As we discussed yesterday (see: 2017 San Diego Comic-Con LEGO News), one of the most significant events of the year that is relevant to LEGO fans took place this past weekend. While we covered pretty much all of the LEGO-related news in the previous article, I thought it would be best to talk about the next season of the LEGO Ninjago TV show separately. 🙂
On the last day of the San Diego Comic-Con, the team behind the LEGO Ninjago TV show revealed some important details about LEGO Ninjago Season 8, scheduled to air on Cartoon Network sometime early next year. First of all, the title is going to be LEGO Ninjago Season 8: Sons of Garmadon. The unfinished opening scene from the first episode of the season was also shared, although there is no sound. LEGO also posted the clip on their YouTube channel, which I have included below.
As you can see, there is a celebration going on in Ninjago City, and taking advantage of the commotion, a gang of masked characters who look like Power Rangers break into a museum to steal a mask. Lloyd intercepts them, however the mysterious thieves disappear with the stolen mask.
We can assume that the masked characters are the ones called Sons of Garmadon, although this is not yet confirmed. Whether they are really the biological sons of Garmadon, or just a group of gangsters who call themselves such, is yet to be seen, and it’s also entirely possible that the Sons of Garmadon refer to completely different characters. In other words, there is plenty to talk and speculate about! 😀
While there is no sound for the sneak peek, you will likely notice immediately that Lloyd looks very much like in The LEGO Ninjago Movie, instead of his previous TV show version. This greatly concerned fans of the original TV show, and there have been rumors that the story writers are trying to merge together the LEGO Ninjago TV show and The LEGO Ninjago Movie universe. The backlash got so strong that showrunner Tommy Andreasen (who also participated in the San Diego Comic-Con discussion panel) tweeted a detailed response, which I have copied below (with slight grammatical corrections).
Hi All! Thank you all for your responses to our Season 8 sneak peek, revealed at San Diego Comic-Con. Some of you have asked some questions or expressed concerns, so here is a response, which hopefully will address most of them.
Season 8 of Ninjago is scheduled to come out in 2018. Though it may not be evident from the opening scene revealed at Comic-Con, it is indeed the continuation of the TV series story line. It has been specifically written with a keen eye on what longtime fans of the series have expressed a desire to know more about.
One of Ninjago’s key strengths has always been its ability to change. We want each season to feel unique, and the show has a long history of twisting plots, structure, and taking daring chances.
Several characters like Zane and Cole has had major updates during the series’ long run. Usually, these changes happen within the episodes. This time, however, since time has passed since The Hands of Time, the changes are simply there. While they may raise questions as you first encounter them, most of these changes will be touched upon in the episodes. The most notable change you have already seen is with Lloyd. The other Ninja, though they may have some adjustments, will be using the original face rigs from the series and be voiced by the original voice cast. So be rest assured that these are in fact the characters you know and love. Strengths, flaws, relationships, back stories and all. Season 8 is still quite a way away, so we will not reveal any other specifics for a while.
Most other things about Ninjago are business as usual:
- The storyline is written by Kevin and Dan Hageman, who are also executive producers.
- The season is produced by Wil Film.
- Peter Hauser is lead director, and Louise Barkholt producer.
- It will be scored by Michael Kramer and Jay Vincent.
- Designs are overseen by Simon Lucas and his team.
- Vicky Kjaer Jensen, Tommy Kalmar and I are there helping out on the production and provide concept, creative and continuity sparring.
In short, the new season(s) are being developed by the original creators and longtime participants, who also happen to be some of the biggest Ninjago fans in the world.
One thing that has changed is that Wil Film made changes to their production pipeline, which allows for even better visuals and special effects. Though it is still early in production, we can honestly say that this will be the best-looking Ninjago season you have ever seen on TV.
I hope this helps to answer some of your questions/concerns. In the wise words of good old Wu (shamelessly copied after the great Bruce Lee): “Be water! Change can be good.”
So, as you can see, there are clearly going to be changes, however it is not with the intention to shortchange fans of the LEGO Ninjago TV show, and the two universes are still separate. Allen from TheBrickFan, who participated in the discussion panel at Comic-Con, also shared some additional insights. He states that during the discussion it was revealed that LEGO Ninjago Season 8 is going to be a bit more mature to reflect the growing up of Ninjago fans themselves. Lloyd is getting a new voice artist (Sam Vincent) to show that he is now a little older, and he is going to be the main character of the season. And, of course, there will be new enemies, and new supporting characters, as well as separate product lines for the TV show and the movie. You can read more at TheBrickFan: LEGO Ninjago SDCC 2017 Panel Recap
What do you think? How did you like the LEGO Ninjago Season 8 sneak peek? Did you notice any interesting details or Easter eggs? And what do you think about the new look of Lloyd? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉
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Wow! All this Ninjago news! I’m excited! Those guys definitely look like Power Rangers. I guess they are just wearing heavily printed regular helmets with vizors? I hope they will become minifigs because they are really cool. I don’t mind Lloyds new look at all. It makes sense that he is growing up. But why the bright green eyes?
