Lego Ninjago (, nin-JAH-goh) is a Lego theme that was created in 2011 and a flagship brand of The Lego Group. It is the first theme to be based on ninjas since the discontinuation of the Lego Ninja theme in 2000. It was produced to coincide with the animated television series Ninjago, which was superseded in 2023 by a new series titled Ninjago: Dragons Rising.
The theme focused on a group of six teenage ninjas, led by the legendary Green Ninja, Lloyd Garmadon. The ninja characters are "Elemental Masters", which means that they each possess elemental powers. They are also trained in the fictional martial art of "Spinjitzu" by their ancient and wise teacher, Master Wu, giving them the ability to fight against the forces of evil. In 2023, new characters were introduced for the replacement/continuation series.
Lego Ninjago enjoyed phenomenal popularity and success in its first year, and a further two years were commissioned before a planned discontinuation in 2013. However, after a brief break, the line was continued after feedback from fans and has been in production ever since. The Lego Group developed the theme into a media franchise aimed primarily at young and pre-teenage boys, which has produced books, video games and theme park attractions. The popularity of the TV series and the toy line resulted in the production of The Lego Ninjago Movie, released in 2017, which was the third film in The Lego Movie franchise. A live-action film based on Ninjago is in development. On January 14, 2026, the Ninjago theme celebrated its fifteenth anniversary, making it one of The Lego Group's longest-running and most successful original themes.
Overview
The main focus of the line is the formation and consequent exploits and trials of a group of teenage ninja, battling against the various forces of evil. The theme originally introduced five main characters with an original storyline set in a fictional world that fused the ninja theme with dragons, modern vehicles and futuristic mech-robots. In the theme's storyline, the ninja characters are trained in the art of "Spinjitzu" a fictional martial art that allows them to fight their opponents. The storyline is set within the fictional world of Ninjago, a place inspired by East Asian culture. Simon Lucas, Senior Creative Director, commented, "With Lego Ninjago, we took inspiration from a Japanese starting point, but it developed into something of a massive mashup of cultures, not just one particular culture."
Concept and creation
Background
The origin of the Ninjago theme lies in the earlier Lego Ninja theme, which was released in 1998. This theme was based on feudal Japan and featured ninjas, fortresses, catapults and horses. It originated in the Lego Castle theme that had been in existence since 1978. In 2000, Lego Ninja was replaced by Knights' Kingdom. These themes eventually resulted in the introduction of the Ninjago theme, which included some of the original concepts of the Ninja theme, such as the dragons and fortresses, but also introduced modern day elements.
Research
The focus on ninja was also the direct result of ethnographic research of children's interests. The Ninjago product development team in Fort Lee, New Jersey spent several days monitoring groups of eight to ten-year-old boys to gauge their reactions to various concepts and storyboards, including ninjas, underwater adventures and futuristic cities. The chosen concept then went through several rounds of testing to refine the final product in order to produce a successful line. This rigorous testing and development resulted in the Ninjago line being delayed by a year. Cerim Manovi, Senior Design Manager for the theme stated, "Ninjas crystallised themselves because we were, like: 'What’s the greatest hero entry point?' We showed them superheroes, everything – but ninjas just grabbed kids right there."
During the development process, the Ninjago team took a trip to the Ninja Museum of Igaryu, located four hours to the west of Tokyo, Japan in order to get inspiration for the theme. This allowed the designers to gather historic details from the 15th century ninja building, whilst also developing ideas about how to give these historic elements a contemporary appeal.
Story concept
The initial story concept for the theme originated in a rough sketch created by Tommy Andreasen on a Friday evening in 2009. The sketch depicted several elemental ninja and the word "Spinjago". This idea was later developed into the fictional martial art of "Spinjitzu", which was a combination of the words "spin" and "ninjitsu". The development team later used this as the basis for the minifigure spinner action toys. The rough sketch was sent to an artist in Canada called Craig Sellars who created an internal concept image of the characters over the weekend.
The Ninjago theme then employed the use of an original story that would appeal to young teenage boys, by creating a cast of characters that focused on a group of ninja heroes and a wide variety of villains. Senior Creative Manager, Tommy Andreasen commented, "It wasn't until we started developing a fantasy theme that we saw it actually can become a building toy as well. So you can put a ninja on a dragon - the kids found that appealing and very natural. But figuring out the enemies of the ninja was more of a challenge and we tested a lot of things there".
Character and universe development
The ninja characters were given different coloured costumes and unique elemental powers, which gave them distinctive personalities. The team also came up with the concept of "Spinjitzu", which was the main fighting method in the show. Andreasen commented, "we wanted to make sure that it was something that would look great on TV, lightning coming out of tornadoes and stuff like that. The toy representation of that was the spinner". The fantasy element was later combined with the introduction of advanced technology into the Ninjago universe. Although the original intention was to remain true to the historical setting, the Ninjago team decided that technology could be introduced without having a detrimental effect on the characters.
The introduction of skeletons as the main villains in the storyline was also the result of research with children. The children in the research groups were given the choice of six options, including monkeys, skeletons, robots and lizard people. The overwhelming preference was for skeletons, which the children considered to be "real" fantasy villains. Andreasen recalled, "As it turned out, if you took the fantasy to where they were battling skeletons, that made total sense for the kids. We could push it one step further - it's fine that these skeletons have these skeleton themed monster trucks and stuff like that. At that point, you could really start to see a product assortment".
