A toy line that was supposed to retire in 2013 is now the subject of a major Hollywood development deal \u2014 and this evening at San Diego Comic-Con, LEGO is expected to tell millions of fans what comes next for the franchise that proved a toy company could become its own entertainment empire.<\/p>\n
The LEGO Group will host “LEGO NINJAGO Celebrates: 15 Years and Counting” at 5:15 PM ET (2:15 PM PDT) today in Room 6BCF of the San Diego Convention Center, in what is the sole dedicated LEGO panel at this year’s SDCC, as confirmed by the official convention schedule<\/a>. Running one hour, the event is billed as the only LEGO-specific panel at the 2026 convention<\/a>, a distinction that gives the franchise’s expected announcements added weight.<\/p>\n The panel is scheduled to include major announcements about the franchise’s future<\/a>, delivered by LEGO Entertainment executive producers Pamela Keller and Ryan Burns and Ninjago head of product Nigel Kong. Voice cast members Sam Vincent (Lloyd), Vincent Tong (Kai), Paul Dobson (Master Wu), Deven Mack (Arin), Sabrina Pitre (Sora), and Kazumi Evans (Wyldfyre) will take the stage alongside Dragons Rising head writers Kevin Burke and Chris “Doc” Wyatt, who will perform a staged reading of an all-new, exclusive canon scene written specifically for the event, according to the official SDCC listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n From a Three-Year Product Line to LEGO’s Longest-Running Original Franchise<\/p>\n Ninjago’s survival story begins with a planned death. When LEGO launched the theme in January 2011 \u2014 introducing Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane as teenage ninja trained by the wise Master Wu to battle the skeletal Skulkin army \u2014 it was internally classified as a “Big Bang” theme with an exit strategy that pointed to late 2013, when Legends of Chima was supposed to take its place, as LEGO’s own history page documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chima launched on schedule. Ninjago didn’t leave. Fan demand was strong enough that the exit strategy was revised, Chima underperformed, and Ninjago continued \u2014 season after season, villain faction after villain faction \u2014 until it had accumulated 15 seasons and 210 episodes<\/a> across its original run. TV Tropes confirms Ninjago is now LEGO’s longest-running uninterrupted theme<\/a> among its original-narrative toylines. The franchise has released more than 570 sets<\/a> across its lifespan, alongside video games, comics, and a 2017 theatrical film<\/a> produced with Warner Bros. Animation.<\/p>\n In 2023, the original series concluded and handed off to a sequel, Ninjago: Dragons Rising, which debuted on Netflix in June 2023<\/a> and reached its fourth season in April 2026. According to multiple sources covering the production, LEGO has confirmed Dragons Rising will run to five total seasons<\/a>, with Season 5 expected in 2027.<\/p>\n Why Ninjago’s Longevity Rewrote LEGO’s Hollywood Playbook<\/p>\n The business significance of Ninjago’s 15-year run goes beyond toy sales. When LEGO builds its licensed themes \u2014 Star Wars, Harry Potter, Marvel \u2014 it pays royalties to Disney, Warner Bros., and other IP holders for the right to use their characters and worlds. With Ninjago, the equation runs the other way.<\/p>\n In October 2024, Deadline reported<\/a> that brothers Kevin and Dan Hageman \u2014 the original writers of the Ninjago animated series through its ninth season \u2014 had been signed by Universal Pictures to script a new live-action Ninjago film. Jill Wilfert and Ryan Christians will produce for the LEGO Group, with Universal’s Matt Reilly and Jacqueline Garell overseeing for the studio, the same Deadline report confirmed<\/a>.<\/p>\n That deal positions LEGO as the licensor, not the licensee. Universal closed a five-year exclusive deal with LEGO for the development, production, and theatrical distribution of LEGO-based films. The franchise’s box office history under that arrangement<\/a> already exceeds $1 billion across LEGO-themed films. For the Ninjago film specifically, LEGO is the IP holder collecting fees and creative control \u2014 not paying them.<\/p>\n The Hageman brothers are returning to a universe they co-created through Season 9 (Hunted) before departing the animated series, as CBR documents<\/a>. That continuity of creative voice is not incidental; it’s one of the structural reasons the franchise built the kind of multi-generational fan loyalty that makes a live-action adaptation commercially viable in the first place.<\/p>\n This is also what separates Ninjago from other LEGO entertainment ventures. The brand’s earlier transmedia efforts \u2014 Bionicle (2001\u20132010) and its animated direct-to-video films \u2014 established that LEGO could build story-driven original IP. But Bionicle was discontinued in 2010<\/a> despite its success, citing low sales in its later years. Ninjago is the property that validated the full cycle: original IP \u2192 sustained animation \u2192 fan mythology \u2192 theatrical expansion \u2192 live-action Hollywood development. That cycle now appears to be repeating with the anime-style series that LEGO publishing partner Ameet has indicated is in development targeting an older audience, though LEGO has not officially confirmed details about that project.