The build-up to the 2023 installment of Ninjago has felt more coordinated this year with LEGO employing a marketing campaign to usher in the next era of their prosperous evergreen IP. After revealing the name, Dragons Rising, a poster, release date countdown, and teaser trailers, Netflix have announced they will be carrying Ninjago: Dragons Rising beginning June 1st, 2023 in the US.
You can find out when Ninjago: Dragons Rising premieres in your region on the official LEGO Ninjago countdown website.
When we last saw the Ninja in Crystalized in 2022, they had finally defeated the Overlord to conclude an 11-year arc that began with the pilot episode way back in 2011. To begin a third era in 2023 with Dragons Rising, new showrunners Chris Wyatt (Doc) and Kevin Burke took over after previously serving as Ninjago writers under Bragi Schut. And they’ve wasted no time shaking up the status quo.
Here’s the Netflix synopsis for Ninjago: Dragons Rising.
“In the series, many legendary realms have suddenly combined into one, but their union is unstable. A Spinjitzu Ninja Master must train a new generation of heroes to help find Elemental Dragons who can save the planet before the forces of evil use the same dragon energy to destroy this new world.”
In addition to the creative team reshaping the Ninjago landscape, animation studio Wildbrain have moved to Unreal Engine 5 for this new season, yielding a rich aesthetic that for some fans will take becoming accustomed to.
New hero characters such as Arin (Deven Mack) and Sora (Sabrina Pitre) will be introduced and seemingly train under Lloyd Garmadon if the teasers are any indication. New villains, and more non-human characters befitting a merging of the realms, are also on tap.
What has happened to Wu, Cole, Zane and Jay remains to be seen. Don’t fret just yet as they all appear at least once in the Ninjago: Dragons Rising LEGO sets expected to be unveiled on May 1st or shortly thereafter.