Writers Dan and Kevin Hageman came up with the initial idea for the ninjas' distinctive flying base, The Destiny's Bounty. Their idea was that it would be a "windmill that turned into a helicopter and flew around". However, the idea to use a junk ship for the ninja base was suggested by Tommy Andreasen. The vessel has changed design over time both in the series and in toy form. Design Manager Michael Svane Knap commented, "One of the approaches that we have is that you need to try and boil it down to what makes an icon. What is the detail that means this is the Bounty? We are not confined in the same way as Star Wars, where it needs to be a Millennium Falcon that can only look one way."
Branding
The brand name "Ninjago" is a combination the words "ninja" and "Lego". Andreasen noted that this fell into place naturally, saying "It's universally recognised, it works in any language and it has a good dynamic to it. It's short and to the point. We added Masters of Spinjitzu to it just for flavor".
Fictional language
The Lego Ninjago universe incorporates a fictional written language that has been displayed on numerous occasions in both the Ninjago television series and in the Lego Ninjago construction sets. The written language uses a unique alphabet of symbols that resemble the visual style of Chinese characters. The characters can be deciphered to translate the words that are commonly displayed on signs and advertisements in the Ninjago universe. With the release of The Lego Ninjago Movie, a Ninjago Language Translator was released to accompany the film. In April 2020, the lead writer of the Ninjago television series, Bragi Schut stated on Twitter that the language is called "Ninjargon".
Launch and success
Lego Ninjago was developed as a Big Bang project with a goal to double the sales of the previous Big Bang product line, Lego Atlantis. The design team set a target for the Ninjago line to deliver 10% of the company's total revenue. This was particularly ambitious, as no Lego theme had ever achieved this target, not even the successful Bionicle theme. By late April 2009, a full range of Ninjago products had been defined, which totalled 17 sets in the first year of its release. Alongside the Lego Ninjago product line, a variety of other media was created, including a Ninjago board game for Lego Games, a themed world for Lego Universe, a video game with TT Games that launched in April 2011, and the development of the animated Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu TV series that launched in January 2011. The launch of the TV show and the overwhelming popularity of the theme resulted in a 20% increase in sales in the first quarter of 2011, with the Ninjago line making the highest single-year sales for any Lego original product line in the company's history.
With its initial launch in early 2011, the Ninjago line was intended to continue for a limited run of three years. However, the strong sales performance of the line combined with the company's increased engagement with online communities resulted in The Lego Group reversing this decision. The company had begun to use online forums, such as Lego Cuusoo, to engage with fans and obtain customer feedback relating to its product range. The Ninjago brand was consequently extended past the end of 2013 and has been in production ever since.
In February 2021, Design Manager Michael Svane Knap commented on the ongoing appeal of the theme by stating, "When Lego Ninjago was originally created more than 10 years ago, it was as much luck as it was skill that made us get to where we are today. Everyone involved back then was quite new and inexperienced with creating a franchise. However, everyone involved pushed 110% to make it work and really brought their A-game. Throughout the years, the Ninjago theme has managed to stay relevant with its changing stories. It's kept kids engaged in the universe… The changing story has allowed us to bring variety to the team. We've taken the ninja through everything from battling snakes, robots, sky-pirates, biker gangs and samurai."
Television series
From its launch, the Lego Ninjago product line was based on the animated Ninjago television series (originally titled Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu). The series was created by Michael Hegner and Tommy Andreasen. Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu was animated in Denmark by Wil Film ApS for the first ten seasons. The production was relocated to WildBrain Studios in Canada for the eleventh season and the series was retitled Ninjago. Regular seasons of the show were released each year from 2011 to 2022, along with one pilot season and one extended special. In 2022, a new series for the brand was announced at San Diego Comic-Con. The new series titled Ninjago: Dragons Rising was revealed in a campaign to find and merge five scattered poster fragments. It was released on 1 June 2023 on Netflix.
The series and the product line were created to coexist, with the storyline and products running alongside one another. This close connection is created out of a collaboration between product designers and storywriters. Design Manager Michael Svane Knap has elaborated on this by stating, "The product is important to us, but it's as important that we tell an engaging story from the beginning. We start developing with a lot of concept boards, so we know where we want to go...Often the writers also come up with new characters or new plot developments that we can then integrate into the products where possible. Both story and product are really tight together".
Main characters
Original Ninjago characters
The original characters within the Ninjago television series were a team of six teenage ninja who are "Elemental Masters" and trained in the art of Spinjitzu by their teacher, Master Wu.
- Lloyd Garmadon – The legendary Green Ninja, Elemental Master of Life and the son of Lord Garmadon and Misako.
- Kai – The red ninja, Elemental Master of Fire and older brother of Nya.
- Jay Walker – The blue ninja, Elemental Master of Lightning and boyfriend of Nya.
- Zane Julien – The white/titanium ninja, Elemental Master of Ice, "nindroid" (android) and boyfriend of P.I.X.A.L.
- Cole – The black ninja and Elemental Master of Earth.
- Nya – The grey/blue ninja, Elemental Master of Water, former Samurai X, younger sister of Kai and girlfriend of Jay.
- Lord Garmadon – The Master of Destruction, older brother of Master Wu and father to Lloyd.
- Master Wu – The Master of Creation, wise sensei of the Ninja and younger brother of Lord Garmadon.
Ninjago: Dragons Rising characters
In 2023, the Ninjago: Dragons Rising series came out and introduced new main characters.