<\/p>\n What the SDCC Panel Is Expected To Reveal<\/p>\n Fan speculation ahead of the panel has centered on several known pipeline items, any of which could be confirmed by Keller, Burns, and Kong this evening.<\/p>\n The live-action film is the most consequential: while Deadline’s October 2024 report<\/a> confirmed the Hageman brothers’ involvement and Universal’s backing, the project has been in scripting development since then without a director announcement or release date. An SDCC panel with the franchise’s full executive and creative leadership present would be a natural venue for a production update \u2014 or a cast reveal.<\/p>\n Beyond the film, Brick Fanatics reports<\/a> that the franchise’s known pipeline includes a new comic, a fifth season of Dragons Rising, and the reported anime-style series. Season 5 of Dragons Rising is confirmed to be in production and is scheduled for 2027, according to franchise reporting, with voice actors including Vincent Tong already recording material<\/a>. The staged reading of a new canon scene by Burke and Wyatt signals that whatever is announced, the storytelling continuity between Dragons Rising and whatever follows it will be deliberate.<\/p>\n LEGO also has an established tradition of unveiling exclusive sets at SDCC, and a 15th-anniversary milestone is a natural brief for a collector-tier product reveal.<\/p>\n The Anniversary Set Already in Stores<\/p>\n The panel arrives with the flagship physical product of LEGO’s 15th-anniversary celebration already on shelves. Set 71861 \u2014 The Old Town 15th Anniversary \u2014 launched January 1, 2026, at $299.99 and contains 4,851 pieces<\/a> across four modular sections: a front gate, a post office and workshop, a three-story tower, and a lookout.<\/p>\n The four modules can be connected into a circular configuration measuring approximately 53 cm (about 21 inches) wide and 44 cm (about 17 inches) deep<\/a>, or rearranged into a linear display for collectors with narrower shelf space. The set includes 23 minifigures drawn from across the franchise’s history, among them all seven original ninja alongside collectible display figures of Young Wu, Young Garmadon, and \u2014 for the first time in minifigure form \u2014 the First Spinjitzu Master, the mythological progenitor of the entire Ninjago universe, as confirmed by the Ninjago Wiki<\/a>.<\/p>\n By piece count, The Old Town is the largest Ninjago set ever released outside of the NINJAGO City series<\/a>, surpassing the 2024 Tournament Temple City by more than 1,000 pieces. It is designed for builders aged 14 and up \u2014 a targeting decision that reflects the franchise’s multi-generational audience: the children who watched Season 1 on Cartoon Network in 2011 are now adults with both nostalgia and disposable income to match.<\/p>\n How Ninjago’s Transmedia Model Kept a Three-Year Plan Running for 15<\/p>\n The structural reason Ninjago survived its original exit strategy is a transmedia feedback loop that most toy franchises attempt but few sustain.<\/p>\n Each animated season introduces new characters, villains, vehicles, and locations specifically designed to visualize new toy configurations. The sets that follow are not generic play products \u2014 they are the exact machines, vehicles, and environments that appear on screen. Children who watch the series develop desire for the objects they’ve seen animated; the set sales fund the production budget for the next season; the next season introduces new set opportunities. This is the loop<\/a>.<\/p>\n The difference between Ninjago and earlier transmedia attempts like Bionicle is narrative continuity. Bionicle introduced a new storyline<\/a> and figure configuration nearly every year, requiring fans to buy into a new cosmology each cycle. Ninjago maintained a persistent world with the same core characters aging through it across 15 seasons and now into a sequel series.<\/p>\n The shift from Cartoon Network to Netflix for Dragons Rising in 2023 extended that loop globally. Where Cartoon Network’s reach was primarily US-based, Netflix’s subscriber base spans more than 190 countries, meaning new story seasons can now generate set demand in markets where the original broadcast series had minimal penetration.<\/p>\n The live-action film at Universal represents the loop’s maturation point: a franchise with enough cultural depth to sustain a Hollywood production, with enough owned IP to command a licensing fee from the studio rather than paying one to produce the sets.<\/p>\n Frequently Asked QuestionsIs a live-action Ninjago movie actually in development?<\/p>\n Yes. In October 2024, Deadline reported exclusively<\/a> that Universal Pictures has a live-action Ninjago film in scripting development, with Kevin and Dan Hageman \u2014 the original writers of the animated series \u2014 attached to write the screenplay. Jill Wilfert and Ryan Christians are producing for the LEGO Group. No director has been announced and no release date is confirmed. Today’s SDCC panel with LEGO Entertainment executive producers on stage is considered a likely venue for a production update.<\/p>\n Is Ninjago: Dragons Rising getting a Season 5?<\/p>\n