Ninjago: Dragons Rising

Ninjago: Dragons Rising is an animated television series produced by WildBrain Studios and The Lego Group. It is based on the Lego Ninjago brand of construction toys and a sequel to Ninjago (2011–2022). Part 1 of the first season of the show premiered on Netflix on June 1, 2023. Part 2 was released on October 12, 2023. A second season released in 2024, with Part 1 released on April 4 and Part 2 is set to be released later in 2024.

Part 1
After Crystalized, a phenomenon known as "The Merge" combines Ninjago with the rest of the sixteen realms of creation, introducing new threats, and causing chaotic aftershocks called Mergequakes. Years later, Lloyd befriends two civilians: Arin and Sora, the former, a fan of the Ninja, and the latter, a technopath from the totalitarian kingdom of Imperium. The three are tasked with finding the rest of the scattered ninja and combating the Claws of Imperium, who covet dragons in order to drain their life force as a resource.

Part 2
The ninja, having successfully rescued the dragons trapped in Imperium, set out on a quest to find the three Dragon Cores, that can stop the Mergequakes. They split off into three teams: Lloyd and Arin; Nya and Sora; and Kai and Wyldfyre. Together, they search the Merged realms looking for the cores, coming across new elemental masters, Cole, and even new creatures. But Empress Beatrix manages to steal the Dragon Cores in order to power her weapon, so she can destroy the realms for good.

Part 1
Lloyd starts having visions of a blood moon, which leads him and the ninja to Egalt and Rontu, two dragon masters who can teach the ninja a special technique called "rising dragon technique", which can defeat Shatterspin, an ancient technique now used by the current elemental master of smoke, Cinder. Meanwhile, Ras and Jordana have acquired pieces needed to free the Forbidden Five from captivity. They just need Bonzle, a spell turned into a skeleton living in the Land of Lost Things.

Main

 * Deven Mack as Arin, a civilian who idolized the Ninja in his youth. He lost his parents after The Merge and somehow managed to teach himself Spinjitzu, an ability thought impossible. He also inadvertently invented Object Spinjitzu.
 * Sabrina Pitre as Sora, known in her past as Ana, a technological engineer originally from Imperium who gained recognition for creating a hard light hologram projection device called Photac. She defected from Imperium when she found out how cruelly they treated dragons, leading to her parents and classmates shunning her. After The Merge, she befriended Arin and lived in the Crossroads, becoming a mech racer. She discovers that she has technokinetic powers that were boosted in the presence of Riyu, until she unlocked her True Potential.
 * Sam Vincent as Lloyd Garmadon, the legendary Green Ninja and chosen guardian of Ninjago, and the son of Misako and the former supervillain Garmadon. He wields elemental energy and remains in Ninjago City to prevent Mergequakes and train Arin and Sora.
 * Brian Drummond as Riyu, a dragon said to have great power, and like his kin he's capable of boosting an individual's powers in close proximity.
 * Vincent Tong as Kai, Nya's brother and the hot-headed Master of Fire whom Lloyd tasked with surveying the Merged Realms to look for the rest of their teammates until he caught up with him and Nya in the Realm of Madness. During their hunt for the Dragon Cores, Kai decided to take Wyldfyre under his wing.
 * Kelly Metzger as Nya, Kai's sister and the Master of Water who lived with the Craglings of the Realm of Madness following the Merge, helping them prevent Dragons from stealing the Cragling's species' life energy. She later rejoined Lloyd, Kai, Zane, and Cole.
 * Brent Miller as Zane, the Ice Ninja who was kept in suspension for years after The Merge. He later rejoined Lloyd, Kai, Nya, and Cole.
 * Kazumi Evans as Wyldfyre, a feral pyrokinetic human who was raised with a dragon Heatwave as well as a caregiver robot. After Heatwave was captured by the Claws she sought to rescue him. She joins the Ninja in their search for the Dragon Cores, eventually becoming Kai's protégé.
 * Paul Dobson as Master Wu, the Ninja's mentor who has lived for thousands of years. He goes missing following the Merge but his teachings live on in Lloyd.
 * Andrew Francis as Cole, the Earth Ninja, who ended up in the Land of Lost Things helping those who ran away from home. Cole later rejoined Lloyd, Kai, Nya, and Zane.
 * Michael Adamthwaite as Jay, the Lightning Ninja, who ended up as one of the managers of the Administration after he lost his memories of who he was and his travels with the other ninja. However, he is shown to still possess his elemental power and that he doesn't want the Administration to know.
 * Bethany Brown as Euphrasia, a master of wind.
 * Peter Kelamis as Geo, a master of Fusion.

Villains

 * Brian Drummond as Ras, a black and purple colored tiger warrior who served on Imperium's military, aiding the Claws in capturing dragons until he was stripped of his position and escaped to recruit Jordana for his master. He's physically strong and wields a hammer.
 * Nicole Oliver as Beatrix, the former power-hungry empress of Imperium who orders the capture of as the seven Source Dragons in an effort to colonize the Merged Realms.
 * Diana Kaarina as Jordana, a scientist who claims to be Sora's rival. She managed to extract raw Source Dragon energy for Beatrix and Ras' master.
 * Ian Hanlin as Cinder, a master of smoke.

Minor

 * Giles Panton as Rapton, the field leader of the Claws of Imperium who traps many dragons then helps the Ninja.

The Elemental Mechs (2024)
A series of canonical shorts were released in 2024, to tie in with the release of the new sets that came out in the same year.

Return to the Wyldness (2024)
A second series of canonical shorts were released in 2024, set between parts 1 & 2 of season 2.

Development
The new series was produced following the final season of the Ninjago television series, which had been on air since 2011 and concluded in 2022. For the new series, animation company WildBrain Studios moved to Unreal Engine 5 to improve on the animation quality of its predecessor.

Writing
The lead writers for the series are Chris "Doc" Wyatt and Kevin Burke. Wyatt confirmed on Twitter that Ninjago: Dragons Rising is a new show, rather than a continuation of the previous Ninjago series, which had been on air for 11 years.

Release
The series was initially revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. It was released on Netflix on 1 June 2023 in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Latin America, and in other territories later in the same month or the next except for the UK, where it was released on ITVX on 5 June 2023. It was later aired on Cartoon Network in Southeast Asia and Europe.

Reception
The Hollywood Reporter gave the first season a positive review, saying that it looked just as good as the previous Ninjago series.

Other media
Several playable characters and a new level based on the series were launched in Lego Brawls in June 2023.