Three years ago, Phil Lord and Chris Miller constructed a genuinely heartfelt romp in The LEGO Movie, which went on to become something of an animated gold mine for Warner Bros. after raking in close to half a billion dollars at the international box office. And so, the sleeper hit went on to become a bona fide franchise-starter, leading WB to draft up plans for a direct sequel and two star-studded spinoffs in the form of The LEGO Batman Movie and The LEGO Ninjago Movie.
Out of the two, it is the former – and Will Arnett’s Caped Crusader – that will swoop into theaters first on Friday, February 10th (our review), but with a late September release in place for LEGO Ninjago, Warner has today unveiled our first sneak peek at Charlie Bean’s ninja-themed spinoff in motion as promised. Featuring Jackie Chan as the wise-cracking and suitably wise Master Wu, here we see Chan’s sage issue a call to arms, rallying together a team of LEGO Master Builders comprised of Kai (Michael Pena), Nya (Abbi Jacobson), Jay (Kumail Nanjiani), Lloyd (Dave Franco), Zane (Zach Woods) and Cole (Fred Armisen). Out of the ensemble, it is Dave Franco’s Lloyd who will go up against his old man, the villainous Lord Garmadon (AKA Worst Guy Ever) as voiced by Justin Theroux.
The LEGO Ninjago Movie is earmarked for September 22nd and will be followed by a direct sequel to The LEGO Movie. Trolls director Mike Mitchell will steer that one into theaters in 2019. Check back to We Got This Covered tomorrow, February 8th, when we’ll have coverage of the film’s full trailer.
“In this big-screen Ninjago adventure, the battle for Ninjago City calls to action young Lloyd, aka the Green Ninja, along with his friends, who are all secret warriors and LEGO Master Builders. Led by kung fu master Wu, as wise-cracking as he is wise, they must defeat evil warlord Garmadon, the Worst Guy Ever, who also happens to be Lloyd’s dad. Pitting mech against mech and father against son, the epic showdown will test this fierce but undisciplined team of modern-day ninjas who must learn to check their egos and pull together to unleash their true power.”
