LEGO has confirmed its first live-action television project, a LEGO Friends musical special planned for 2026 and executive-produced by “High School Musical” veteran Kenny Ortega, following an initial report in Deadline.
Announced on 8 July, the production will begin shooting in London this August, marking the brickmaker’s most ambitious screen venture outside animation and feature films. Ortega said the invitation from the company “is an absolute honor,” adding that his family are committed LEGO devotees. He will work alongside longtime collaborator Paul Becker, who is set to direct and choreograph the 60-minute show after stints on “Julie and the Phantoms” and “The Kissing Booth”.
Story elements follow a girl who builds a LEGO world and is whisked into Heartlake City, blending live performers with oversized bricks, LED-volume backdrops and real-time Unreal Engine rendering supplied by virtual-production outfit Final Pixel. LEGO executives describe the project as “breaking new ground” while remaining faithful to the 13-year-old Friends brand’s visual identity and themes of friendship and adventure. Jill Wilfert, senior vice-president for entertainment partners, said the aim is to leave viewers “still singing the songs after they’ve watched”.
Ortega’s involvement gives LEGO access to a creative track record that has generated billions of streams and a devoted tween audience, a demographic the company has targeted with recent set lines and YouTube content. Community reaction on specialist fan sites ranged from excitement about the franchise’s “cinematic” potential to bemusement from builders who remember earlier live-action experiments such as 2002’s Galidor. Distribution details remain under wraps, though LEGO’s event-cinema partner Final Pixel says the project is designed for television first, with ancillary platforms expected to follow.
