Ninjago: Rise of the Great Devourer

Ninjago: Rise of the Great Devourer
	; July 31, 2015
Directed by	Scott Pincus
Written, filmed and edited by	Scott Pincus
Starring	Jack Morris AckarProductions5 Ryan Bowman Westificationful OonieandCacola JTH Studios FireStar97Studios 1tjmac12
Music by	Steve Jablonsky Hans Zimmer Jay Vincent Michael Kramer John Ottman
Studio	Bio-Builder Productions
Release Date	July 31, 2015 (Part 1) September 25, 2015 (Part 2) January 24, 2016 (Part 3) February 14, 2016 (Part 4) March 20, 2016 (Part 5/Finale) June 14, 2016 (Full Movie) September 6, 2018 (Director's Cut)
Running Time	246 minutes 117 minutes (Director's Cut)
Reception	89/100
Preceded by	Ninjago
Followed by	Ninjago: Age of the Golden Master

Ninjago: Rise of the Great Devourer is a live-action LEGO film featuring the LEGO Ninjago characters, produced by Scott Pincus and distributed by Bio-Builder Productions. It is the sequel to his 2014 Ninjago film, and one of his two primary projects of 2015.

Scott returns to direct and write the sequel, which takes more elements from the original series, including the "Rise of the Snakes" and "The Final Battle" story arcs. It stars returning cast members Jack Morris, Joe Teddick, Ryan Bowman, Douglas Garthwaite, OonieandCacola, JTH Studios, Davy Smet and several others, and introduces Tom McCabe. Set four years after the first film, the Ninja battle against a newly-returned Lord Garmadon and his army of Serpentine and Stone Warriors, as they try and awaken the Great Devourer in an event known as the Final Hour.

The film was set for release on May 29, 2015, but was postponed various times until the first part was released on July 31, 2015. Filming began on June 8 and concluded on Thanksgiving, with the film's final part airing on March 20, 2016. A shortened version of the film was released in September 2018. A third and final film, Age of the Golden Master, was released from July to December 2018.

Synopsis[]

Note: This summarizes the original cut of the film, not the shortened cut, which was released in September 2018.

In the 1960s, the sons of the First Spinjitzu Master, Wu and Garmadon, train at their father's monastery. Garmadon is bitten by a small snake and slowly turns evil, eventually betraying his family. He tries taking the Golden Weapons for himself, but is condemned to the Underworld. Fifty years later, shortly after the Serpentine assault, the Ninja discover Lloyd Garmadon is destined to be the Green Ninja, and for the next four years they help train him. In 2018, Cole, Kai, Jay, Zane and Lloyd, along with Kai's sister Nya, battle a golden robot. After the skirmish, the robot explains it was sent by Zane's father, Dr. Julien. The robot takes Zane to the Island of Darkness and reunites him with his father.

In the urban half of the city, Ben Delmar, Mason Davis and Captain Rezzle converse with Mayor Anthony Reese about his treatment of the rural part of Ninjago, while in Jamanakai Village, the Ninja discuss the possible return of the Serpentine. While meditating, Sensei Wu foresees the awakening of The Great Devourer - a colossal serpent that will consume everything in its path. The next day, the Ninja capture two Serpentine - Pythor and Spitta - and Cole interrogates them. They intend to revive The Great Devourer using the four Fangblades, and free The Overlord and Lord Garmadon from the Underworld.

Delmar and Davis go to Wildwood Forest to find more Serpentine, but are captured. The Ninja go to the forest, which allows Captain Soto's crew to retake Destiny's Bounty and destroy the Ninjas' base. Garmadon and the Stone Army return to Ninjago via a portal, and Soto kills Davis. Garmadon's forces go to Torchfire Mountain, where a massive fight breaks out against the Ninja and their allies. Garmadon's forces claim the Fangblades, and Captain Rezzle falls to his death during the chaos.