Yes, they look like the headgear are just motorcycle helmets with visors. They appear to be main characters, so we will likely see them in minifig form. Lloyd’s new look is definitely creating some controversies. 🙄
I wonder who’s mask that is. It looks awesome. I like the trailer so far. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind at all if they would blend the tv show and the movie stories. The tv show changes in every season anyway, so I don’t see why they couldn’t come up with an arching story between the two realms.
It’s possible that LEGO had the intention to merge the TV show and the movie, but they are also paying attention to what fans want, and it seems like at this point most of them are against it. We shall see… 🙄
Yes!!! Can’t wait!!! I’m thinking it’s probably just a gang using Garmadon’s name and not his real sons, because nowhere in the previous episodes did it say that Garmadon might have more kids. We would have probably known that by now, or at least had a hint.
Makes sense to me. Although Ninjago has gone through some interesting twists and turns in the past, and we can never know what happens next. Which is what keeps the seasons exciting. 😀
Surprising that they released the video so unfinished. Especially since it’s not even the trailer, but the opening cut from the episode itself. But I guess they were excited and couldn’t wait to share. I could see some nice sets coming out of this season.
I think this was originally intended for Comic-Con only, but since so many people took shaky videos of it at the event, I guess LEGO decided to just release the footage to a wider audience.
I am all for it. It is going to be interesting. I’m curious to see what kinda bad guys are going to be this time . I am also wondering if it’s going to continue where the the movie ends? So much mystery and so little patients.
At least at this point it appears that the masked ninja are the badguys, but you never know. In the response I included in the post above it appears that some time passed between the last season and the current season, which is also indicated by Lloyd being older. And then they will fill in the blanks with probably some back stories that will tie the previous season and this season together. At least that’s how I read it.
As requested, I have withheld my rant – er, thoughts, for today. 🙂
First, this video has good quality picture and audio, though it might get taken down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaTdOBZ_vSk
I for one am not a fan of the character changes, even though the new season’s story looks to be interesting. The Power Ranger people (whose decorated masks seem to be part of the celebration) break into Cyrus Borg’s private museum at the top of Borg Tower, I think, but that kabuki mask is still rather poorly hidden, in my opinion.
“Since time has passed since The Hands of Time…” I was correct yesterday, then, about a time gap between Hands of Time and Season 8. I can understand the case for updating the characters, then, but why just make Lloyd look as he does in the Movie? He’s the same age there as in the show, and aging does not (to my knowledge) change eye colors. Thus, the green eyes are not excused by the time gap – they are merely merging Lloyd from the Movie with the show, which I don’t like but can live with, as well as Lloyd’s new voice. However, Allen on theBrickfan said: “The hero ninjas will look somewhat similar to the ones in the movie because they want to make the link between the show and movie easier for newer fans.” Do Not Want! I detest the look of all the Ninja (save Nya) in the Movie, and I do not want the show Ninja being altered. If they’re catering the show to the older fans, why would they worry about new ones? 😕
Also, I note the style of Spinjitzu has changed, or at least the style of starting it, and the symbols used on the Ninjago Movie sets appear several times throughout the sneak peek. So, overall, the season looks good, but I’m not entirely happy with the influences the Movie is having on it.
Lots of good thoughts. Thanks for sharing. My guess is that Lloyd’s green eyes will be explained, but you are right that he is basically the same as in the Movie version. BTW, as a side-note, people’s eyes can change with age. I had dark-brown eyes all through my childhood, and they started to turn hazel when I was in high school. I had to change my eye color on all of my IDs. 😀
I hope they are not changing the other ninja, because their hairpieces and facial features are pretty weird! And while I like the younger version of Lloyd’s mom as a minifig, I hope they are keeping the older one for the TV show. Interesting notice about the Spinjitzu style. I thought it looked kind of odd, but maybe there is an explanation for that also.
With all these differences and changes that they have added, new Ninjago fans are going to be even more confused than they would have been if LEGO kept the TV show and the movie completely separate. Now it’s a mismatch of some things becoming the same (i.e. Lloyd), and some things are completely different (i.e. Misako). 🙄
I didn’t know people’s eyes changed color with age; that is interesting. Perhaps that’s how they will explain Lloyd’s green eyes. If I’m honest, I really dislike his green eyes in the show form: they blend with his suit, and almost make him look less human, in the same way Zane’s blue eyes show he’s a robot.
I think they have to keep the older Misako in the show, so hopefully she doesn’t receive any changes. Also, here’s a question: in the show, Misako is old, which puts her in the same age group as Wu and Garmadon, but if in the Movie she is young, is Garmadon young as well, meaning that Wu and Garmadon aren’t brothers? 😕
If there is Spinjitzu in the Movie (it’s been mentioned in the trailer), it might take the form seen in the sneak peek, suggesting that they altered more in the show than just people to match the Movie.
