbenheimer but in LEGO, the animation#LEGO #Barbenheimer @barbiethemovie @OppenheimerFilm pic.twitter.com/paz1hWf6rY

— LegoMe_TheOG (@FG_Artist) July 23, 2023

Mutanga has now published a video based on a concept by fellow Twitter user @hao0047, which sees two worlds collide as Barbie (played on the silver screen by Margot Robbie) and J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) hold hands on what appears to be a nuclear test site. Barbie advises that the pair should ‘leave before we get blasted’, and seconds later a huge, pink, brick-built mushroom cloud rises in the background.

One fan responded by asking for the scene to be included in The LEGO Movie 3 (currently under the purview of Universal Pictures, though likely not as a direct sequel to previous LEGO movies), while another suggested giving Mutanga ‘a couple million dollars and just see what he can make’. If his early videos are anything to go by, our money is on ‘something awesome’.

Barbie and Oppenheimer are both in cinemas now, but don’t expect any official LEGO sets on either of them. (Barbie is owned by Mattel, and Oppenheimer is… about the creation of a weapon that killed millions of people.)

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