While spying in Jamanakai, Sensei is imprisoned by his brother, while The Overlord returns via the portal. Sensei escapes and confronts Pythor before The Great Devourer is awakened and consumes them both. Lloyd unsuccessfully tries redeeming his father, while the Devourer escapes the village. Fearing for their safety, the Serpentine flee underground. The Ninja battle the Devourer at Wildwood Forest before returning to Jamanakai to fight Garmadon's forces. The Devourer destroys all the Ninjas' vehicles, including Destiny's Bounty, while Dareth gains control of the Stone Army using the Helmet of Shadows, and tells them not to move until he tells them to.

After the Devourer kills the Ice Dragon, the Ninja lure it to Jamanakai's electrical tower in a bid to keep it occupied. The beast shakes the tower until Kai falls and is eaten. Garmadon has a change of heart, and uses the Golden Weapons to destroy the Devourer - freeing those eaten by it. After the tower collapses, The Overlord drains Garmadon of his powers, and Lloyd confronts him. He unlocks his True Potential, gaining the Golden Power which revives the Ice Dragon as the Golden Dragon. The Overlord battles the dragon and is gravely injured, before being vanquished after the dragon incinerates his power core. The Ninja and their allies rejoice as Garmadon reunites with Lloyd.

Wu and Garmadon return to the Monastery. Garmadon expresses his regret over his misdeeds, yet Wu comforts him, as the two agree a new age is on the horizon. At Bowler Airfield, the Ninja look at the wreckage left over from the battle. Despite knowing they've defeated their greatest adversaries, Kai remarks there's always a need for a Ninja, and when they're needed they'll take action.

In the post-credits scene, Pythor emerges from the creek, his skin now bleached white from the Devourer's stomach.

Characters[]

Returning Protagonists[]

Jack Morris voices Cole Hence
AckarProductions5 voices Sensei Wu
Ryan Bowman voices Kai Fellows
Westificationful voices Zane Julien
OonieandCacola voices Jay Walker
JTH Studios voices Lloyd Garmadon
FireStar97Studios voices Ben Delmar
FireStar97Studios voices Mason Davis
ToaGresh300 voices Captain Rezzle
Ryan Bowman voices Vladimir Dubrovky
Collector1100 voices Dareth

New Protagonists[]

Abby Pincus voices Nya
*1tjmac12 voices Dr. Julien
Daniel Poulter voices Lucas
1tjmac12 voices The First Spinjitzu Master
Daniel Poulter voices the Juggernaut Robot

Returning Antagonists[]

FireStar97Studios voices Fangtom
Scott Pincus voices Slithraa
JTH Studios voices Mezmo
OonieandCacola voices Rattla
Fangdam (mute)
Cameron Morris voices Mayor Anthony Reese
Russell Parkinson voices Cillian Fincher
JTH Studios voices Captain Soto

New Antagonists[]

*1tjmac12 voices Lord Garmadon
- Westificationful voices Young Lord Garmadon
*1tjmac12 voices Pythor
*1tjmac12 voices The Overlord
Garnettfox voices Skalidor
*NinjaBoys voices Bytar
Westificationful voices Chokun
Daniel Poulter voices Snike
Biopower 1000 voices Acidicus
*NinjaBoys voices Lizaru
*NinjaBoys voices Spitta
*NinjaBoys voices Lasha
*1tjmac12 voices General Kozu
Biopower 1000 voices Samuel Mercer

Archival audio of Gabe Sagherian, Austin Brinser and Jacob Doerr from various films, including Bread's Crumbs and Jurassic Shark III: The Revolution, is heard during The Great Devourer's attack in Wildwood Forest.

1tjmac12, Biopower 1000 and NinjaBoys, who voice numerous characters in the film, changed their usernames to 1P Entertainment, Bio21 and TheOnlyVie, respectively, following the film's release.

Production[]

Following the success of Ninjago, the film was announced on January 22, 2015. Scott confirmed that the film will focus on the first few seasons of the original TV show, all the way up to episode 26. Major parts of the plot would include the Serpentine/Great Devourer and the Overlord/Stone Army story arcs. All the surviving characters from the first film were set to return for the sequel. Upon the film's announcement, Ryan Bowman and Russell Parkinson were confirmed to return from the first film. On January 23, Davy Smet was confirmed to return, as were Douglas Garthwaite, Stormjay Rider and Jack Hillebrecht on January 25. That same day, Scott sent a message out to all the cast members of the first film, inviting them to reprise their respective roles for the sequel. On January 26, Joe Teddick confirmed he would be reprising the role of Sensei Wu, and Cameron Morris confirmed his return as Mayor Anthony Reese.

