Characters from live-action films are the hardest to put on a shirt legally, because the character is also an actor. Printing a recognisable face requires rights to the actor's likeness as well as the film, and those rights cost more and expire. The result is that most licensed apparel for film icons avoids the face altogether and uses something else the film made famous: a title treatment, a prop, a vehicle or a creature.

That is why a DeLorean, a proton pack, a fedora and whip, or a fin cutting the water can stand in for an entire film. Original poster art is the other common route, reproduced as it appeared on release, and it tends to be the most distinctive design available for any given title.

What to look for

Prop, vehicle and logo designs are the norm here. A shirt with a detailed actor's face on it deserves a closer look at who made it.
Original theatrical poster designs are usually the best-looking option for a single film, and they print well on black.
Creature characters — sharks, dinosaurs, xenomorphs, kaiju — carry no likeness rights, which is why they have the widest ranges.
Many of these films are rated R. Kids' sizes are sometimes manufactured anyway; that does not change the film's rating.

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