A teaser for this season was released on the Portuguese channel SIC K on March 3, 2022, but was deleted soon after. The account associated with them on Instagram confirmed that this season will be premiering June 2022 in Portugal.[1][2][3]
The official teaser was released on YouTube on April 29, 2022, with another teaser released the following week, on May 4. They were followed up by a third teaser the week after, on May 10 and another on May 13, and then a fifth one on May 17. The official trailer was released on May 20, 2022.
The first twelve episodes were released on LEGO's YouTube channel on May 20, 2022, though they became unavailable on May 23, 2022.
Can you rise to the challenge? Level up your skills on NINJAGO.com and tune into the upcoming season to learn more about these mysterious crystals.[4]
Teaser:The ninja are back for another season with brand new adventures in NINJAGO®: Crystalized! This time they have been locked up in Kryptarium Prison where they are surrounded by some of their old enemies.
Here they learn a mysterious Crystal King is recruiting a council of evil enemies. To find out the identity of this new enemy, they escape from prison and become fugitives.
Who is the Crystal King? Why is he gathering a powerful counsel? Get ready for another action-packed mission with the ninja![5]
Ninja on the run:The chase is on in a new season of NINJAGO® Crystalized!
The ninja are on the run and desperate to remain free to save NINJAGO® City! But who is chasing them? And can the ninja remain out of their clutches? Get ready to find out![6]
Vengestone Mystery: In the new season of NINJAGO Crystalized someone is moving large amounts of dangerous vengestone across the city. The ninja are on the case and their investigation brings them to an abandoned subway line but it seems to be a dead end – or is it?[7]
Ninja Vehicles: The ninja take to the road and the air for a secret mission in the new season of NINJAGO Crystalized.
The crew are really hyped about their awesome new rides that even have special paint to avoid identification. What is the mission? And can Cole, Zane and the rest of the crew remain undetected in these superfast vehicles?[8]
An invitation for revenge:In the new season of NINJAGO: Crystalized, mysterious crystal spiders break into Kryptarium Prison at night. What are they up to and who sent them?[9]
Trailer:Get ready for a wild adventure with a new season of NINJAGO Crystalized. Mysterious things are happening around Ninjago City but the ninja are determined to save it. The shadowy and mysterious Crystal King is creating a council, but why? The ninja must find out what is going on in NINJAGO city.
Ninja vs. The Mechanic: The ninja's hunt for the Mechanic leads them to a dangerous subway tunnel where a fight breaks out.
However, Season 11 was split into two chapters, the Fire Chapter and the Ice Chapter, each being 15 episodes, making Season 15 the first season with a single chapter to be 30 episodes long.
On April 29, 2020, he jokingly responded to one of Brent Miller's tweets by implying that Bragi Schut should make Zane say the word "rural" in a future script.[12]
On July 8, 2020, he stated that the next month they would be beginning the "2022 story work shop," implying that installments for 2022 were in planning stages.[13]
On January 14, 2021, Ninjago's 10th anniversary, he said that they had received the render of the last episode of 2021 from WildBrain, and had done the first voice record for the 2022 episodes the day before.[14]
On January 20, 2021, he stated, "I have just read the funniest Ninjago script ever! My laughter fills the night - Haaa - Haaa! The rest of you will have to wait until 2022. Sorry!"[15]
This statement seems to be a play on Fugi-Dove's signature line, "My cry fills the night!"
