Key Takeaways
- Ninjago Legends: Duskfall, a set of three interconnected shorts totaling roughly nine minutes, premiered on Lego Group's YouTube channel on Saturday, Sept. 19, a day after a Seoul fan event.
- The three chapters, titled "The End Begins," "Terminus," and "Epilogue," were directed by David Cazeaux, Charles Lefebvre, and Hugo Cierzniak and animated by French studio La Chouette Compagnie.
- The story is set in the future of the Ninjaverse, with Nya questioning the endless cycle of conflict while Kai rushes to save the Elementals and defend Ninjago City alongside Cole against a colossal serpent.
- The shorts mark Ninjago's 15th anniversary and launch alongside three companion Lego sets. Franchise writer Glen Lakin says "Duskfall" is canon until future media contradicts it.
Lego is pushing Ninjago into the future in a series of new anime shorts.
Ninjago Legends: Duskfall, a set of three interconnected shorts running three minutes apiece, arrived on the Lego Group's official YouTube channel on Saturday (Sept. 19).
South Korean fans got the shorts a day earlier during a fan event screening in Seoul on Friday.
The three chapters are titled "The End Begins," "Terminus," and "Epilogue.” David Cazeaux and Charles Lefebvre directed the first two, with Hugo Cierzniak joining them on "Epilogue." French studio La Chouette Compagnie handled the animation.
Familiar voices carry the cast. Andrew Francis is back as Cole, joined by Kelly Metzger as Nya and Vincent Tong as Kai, who also voices an intercom operator.
Brian Drummond doubles as Diviner and Runt, and Adrian Petriw returns as Scott. Sabrina Pitre, who voices Sora in Ninjago: Dragons Rising, turns up as a reporter.
The story sits in the future of the Ninjaverse, and the shorts open on a Nya, who sounds exhausted by the job.
"We're not fighting demons or monsters anymore. It's people. Nations. They call us warriors. Protectors. Ninja. Drops of rain on a wildfire that only spreads. What if we're really just embers, sparking new conflict wherever we go? If the world is ever going to know peace, peace that lasts longer than the change of seasons, someone has to stop fanning the flames," she says.
Kai answers the stakes with less philosophy.
"Save the Elementals, I'm coming," he says, as Nya presses him with a request of her own: "Kai, if you make it out of this, promise me you'll walk away."
Lego's own description sets up the spectacle around elemental clashes and weapon attacks from Cole, the team’s defense of Ninjago City with an elemental dragon against a colossal serpent, and Kai and Nya holding the line in a mech showdown.
The shorts were built to mark 15 years of Ninjago, and three companion sets ship alongside them: 71870 The Twin Titan Mechs, 71871 Battle at the Dragon's Blade, and 71872 Ultra Dragon Battle. Franchise writer Glen Lakin has said "Duskfall" counts as canon to the main timeline until they decide to contradict it with future media.
