Ever since The Lego Movie made Warner Bros a boatload of money, while also impressing critics by the score, the Lego cinematic universe has been slowly, but surely growing into a force to be reckoned with. The Lego Batman Movie will pave the way as the first spin-off when it releases next February, and if that wasn't enough, The Lego Ninjago Movie is set to continue the run up to The Lego Movie 2 with its subsequent play date next September. And what a play date it'll be, as a cast of some pretty impressive talent has just reported for duty.
In an official press release issued yesterday, The Lego Ninjago Movie unveiled not only a cast that ranges from legends like Jackie Chan to new-comers like Broad City's Abbi Jacobson, but also an official synopsis of the film's plot. What follows is the the basic jist of the film's story:
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.
Back to the matter of the cast to The Lego Ninjago Movie, Jackie Chan is a pretty big name to have in this film's voice cast. Not only is his action prowess well regarded, but his work in films such as the Kung Fu Panda series perfectly draws from his stunt filled days as an action hero. Meanwhile, Justin Theroux will be playing Garmadon's "Worst Guy Ever" to Dave Franco's Lloyd, pitting father and son against each other in the exciting world of building systems and martial arts. Rounding out the cast is Olivia Munn, as Floyd's mother, Koko; and the "undisciplined team of ninjas" voiced by Fred Armisen, Abbi Jacobson, Kumail Nanjiani. Michael Peña, and Zach Woods.
With all of the talent on display in The Lego Ninjago Movie, we're promised a fun, comedic romp that may just pull on our heartstrings as often as it makes us laugh. We have hope that the film itself holds up to the legacy that Phil Lord and Chris Miller's original surprise hit has laid down for all subsequent films to follow, especially considering what we've noticed about the film's story. Our first big sign that The Lego Ninjago Movie is off to a good start is the fact that it sounds to have inherited two major concepts from The Lego Movie that came before it.
First, the concept of "Master Builders," which originated in the 2014 animated blockbuster, recurs within the confines of this new film. Able to build anything needed to save the day, Master Builders are the folks that get the job done in the Lego-verse. While The Lego Batman Movie has a whole character to follow up with from The Lego Movie, it's a concept that connects that film to this second spin-off.
Second, and in an unsurprising manner, is the fact that the tongue-in-cheek humor of Lord and Miller definitely lives on in this new film, especially with a villain being named "the Worst Guy Ever" in the universe at play. Much like "Lord Business" being the villain for The Lego Movie, Garmadon's secondary name already has us laughing at the possibilities.
With a cast as impressive as the one assembled above, and a healthy sense of humor already on display, The Lego Ninjago Movie looks like it'll kick some serious block when it comes to town on September 22nd, 2017.