A new actor will join the cast, playing a new character, who is "easily one of the weirdest and wonderful ones we have ever come up with."[16]
On February 21, 2021, months before the announcement of Cole's recast,[17] when asked if the character would be retired due to Kirby Morrow's unexpected passing, he stated, "We considered every possibility and it was not a task we took lightly … I believe we have made the right call and done what our storyline and the circumstances demanded we should do to honor Kirby best."[18]
When asked to describe this season in one word, he replied, "Conclusion."[19]
When asked to describe this season in one long sentence, he replied, "A massive secret which won't be spoiled on Twitter."[20]
He promised Vincent Tong, voice of Kai, "much love and romance in the year to come."[21]
In early May 2021, he said that the crew was "almost done writing and getting pretty far into production."[22]
He predicts this installment "will be the biggest and most ambitious Ninjago chapter yet."[23]
The description for The Book of Elemental Powers states that a 2021 season would cover "the last elemental power." However, no new Elemental Power appeared in The Island or Seabound, and Tommy Andreasen confirmed this "last elemental power" is still unknown, meaning it will most likely appear in this season or later.[24]
He said "Shhhh!" when a fan asked about the possibility of Skylor joining the ninja team and on a separate occasion when a fan wondered if there was foreshadowing hinting that Lloyd would become villainous.[25][26]
He called this season the "most epic of waters" (in a metaphor involving ships).[27]
Also, in this regard, when asked about a detail of the next season, he replied: "The seas are restless…"[28]
He noted that the 2022 installments were more of a "tug-of-war between writers, designers and producers" compared to others.[29]
He stated that on a scale of 1–100, he would rate the season in the 90s.[30]
The script of this scene
He stated that in 2022 there will be "easily one of the most complex fight scenes in the history of the #Ninjago show." Later he added, "When I first read it 7 or 8 months ago, it sent shivers down my spine. There isn't much to go on but it invokes the right feeling and shows great trust in whoever will make the words come alive … and this is the collaboration and the magic which manifests Ninjago."[31]
"If you like the classic stuff next year [2022] will be pretty great for you."[32]
He intends for The Splinter in the Blind Man's Eye to "set up certain things" for the season, though he admits the novel will most likely not be finished before the season airs.[33]
Responding to a comment about the apparent use of Serpentine as a villainous faction once again, he stated, "what you think you know, and what you know are not the same thing. We're dedicated to doing great stories and plot twists and if they were obvious and predictable, we wouldn't be doing our jobs. Prepare to be amazed."[34]
There will be flashbacks that are in some way comparable to Cole's flashback with Lilly from "Dungeon Crawl!"[35]
2022 will have both the funniest and darkest episodes in the series.[36]
Composers Jay Vincent and Michael Kramer described Ninjago's "12th year story" as "a long time composer's wildest dream" and producer Ryan Pears referred to it as "Ninjago: Costume Change - the season."[37] Note that the "12th year" of Ninjago is 2022, as 2011 is the first year.
Pears replied, "I think I may have pitched 'Ninjago: All The Outfits' but I like 'Costume Change' also. The actual name is a huge mistake and I feel robbed of greatness."[38]
After watching two thirds of the new season, he described it as follows: "The first few episodes will tear you apart. Then it gets kind of fun. Then super intriguing … what the heck is going on?!? Then HOLY HECK! Then HOLY HECK NO WAY! Then … ouch!"[40]
When asked if this season would be the last, he replied, "Ninjago has a bright future."[41]
There will be something Wind-related, though "not what you think."[42]
This season was the most difficult to create, being referred to as a "Pretty complicated puzzle."[43]
As of February 26, 2022, the season was still being animated.[44]
After re-watching the season finale he also stated: "How can anything make you feel so good and so bad at the same time?!?!"[45]
When Vincent Tong responded "AAAAAAAAA 🥲🥲❤️" to this tweet, Andreasen replied presumably in jest, "It was a glorious send off though. Thanks for sticking by for so long."[46]
He considers it "another season and chapter in a grand story."[47]
When asked about the multiple past villains revealed in the teaser poster using the same symbol as the Golden Master's emblem, Andreasen replied, "They're bad guys. They have little regard for copyright infringement."[48]
He called the season "a beautiful a beautiful piece of work" and is "excited to see it get released."[49]
When asked how much of a threat would the Crystal King be on a scale of one to ten, Tommy Andreasen replied that if 10 refers to "the end of the world as we know it… 12?"[50]
"‘Ninjago: Crystalized’ will have pre ‘Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu’ flashbacks."[51]
Prior to his name being revealed, when asked about Hounddog McBrag's name involving the word 'Bull', based on his moustache and vehicle in the teaser, Tommy Andreasen replied, "No."[52]
When asked if he would like for Ninjago to have a happy, bittersweet, or sad ending, Andreasen replied, "You will know soon enough."[53] He later elaborated, "while I don't wish to speak specifically about the next season of Ninjago or anything beyond this year, I will offer an analogy. I hope this, vague as it may be, offers some clarity:[54] Consider what Marvel have done over these last many years: A bunch of movies came out and collectively pointed towards a big culmination. It was clear there was [a] movie coming which was ‘the big one’ and was a conclusion to what all the other movies had been setting up.[55] But even going into that one, anticipating epic events would shake up the status quo, you knew more movies come in the wake of it. We have a much similar situation. Go in expecting BIG and know there is something more and spectacular on the other side of that mountain."[56]
According to Bragi Schut:
"A new writer who is working with us… bringing a nice comedic touch to Ninjago!"[57]
When a fan expressed sadness at Seabound's finale, he replied, "Hang in there!"[58]
He stated: "2022 season is insane! We have so much fun stuff heading your way. Patience ninja!"[59]
According to a WildBrain animator on Reddit (u/NEKOSEI):
LEGO wanted the animators to "get same sex couples into the background anytime [they] could."[60]
When told about his LEGO personification's similarity to a character, Dillon, Lachlan Jansen tweeted "The similarities are definitely uncanny… gonna have to keep my eye on Dillon here, as well as his twin brother (you'll see him in the upcoming 2022 installment 😉)," possibly hinting at him appearing in this season.[64] He officially confirmed this on his wiki page.