Scriptwriting officially began on January 27. On January 29, OonieandCacola and Jack Morris confirmed that they would return as Jay Walker and Cole Hence, respectively. Collector1100 signed on to return as Dareth on January 30. Due to time restraints, he requested a smaller role in the film. He expressed interest in voicing new characters, but only wound up voicing Dareth. The same day, ToaGresh300 confirmed his return as Captain Rezzle. By then, the entire cast of the first film was confirmed to return for the sequel. The first casting call for the film's new cast members began on February 6.

On February 11, Scott received a Bricklink order of over 1,000 Hero Factory joints to build The Great Devourer. Scott expected it to be the largest model of the creature produced, and it would also be the largest LEGO model he's ever made. On March 1, Scott revealed Garnettfox has joined the cast as Skalidor, and Tom McCabe joined the cast as The First Spinjitzu Master, Dr. Julien, The Overlord and General Kozu. On March 20, it was confirmed that Sam Charbonneau, who voiced Lou Hence in the first film, has signed on for the role of Samuel Mercer. On March 22, Scott confirmed Noah Phillips has signed on to voice Lizaru and Spitta. On March 23, Scott confirmed Tom McCabe will also voice Pythor, Noah Phillips will voice Bytar, and Sam Charbonneau will voice Acidicus. On March 27, Scott confirmed Daniel Poulter has joined the cast as Snike and the Juggernaut Robot.

On March 29, Scott confirmed that the film has been bumped from its May 29 release date to June 26. This was done so he will have more time to work on the script. On March 30, Scott returned to the film's set in the woods for the first time in several months to inspect any possible damage. He confirmed there was minor damage, but it should be repaired in time for filming. On April 1, Scott revealed the voice actor of Nya to be a YouTuber named Breezy CM, although her account wasn't visible since so many people have gone by this name. The official trailer for the film was released on April 2, featuring The First Spinjitzu Master hiding away the Fangblades on Torchfire Mountain many years ago. On April 20, Scott confirmed that Douglas Garthwaite will voice Chokun.

On April 28, Scott confirmed the film's screenplay has been completed. He spent the next week doing revisions to the script. On May 1, Scott confirmed that Daniel Poulter has been cast as Lucas. On May 3, Scott confirmed that Noah Phillips will voice Lasha, rounding out the film's cast. On May 12, Scott sent out the lines to the voice actors, after having spent the last couple of days organizing them.

Filming[]

Filming officially commenced on June 8, the day Bread's Crumbs 2: Electric Boogaloo was released, and continued on June 9, 10, and 11. On July 4, Scott confirmed that Davy Smet has been dropped from the role of Lord Garmadon due to creative differences, and Breezy CM had to resign from the role of Nya for other reasons. Soon after, Scott confirmed that Part 1 will not be released on July 10 because he is still waiting for lines from several voice actors. On July 11, Scott confirmed that Douglas Garthwaite has been recast in the role of Lord Garmadon, while GuardianSorceress Alanshee has been recast in the role of Nya. She had previously auditioned for the role. On July 12, Scott said that he plans to use more music from the TV Show than he did in the first film. The first film did feature various cues, although Scott feels they were heavily overshadowed by the presence of the film's other music, such as pieces from Transformers and The Dark Knight trilogy. Scott later confirmed the film will feature music from the first two seasons of Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. The second trailer was released on July 19.

