Will Arnett’s pint-sized Caped Crusader is currently the talk of the town – and rightly so – but as The LEGO Batman Movie nears its February 10th release date, Warner Bros. is all set to shift the spotlight over to another corner in its animated universe.
Yes, the first trailer for The LEGO Ninjago Movie is in the can – it’ll run for two-and-a-half minutes and be with us by the end of the week, according to Trailer Track – and today brings forth a trio of new pictures to drum up excitement. We’ve already clocked eyes on the villainous Lord Garmadon (Justin Theroux), the operatic four-armed nemesis that will spend much of Warner’s spinoff terrorizing the citizens of the ninja-themed Ninjago island. Now, USA today has welcomed the film’s merry band of heroes into the limelight, starting with Jackie Chan’s wise old senpai, Master Wu. There’s also a peek at the ensemble of martial arts experts, which includes Kai (Michael Pena), Nya (Abbi Jacobson), Jay (Kumail Nanjiani), Lloyd (Dave Franco), Zane (Zach Woods) and Cole (Fred Armisen).
Dave Franco’s Llyod will anchor much of The LEGO Ninjago Movie. He’s the son of Lord Garmadon, and though the ol’ father-son dynamic has been explored countless times over on the big screen, Justin Theroux offered up some context to the film’s familial core.
“It’s about a son having to live with this father who’s a threat to Lego-manity (but) more about the son’s journey of forgiving him and learning to accept him for who he is. Ninjago is one of the most insane places in the universe. So much of it makes no sense. It feels like it came out of the mind of a kid rather than out of the minds of some people sitting in a writers’ room.”
Directed by Charlie Bean with assistance from filmmakers Bob Logan and Paul Fisher, The LEGO Ninjago Movie will be with us on September 22nd of this year. Further down the pipeline, Warner Bros. has also locked down plans for a sequel to Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s wildly successful LEGO Movie, which just recently appointed Trolls‘ Mike Mitchell to direct.
