E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Model from 1982 Movie Anticipated to Net $3 Million at Auction

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E.T. phone home? With $3 million, he might just buy a house on Earth and stick around.

The original mechanical model from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is going up for sale as part of the upcoming "Icons and Idols: Hollywood" auction, organized by Julien's Auctions and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Even more special, the lot just so happens to coincide with the Steven Spielberg film's 40th anniversary this year.

Being that the model is the No. 1 "hero" used with the actors, the aluminum alloy skeletal E.T. is estimated to fetch as much as $3 million, according to the auction house.

RELATED: Drew Barrymore Thought E.T. Was Real When She Filmed the Movie at Age 7: 'I Really Loved Him'

"Pre-dating modern CGI technology and effects, this one-of-a-kind cinematographic relic (constructed in 1981) features 85 points of movement and is regarded as an engineering masterpiece," the lot description reads.

Created by Italian special effects master Carlo Rambaldi, the filming model was operated by 12 professional animators and features movement including facial expressions, nose, eyes, mouth, lids movement, neck movement, shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, chest and abdomen rotations, via a combination of cables connected to electronic apparatus and mechanical elements, according to the auction house.

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The June 1982 film, starring Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore about an alien who befriends a boy while stuck on Earth, received critical acclaim and was the top box office movie of that year.

RELATED: The Cast of E.T. Then and Now

During a recent union with her co-stars Thomas, Robert MacNaughton and Dee Wallace on The Drew Barrymore Show, the talk show host revealed that she thought her alien costar in E.T. (the model up for sale) was real when she starred in the Universal hit at 7 years old.

"I really loved him in such a profound way," she said of the model. "I would go and take lunch to him."

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Wallace shared that she noticed early on in production the young Barrymore talking E.T. even when the cameras were not rolling, and she mentioned how cute it was to director Spielberg. "And so Steven, from that time on, appointed two guys to keep E.T. alive so whenever you came over to talk to him, he could react to you," the actress lovingly recounted.

The "Icons and Idols: Hollywood" auction takes place Dec. 17-18 in Beverly Hills and online at julienslive.com.