With editing/voice actor conflicts still underway, and a release date still uncertain, filming continued through the first half of July. However, due to the hot weather conditions, filming became limited. On July 20, Scott confirmed that Tom McCabe has been cast in the role of Lord Garmadon. Douglas Garthwaite resigned from the part because he was unable to find a suitable voice for the character, though he still voiced the younger version of the character. Filming for Part 2 was completed on July 21. Filming for Part 3 commenced the next day, and continued on July 23 and 24. On July 24, Tom McCabe completed his lines for Lord Garmadon, and on July 28, Collector1100 completed his lines for Dareth. On July 29, Scott cast his sister Abby Pincus as Nya, having been forced to recast the role so many times. She'd been hoping to play another role in one of his films. Filming paused for around a week and a half due to the harsh weather conditions. Filming continued on August 4 and 5. JTH Studios completed his lines for Lloyd Garmadon on August 31.

Filming started up again on September 6, with filming for Part 3 on the verge of completion. Filming for Part 4 commenced on September 7, with there being one scene from Part 3 left to shoot for around a week. Filming continued on September 8, and picked up again on September 13 through the 17. Filming for Part 3 was completed on September 15, with filming for Part 4 still in progress. On September 24, Russell P completed his lines for Cillian Fincher. On October 10, filming continued on once more after a lengthy hiatus, with filming for Part 4 being completed that morning. Filming for Part 5/Finale commenced that morning as well, and continued on throughout the afternoon. Filming picked up again on the morning of October 11, and continued on throughout the afternoon once more. The same was done on October 12.

With fall setting in and the weather starting to change, filming picked up again on the afternoon of October 14. It paused for several days before starting up again on October 17, in which filming took place throughout the morning and afternoon. Filming continued on October 18, although the cold temperatures for the day limited the shoot to the afternoon. This was the last major day of filming for Rise of the Great Devourer. Filming continued for several days at the end of October.

Major Delay[]

At the end of October, an update to iMovie on Scott's computer deleted most of his projects entirely, including the third part of the film, as well as all of his footage libraries, although the footage was still intact elsewhere on and off of the computer, but all of it was disorganized. A death in the family occurred shortly after, throwing everything into disarray. Scott took a break from the project for a month.

Despite the effects of the delay, filming started up again on November 25, with the final major scene being filmed early on November 26. On December 19, Scott purchased Final Cut Pro X, and began rebuilding the footage libraries in the program. On January 3, 2016, Scott started editing the film again. Within three weeks, the third part of the film was finally released on January 24, after a four month wait. Afterwards, editing for the fourth part commenced, with it being released three weeks later on February 14. Scott then paused editing for the film to return to edit Jurassic Shark III. Editing for Part 4 was completed on February 27, and was released the same day. Scott commenced editing for Part 5/Finale of Rise of the Great Devourer at the end of February, and it was released three weeks later on March 20.

Shortened Version[]

Scott had long considered making a shortened version of the film; at over 240 minutes, it's the longest film he's made so far. In March 2015, he released a shortened version of the first film, which cut out an hour of its running time - making it 120 minutes.

On August 4, 2018, Scott confirmed that he will definitely be making the shortened version of the film, citing that it's difficult for many people to watch the movie in its original, four-hour state, and he wants viewers to have an easier time taking in the story. He re-edited the film over the next month, cutting its running time from 246 minutes to 117 minutes. The director's cut was released on September 6, 2018.

Reception[]

The film has gained a generally positive reception, with a rating of 89% based on 3,892 likes and 444 dislikes as of August 2021, as well as many positive opinions from the audience, both the cast members and other viewers. When combining the reception of the film itself and its trailers, it also has a rating of 92% based on 4,146 likes and 334 dislikes as of August 2021. The first part of the film gained over a hundred views within a day of its release, then reached two hundred views within two days of its release, and passed over three hundred views in under three days within its release.

In comparison, Part 1 of Ninjago gained around fifty views within a day of its release, then around fifty more views within two days of its release, and then around twenty more views within two days of its release. Overall, the first part of the first film gained around 120 views within three days of its release, while its sequel's first part gained nearly three times as many views in that timeframe. Rise of the Great Devourer's first part beat the first part of Jurassic Shark III: The Revolution, which gained around 150 views within three days of its release, while this film gained twice as many in that timeframe. Ninjago: Rise of the Great Devourer has set the record for the most views received by a LordStarscream100 movie within three days of its release, whether it be a single part or a full movie.

