Princess Leia’s Dress Among Items Up for Sale at Historic Prop Auction

Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia dress from the original Star Wars movies, the hammer used by Tim Robbins to escape prison in Shawshank Redemption and the Batpod motorcycle used by Christian Bale in The Dark Knight will hit the auction block in June in what is being billed as one of the largest memorabilia auctions in the world.

The Star Wars dress, a holy grail for collectors, and the Batpod alone are estimated to fetch upwards of $2 million each in the live auction being run by Propstore, the 25-year-old company that specialized in cinematic treasures and collectibles.

Over 1,400 items will be sold over three days, from June 28 to June 30 in Los Angeles. The first day will feature in-room bidding, open to the public, at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Online and telephone bids can be placed across the whole event.

Nothing the auction is offering up is likely to be as iconic and coveted as the Princess Leia ceremonial dress, which was screen-matched to determine its authenticity. Designed by costume designer John Mollo, who earned an Oscar for his work on Star Wars, this was the gown used by Fisher for the film’s final scene where Leia bestows Luke Skywalker and Han solo with their medals. Adding to the aura of the auction item, this is believed to be the only Leia costume known to still exist from the original film.

The ceremonial gown, with its lower-cut neckline and unique integral sleeve drapery, was also used as the basis for Leia’s look in several Star Wars posters, and Fisher was shot by photographer David Steen for numerous publicity photos in the dress. Made from a cream lightweight silk fabric, the costume features a hidden zipper along its side as well as hook-and-eye fasteners on the white shoulder.

The Batpod being offered is one of six made for the production of Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, with the vehicles largely driven by stunt rider Jean-Pierre Goy during filming. They were also used for numerous events in the promotion of the movies. This one has spent the last several years stored at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, and was featured prominently in the Hollywood Dream Machines exhibit since 2019 and in the museum’s Private Vault for VIP tours. Among the highlights are a custom-made chassis with 31” Hoosier racing tires and a Honda 750 engine, as well as two plastic, resin, and fiberglass cannon barrels secured to the front of the vehicle.

Don’t think you can just drive off the auction floor with this one, however. It’s being sold in a non-functional “rolling only” condition, with the battery, fuel tank and throttle controls have been removed. But it does come supplied with a metal support stand for display purposes.

With Guardians of the Galaxy being praised as one of the best Marvel movies in years as well as closing out the storied trilogy, interest will be high in the Light-Up Star-Lord Helmet from the franchise’s first installment, released in 2014.

The head gear is described as a foam and suede-padded, two-piece cast urethane resin helmet that was hand-painted with a variety of different finishes to resemble metal, inset with two-toned red on the exterior and blue on the interior, lenses, and applied with grid-patterned acrylic sheets on the front as well as small segments of metal tubing, screws and mesh throughout. The pieces are secured together with powerful magnets concealed on the interior.

Per the item description, it is labeled with stickers marked “HERO 3” and “3,” the helmet’s interior also conceals a 9V battery-powered switch which illuminates LEDs inside the lenses and a red LED light on the right side when flicked. It is intentionally lightly distressed to appear well-worn with scuffs and scratches throughout, and a tongue piece designed to be concealed when the helmet’s pieces are connected has broken off to the front on one side.

The item is expected to fetch anywhere in the $100,000 to $200,000 range.

Horror pieces are a memorabilia subset of the rabid collector and this “thing” doesn’t disappoint. From a mind-burning scene in John Carpenter’s The Thing comes Spider Head-Thing, which is modeled on actor Charles Hallahan. Designed by special effects makeup artist Rob Bottin, this static version of the Spider Head-Thing was gifted by Bottin to Henry Alvarez, a sculptor who worked on the film, at the time filming wrapped, and hails from his family. The piece is expected to be one of the more pricier items on the auction block and could go for upwards of $200,000.

Other items estimated to get top dollar are:

Also offered is a Kevin Costner-autographed, screen-matched Ray Kinsella baseball glove and related materials from baseball classic Field of Dreams; a screen-matched Jason Vorhees hockey mask from Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood; the cracked Mjolnir hammer used by both Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder; and a motorcycle from Steve McQueen’s production company.

You want more? Propstore has more. How about a Harry Potter’s distressed costume with glasses from 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets? Or Al Pacino’s personal hand-annotated shooting script from crime classic Scarface? There is even the shield used by Achilles, played by Brad Pitt, in the 2002 swords-and-sandal epic, Troy.

For those in the L.A. area, Propstore is holding a preview exhibition at its office facility in Valencia, California by appointment from May 29 to June 20. The exhibition will feature over 80 lots, giving fans and hopeful bidders the chance to see props and costumes from the auction up close and ask questions to the specialists. (Visit propstore.com/liveauction to make the appointment.)

Check out the images below.