Olivia Munn & Justin Theroux become added pieces to the Lego Ninjago cast

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

2014 has to be one of my favorite years for film that I’ve personally ever experienced. There are many reasons why, but two big ones are 1.) Marvel proved they can do literally anything they want with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and 2.) A little movie called THE LEGO MOVIE showed that with a little ingenuity and wit you can turn a movie about talking yellow bricks into a film phenomenon. And of course, with any phenomenon comes sequels and spinoffs until the franchise itself is overcooked to a crisp which will make us all wonder what the hell happened. But until then, the LEGO film franchise is going well with plenty to look forward to.

The next of the LEGO films, THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE, will come out this February and it’s safe to say many are excited. But what many people forget is that there is a second LEGO-themed movie coming next year as well—THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE. According to a Warner Bros. press release (via Variety), there will be plenty to talk about now that we have the completed cast of names to go with those shiny, yellow faces.

NINJAGO’s voice cast has added Olivia Munn and Justin Theroux, who join the assembled cast of Jackie Chan, Dave Franco, Abbi Jacobson, Fred Armisen, Michael Peña, Kumail Nanjiani, and Zach Woods, who were all annonced late June. Along with all that, a plot summary was put out. Let’s have a read, shall we?

In this big-screen “Ninjago” adventure, the battle for Ninjago City calls to action young Lloyd (Franco), aka the Green Ninja, along with his friends, who are all secret warriors and Lego Master Builders. Led by kung fu master Wu, who’s as wise-cracking as he is wise, they must defeat evil warlord Garmadon (Theroux), 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.

Given how they are referring to the villain as “the Worst Guy Ever”, plus having a voice cast filled with funny people like Jacobson, Armisen and Nanjiani, it's safe to assume the filmmakers are probably aiming for the same sort of meta humor that LEGO MOVIE had, and that LEGO BATMAN will capitalize on as well. That’s all well and good of course, but I think with NINJAGO we are seeing a bit of a reach on the LEGO front. LEGO MOVIE was an unexpected hit, and LEGO BATMAN makes a little sense seeing as how he was a standout from the first flick. However, NINJAGO seems like the studio said, “Quick, what else do we have to make a movie out of?” I mean, I’m sure it’ll be a fun, yellow-filled romp so who cares? I suppose I'm on board with all this brick-fueled fun, until they decide to do a Duplo block crossover.

THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE is set for September 22, 2017 with Jackie Chan, Dave Franco, Olivia Munn, Zach Woods, Fred Armisen, Abbi Jacobson, Kumail Nanjiani, Justin Theroux, Michael Peña and will be directed by Charlie Bean (TRON: UPRISING).