Within a week of its release, the first part of the film had gained 700 views. For many days following its release, iit gained at least 60 views eachg day which is the longest time a LordStarscream100 film has had an ongoing period of popularity. In comparison, the first film gained 50 views on the day of its release and another 50 views on the day after, but it wasn't until January 2015 (six months later) where the first part gained over 20 views in one day. As of September 23, Part 1 continues to gain around 60 or more views each day. On September 23, the first part of the film officially became the most-liked single part of any of Scott's films. On September 25, the second part of the film was released. As November began, the first part of the film began gaining at least one hundred views a day.

As of July 2023, the final part remains the most viewed of the film, at 443,910 views. It is also the fourth most viewed video on the LordStarscream100 Youtube channel, and is the most viewed film of the channel.

Continuity Changes[]

Various continuity changes were made to the film in after the release of the first film.

Ninjago City was referred to as "Spinjitzu City" in the first film; in this film, it's officially called Ninjago City.
The "sais of lightning" in the first film replaced the "nunchucks of lightning", as Scott felt the sais would be easier to film fight scenes with. In this film, they're replaced with the nunchucks.
Young Garmadon's face and hair are changed. In the first film, he has a bearded face from 8802 Dark Fortress Landing, along with short black hair. In this film, he has Lloyd's face, and long black hair. The new version bears more resemblance to his younger look in the TV show (though his hair is brown in that version).
Young Wu's hair is changed in this film. In the first film, he has short red hair, while in this film he has short blonde hair. The new version bears more resemblance to his younger look in the TV show.

Connections[]

Several scenes in the film were inspired by or based off scenes in the TV show.

Season 1: Rise of the Snakes[]

The film combines two separate seasons of Ninjago into one film. In the first movie, the story was loosely based off of that of the first season. This film is partly based off of the stories of the first and second seasons.
The scene where the Ninja fight the Juggernaut Robot was loosely based off the scene in episode 7, "Tick Tock".
The scene where the Ninja confront and interrogate Spitta is heavily based off said scene from episode 11, "All of Nothing", where he begs them to stop Pythor's insane schemes.
The Ninja go to Torchfire Mountain to find the Fangblades before Garmadon's army does. In episode 12, "The Rise of the Great Devourer", the Ninja go to Torchfire Mountain to destroy the Fangblades. In both situations, they fail to reach their goals.
The "Taking the Bait" scene, where Jay, Delmar, Zane and Cole use their vehicles to distract the Devourer, was loosely based off of the scene from episode 13, "The Day of The Great Devourer", where Jay and Zane run through Ninjago with the Devourer in pursuit.
- This entire scene was improvised on the day it was shot, as Scott didn't like how the script turned out.
In episode 13, "Day of the Great Devourer", Zane's face is scarred after the Devourer attacks the Ultra Sonic Raider. In the film, when the tower collapses after the Devourer explodes, Zane's face is scarred - a reference to said episode.

Season 2: The Final Battle[]

The scene where Zane reunites with his father bears resemblance to their scenes in episode 22, "The Last Voyage", in which the two also reunite.
The scenes where the Serpentine are on board Destiny's Bounty with Lord Garmadon pays homage to various scenes from the TV show, in which similar scenarios were depicted. In the TV show, however, when Garmadon and the Serpentine meet Soto and his crew for the first time, the pirates kick them off the ship. In the film, the pirates look to Garmadon and his army for help in conquering Ninjago.
The scenes where The Overlord "lectures" Lord Garmadon are heavily inspired by the scenes with the two characters in episode 24, "The Last Hope". Some of the dialogue from the original scenes were incorporated into the film.
In episode 26, "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master", Lloyd's Golden Mech is damaged, with its arm shot off, and the Stone Army fights the Ninja atop the fallen mech. A similar scene plays out in this film, only Lloyd faces several Stone Warriors on his own.
Part of the final battle takes place atop a tower; in episode 26, Lloyd stages the final battle against The Overlord atop a massive tower.
The scene where Lloyd materializes the Golden Dragon and battles The Overlord is partly based off the final battle in episode 26, "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master".
In episode 26, the fate of General Kozu is left unknown after the final battle. The same happens in this film, as the Stone Army's fate is ambiguous after Dareth loses the Helmet of Shadows.