Andrew Francis, the new voice actor of Cole, mentioned in an interview with Brent Miller that he had seen Kelly Metzger (voice actor of Nya) in the context of recording lines for Ninjago.[65]
Like Sons of Garmadon and Hunted, Tommy Andreasen posted a status on Twitter on April Fools Day with three events from Season 15, two of which are real and one of which is fake.[66]
The three events stated that:
"The lyrics to the 'WeekEnd Whip' will become an important plot point. Not only are the words catchy, but they also contain a secret which has remained unfolded since the song premiered in 2011."
"A insignificant potted plant will prove to be one of the main reasons our heroes stand a chance against the overwhelming forces of evil."
"Toy-designers and writers have collaborated to avoid spoilers by including characters and objects in the toys, which will not feature in the season's storyline."
Tommy Andreasen published a poster for the season on April 20, 2022 with the description "We hope you like the new Ninjago teaser poster. This is what the brief looked like ... short and sweet! @WildBrainStudio concept artist Daniel Wang totally aced it imo. The idea to add the Ninja eyes only came after the first lay-out rough. The composition just called for it."[67]
He also published a description of the poster: "The four weapons of creation (encased in the purple crystal). The entire poster is probably purple with the crystal covering everything like the weapons are stuck in one big crystal. In the crystal we should see refractions/ reflections of the five 'generals'. Not too clearly and maybe just silhouettes which can be theorized upon. NINJAGO logo at the bottom golden embers coming off it."[68]
Amount of times a different character reads a title card:
The poster published on LEGO.com features the Golden Weapons wrapped in crystals as well as Mister F and several villains from past seasons, namely Pythor, Aspheera, Vangelis, and the Mechanic, visible in the front crystal’s reflection.
This season marks Pythor's first physical appearance in the series since "Day of the Departed" and overall since Pythor's Revenge, Harumi's first appearance since Season 9: Hunted, and overall her as her Avatar, in Stop, Drop and Side Scroll, Aspheera since Season 11, the Mechanic since Season 12, and Vangelis since Season 13. It is also Skylor's first speaking appearance since Season 9, and the first appearance of the Golden Weapons since Season 10. It is also the first appearance of Zane’s human cloak since Season 10.
This is also Pythor, Harumi and the Golden Weapons' first appearance in the WildBrain seasons.
This season marks the second time that Lloyd has been arrested, and the third time that Kai, Jay, Cole and Zane were arrested.
Unlike the previous instances, they are arrested for something they willingly committed, as opposed to being framed for crimes they didn't commit.
This is the second installment where a group of villains band together, the first being "Day of the Departed."
Pythor is the only villain to be part of both groups.
The second Crystalized poster compared to the Avengers: Endgame poster.
In keeping with Tommy Andreasen's comparison of this season and Avengers: Endgame, the season's second official poster resembles the one for the film, particularly in terms of its color scheme and character placement.
The Crystal King is located on the place of Thanos and thus represents the position of the main antagonist.
Nelson and Ronin are not located on anyone's place and are on the poster in addition.
When the first twelve episodes aired on May 20, 2022, Tommy Andreasen didn't know the episodes "would be released today and in this way." He further stated that he didn't "think this is optimal."[69]
Videos
NINJAGO® Crystalized - Official Teaser
NINJAGO® Crystalized - Ninja on the run
NINJAGO Crystalized - Vengestone Mystery
NINJAGO Crystalized - Ninja Vehicles
NINJAGO Crystalized – An invitation for revenge!
NINJAGO Crystalized – Official Trailer
NINJAGO Crystalized - Ninja vs. The Mechanic
Gallery
Promotional media
Concept poster with a black frame and less obvious faces of villains
