If you recall from last July, we reported on a certain rumor that the upcoming 2019 LEGO Ninjago sets will be based on previous releases stretching back to 2011 when the theme was first introduced. Speculations regarding a Ninjago re-release were further flamed when during SDCC 2018, it was revealed by the LEGO Ninjago panel that there were no new season on the works for next year. Instead, the panel became a sort of a trip down Ninjago memory lane where the panelists talked about their most memorable episodes from the franchise during the past 7 years. This lead many LEGO Ninjago fans to think that there might be no new and unique tie-in sets to expect come 2019.
Fast forward to October, the recent update to the LEGO Ninjago Ride Ninja app were rolled out both on the App Store and Google Play, and somewhere along its cache of bikes are images of two of the most familiar rides in Ninjago. Here is a screenshot of Kai’s Fire Cycle and Zane’s Snowmobile as seen from the app.
If you’re a long time fan of the franchise, it will be relatively easy for you to see that these two virtual bikes are very much the same to actual sets seen in LEGO Ninjago Kai’s Blade Cycle (9441) and Fangpyre Truck Ambush (9445). Both of these sets were released in 2012 as part of a series of sets in line with LEGO Ninjago Rise of the Snakes story arc.
It is also interesting to note that a rumored list of new 2019 LEGO sets to watch out for also made mention of a Kai’s Blade Cycle and Zane’s Snowmobile (70667) set. It is not far-fetched to consider that we might be seeing these cool Ninjago bikes again, but this time, combined in a single set. It should be noted that the same list also includes sets such as Fire Temple (70680), Jay’s Storm Fighter (70668), Samurai Mech (70665), Cole’s Earth Driller (70669), and The Golden Dragon (70666), all of which are very similar to LEGO Ninjago sets released between 2011 to 2013.
Fire Temple (2507) from 2011
Jay’s Storm Fighter (9442) from 2012
Samurai Mech (9448) from 2012
Cole’s Earth Driller (70502) from 2013
The Golden Dragon (70503) from 2013
The way I see it, there is nothing much to expect from these 2019 LEGO Ninjago sets if indeed they are the exact same copies of their predecessors. However, it will be nice of LEGO if they can probably throw in some new pieces or new iterations of Ninjago minifigures, and not just to rehash another re-release. I’m not really sure if LEGO Ninjago fans will agree, but the way I see it, the LEGO Ninjago theme has reached a certain plateau or saturation point where the stories behind the theme might need a reboot of some kind. For sets that are dependent on an original LEGO theme or story, it is definitely a challenge to keep it more engaging and interesting. Undoubtedly, LEGO Ninjago is one of LEGO’s original and longest running fantasy-themed line, and it’s kind of difficult to imagine that it might suffer the same fate like that of Bionicle and Nexo Knights. We just have to wait and see in 2019.