Other Seasons[]

When Garmadon says, "A wise man once told me to never trust a snake! But then again, he also told me to win at all costs!". Garmadon is referring to Master Chen, a character from the fourth season of the TV show, who said these lines to Garmadon during a flashback scene in episode 40, "Spellbound".
The Earth Driller is destroyed when a Rattlecopter shoots it off Torchfire Mountain. In episode 98, "Endings", the new Earth Driller is destroyed in an identical fashion when it's blasted off the Monastery cliffside. This is a coincidence, as episode 98 was released four years later.
In the film, The Overlord is responsible for The Great Devourer, having used it to corrupt Garmadon in his youth. For years Scott and other fans speculated this was the case in the TV show. Seven years later, this was confirmed as canon in the penultimate Crystalized episode, "Dragon Form", in which The Overlord proclaims he "corrupted" the Devourer to go after Garmadon - which is exactly what transpires in this film.
The Overlord has two wings on either shoulder. In the fifteenth season, Crystalized, The Overlord/Crystal King has two large crystal shards/wings branching off either shoulder. Though Crystalized was released seven years after the film, there's a visual connection between the two.

BIONICLE: Universe Films[]

Captain Rezzle, the soldier from BIONICLE: Universe, BIONICLE: Universe III and Ninjago, returns in this film. Simon Bowler makes a cameo appearance at the end of the film.
Scott confirmed that in the story, the Juggernaut Robot was built using the remains of Rocka, who debuted in BIONICLE: Universe III: War of the Worlds. The robot was likely scrapped for parts by the Skulkin, and given to the captive Dr. Julien to build into a new weapon.

Trivia[]

