Ninjago: Skybound 2016

On the Facebook page for LEGO Ninjago, a new poster was uploaded giving us a preview on what to expect in the upcoming animated television series and sets. The hint of our ninja going against pirates was given prior at the last San Diego Comic-Con but this marks the first official image of our team’s next ordeal of villains to tend with in the ongoing battle to restore peace across the realm of Ninjago.

From what can be seen, these airborne brigands are a bizarre hodgepodge of old and new enemies being led by a fiendishly omnipotent Djinn going by the name of Nadakhan whose sole delight is to turn people's wishful dreams into nasty nightmares.

Interesting bits to note is the "big fig" in the distant top right hand corner, a new sinister sabre wielded by the Kabuki killer down in front beside the snake soldier, the wrench toting monkey which could hopefully be a return of the LEGO monkey figure (although possibly redesigned unless only appearing in the animated series), Nadakhan's hair could be Aurra Sing’s only in black, the pirate holding a flintlock pistol is sporting both the moustache and football helmet pieces with the rare helmet in a new color, epaulettes all around (primarily green it seems), and other stuff I probably missed.

Aside from Metalbeard's Sea Cow, the sky pirates' aircraft could almost be considered borderline steampunk but not quite. At least to a degree a dedicated theme for such seems a more likely possibility than before.