You make a good point about the show becoming mismatched. People who go from the Movie to Season 8 would be confused by the differences anyways, so why make Season 8 different from the previous seasons and confuse people more? If they left the show and movie entirely separate, new fans could go back and watch the whole series from the beginning, resulting in less confusion. A hybrid form of Ninjago doesn’t really help either group of fans. I’m annoyed they’re taking this route, but honestly I’m not surprised.
Exactly! They could just have kept things completely separate and all would be good, or have the movie stay faithful to the TV show and just basically make it into a big episode. I haven’t even thought about all the other issues young Misako is creating! So far I was only focusing on Lloyd having a really young looking mom. But you are right, her age also confuses the age of Garmadon and Wu! What a mess! This reminds me of how after the first Star Wars movie they started making changes and alterations to fit the later movies. Some were okay, most was really forced, and Star Wars fans still haven’t recovered from the shock. No good things come out of messing with the past! 🙄
This whole Movie/show relationship reminds me of recent events regarding Minecraft. The Pocket Edition and two console editions are merging into a new, blended version of the game, while the PC (the original version) and other consoles are left as their own separate versions. As with Ninjago Season 8, I don’t like the changes being made.
I was thinking about how Ninjago is becoming more “mature,” and I wonder what age they’re going for with that term. If it’s teenagers, I hope that doesn’t mean there will be less silly humor, and the show will have a more serious tone.
As a side note, the symbols used on several Ninjago Movie sets have also been worked into the show: they appear throughout the sneak peek, including on Lloyd’s car’s display (which reads “ready” and “active”). That at least is interesting to me, and I wonder if the symbols will have references….
Hm… I guess changes like these are inevitable when the original creators had no idea how popular something is going to be, and how much longer they will have to stretch out the story/develop characters/etc. I won’t worry about Ninjago’s humor. LEGO designers/story-writers are very good at keeping everything they do humorous, and they are adults! Plus, kids in their mid to late teens (where original Ninjago fans should be right now), are still full of plenty of silliness. 😀
Forgot to mention, that yes, those symbols are interesting, and provide plenty of interesting Easter eggs. 🙂
Most of this looks good, I really like how they are expanding and improving upon the characters, story, and animation. In my opinion, Lloyd’s new hair actually looks good, but my only concern is the other members of the ninja team, since all of the other ninja in the Lego Ninjago Movie have extremely over-the-top hairstyles that make me feel sick. I just really hope that the movie hairdos don’t become the new look for ALL the other ninja in this upcoming season…
I don’t like this at all. They are changing Lloyd so much! Lloyd has always been my favorite character. I sincerely hope that Lego doesn’t invent someone special for Lloyd. And that Lloyd is not the character who dies (new Lloyd or older Lloyd).
I wrote an essay-like thing on my dislike of Season 8: Sons of Garmadon. It was about four pages. The one I wrote on the LNM was even longer. I CAN’T STAND WHAT THEY’RE DOING TO LLOYD!!
Seliel, thanks for sharing. Yeah, changes can be hard to take. Would you like to share your essay? 🙂
Hmm..I don’t know what to think..
I am very excited about the fact that there is going to be a new season of Ninjago !! But there have been done too many changes. My favourite character is Cole , but his new look is so unsuitable for him. I liked the old Cole , the one I started to love from the 1st season becouse I grew up with him as he was.. I don’t like his hair and I don’t like his eyebrows! Why people ? Why ? At least keep one of them because changing both of them is too much !
Also I cannot tell more about Kai bcs I couldn’t see his face, but I don’t like how the other characters will look like.
For example Zane was prettier before !! His hair and eyebrows have changed and made them look like somebody else. However I like the fact that he can turn from nindroid to lego person , that is cool.
Moreover , Jay is ok, somehow His attitude remains the same, his hair is cool this way and I like the fact that he now has freckles , BUT I would have liked to keep his eyebrows , they were a part of his style..
Moving on to Lloyd, I think he looks great. One single thing…HIS EYEBROWS! Why do they have to change the eyebrows? Lloyd had perfect eyebrows that I admired from season 5 when Morro controlled him and he was so irresistibly cuuute!! The black ones were better than the brown ones.
All in all , but I like how Nya will look like , I think this style suits her better !!
Soo…to sum-up: DO NOT CHANGE THE EYEBROWS CUZ IT AFFECTS THE WHOLE DESIGN ! And please bring Cole’s hair back ! 😂
Bring Krux and Acronix back and make them pay for what they did ! Nobody should mess with time ! 😂😂
But seriously now, the producer should have thought more about the old fans that supported them from the bottom, than the new fans that were introduced by the movie … I do hope that they will do sth about this because we love these guys and we will continue to watch the series, but maybe, maybe they could do some adjustments (again) and do somehow to turn them as they were ?
Anyway, will see what will happen in season 8 which appears to be amazing !
Yeah, a lot of original Ninjago fans are not happy about the changes done to the characters. I agree that the new style suits Nya well, but the changes done to the boys are not very good. And yes, eyebrows can make a big difference in how a person looks. They were definitely cuter before. I also hope that LEGO designers are listening, but I wouldn’t hold my breath…