Lucas is seen emerging from the water following The Great Devourer's death, implying that after the Bounty's destruction, Lucas was plunged underwater and consumed by the Devourer at some point.
The film further demonstrates how there's only one of each Serpentine character, including all the warriors, soldiers and scouts. In the TV show, there are many clones of each Serpentine character, except the five generals. Scott found it unnecessary to create clones of the characters in such a way.
The entire Torchfire Mountain scene was filmed right next to Scott's front porch. He filmed and angled the shots to avoid seeing his house, and to also make it feel like the scene took place on top of a mountain/volcano.
Though not shown on-screen, the Constrictai, as well as the Rattlecopters, unearthed the Great Devourer's body from Jamanakai creek, hence why it's suddenly shown sitting in the water.
To film scenes with The Great Devourer roaring, Scott removed the Devourer's head (and a foot of its neck) from its body and stuck his arm inside it. A strand of fishing wire looped across the Devourer's lower jaw was tugged, and the head was jerked backwards as the jaw closed. In the final film, these takes are played in reverse.
After filming the tower collapse scene in October 2015, Scott managed to recover most of the K'NEX pieces for it, but ultimately wasn't able to find every part. Over the next two years, he would occassionally find pieces belonging to the tower. While preparing the Jamanakai Village set for Age of the Golden Master in October 2017 - two years after filming the tower scenes - Scott recovered several parts of the structure, including part of the platform and the red gear that held the chain up at the top of the tower.
After the Devourer mutilated the Ice Dragon and left its body in the creek, Lloyd was thrown into the same area by The Overlord, to which Lloyd unlocked his True Potential and became the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master. In doing so, the Golden Power that Lloyd unleashed surged into the body of the dragon, reviving it and transforming it into the Golden Dragon.
The final scene of the film was rewritten long after the script was completed earlier in the year.
Scott was initially against giving the film such a huge running time, but after looking through all of its scenes and even cutting some out, he eventually realized he couldn't shorten it. Scott has considered the possibility of shortening the film like he did with the first one, though he has yet to confirm this.
Abby Pincus, the younger sister of director Scott, voices Nya in the film. Abigail was Scott's last choice to play the character, after the previous voice actresses either dropped out or didn't suit the role.
Stormjay Rider, who voiced Slithraa in the first film, was initially set to return to voice the character. Scott contacted him about reprising the role, but as he said, he hadn't even watched the first film. Months later, after having not received a response from Rider on his lines, Scott decided to provide Slithraa's voice - making him the series' first character to be voiced by two different voice actors. Rider isn't expected to return for the third film, despite being offered a role in it.
Most of the film's antagonists are new, while most of its protagonists are old. It does, however, feature several new protagonists and old antagonists as well.
Douglas Garthwaite voices Chokun in the film. Coincidentally, Chokun is a redeco of Fang-Suei, who Douglas voiced in the first film. Douglas later used a similar voice for Kaine West, a Bread's Crumbs character.
In order to use as much of the original music composed by Jay Vincent and Michael Kramer as possible in the film, Scott downloaded nearly every released track from the first two seasons. He used much less music from Steve Jablonsky and Hans Zimmer, stating that the Ninjago soundtrack is definitely something that can stand by itself and not be heavily mixed in with other music. Jablonsky's expanded score for the Transformers films, as well as Zimmer's expanded score for Man of Steel do have prevalent parts in the film's score.
- Due to its more calm, classical and orchestral tone, John Ottman's expanded score for X-Men: Days of Future Past is a major figure in the film's music as well.
The Overlord's mouth moves as he speaks. In order to make the movements look realistic, Scott downloaded Tom McCabe's lines to his phone and listened to them as he filmed The Overlord, so that he could match the movements of his mouth and body with the original lines.
This is Abby Pincus's first major film role since Jurassic Shark three years earlier, as she was recast in the role of Nya.
Douglas Garthwaite voices the younger version of Garmadon, while Tom McCabe voices the corrupt version of him. Joe Teddick voices both the older and younger versions of Sensei Wu in the film.
Tom McCabe voices all of the film's main antagonists (Lord Garmadon, The Overlord, Pythor and Kozu), and developed a distinct voice for each of them.
Douglas Garthwaite voices the younger Garmadon in the film, while 1tjmac12 voices the older version of him. This marks the first time in the series where two voice actors voice the same character in one film.
- In Ninjago, CarpenterStudios was set to voice Kai, but he was dropped from the role after voicing the character in the film's first two parts, with Ryan B being recast. The same happened with GreshLord, who voiced Zane for the first two parts and was replaced with Westificationful. However, the different voice actors were unintentional, as they were both recasts.
Voice actor 1tjmac12 was extremely surprised by the size of the Great Devourer in the film's second official trailer.
The appearances of the Great Devourer and The Overlord weren't revealed until the film's release. A shadow of the Great Devourer's head was seen in the film's official trailer.
The film features only five new voice actors apart from the first film's cast. In all, there are eighteen different voice actors. Two of the new voice actors voice only one character.
NinjaBoys voices four of the nine new Serpentine in the film. Three of them are in the Venomari Tribe.
"The Final Hour" was originally going to be the title of the original Ninjago episodes The Rise of The Great Devourer and

The Day of The Great Devourer, which would have been called The Final Hour - Parts 1 and 2. For whatever reason, the episodes were not given this title. Scott wrote the "Final Hour" into the film's storyline, calling it an "apocalyptic event" relating to the Great Devourer's return.

The film's trailer is the first full-length LordStarscream100 trailer to run at under two minutes since the first trailer for

Jurassic Shark in May 2012. Rise of the Great Devourer's trailer runs at 1:58, while the first Jurassic Shark trailer runs at 1:25.

- The film's second trailer ran even shorter, at 1:08, although it was mainly created to treat the audiences due to the film's delays.
- The film's first official trailer also sets the record for being the first LordStarscream100 trailer to get over 100 views within a day of its release.
Jurassic Shark III actor Dakota Markle was initially rumored to provide vocal effects for the Great Devourer.
Douglas Garthwaite is the only actor from the first film who voices new characters as well as his original ones in the sequel.
Sensei Wu wears his original outfit in the film. It was worn by the First Spinjitzu Master in the first film, although in the TV show, Scott says he made this change to give Sensei a greater resemblance to his appearance in seasons one and two, which the film is based off of.