LEGO Friends is making the move into live action, courtesy of Disney Channel veteran director and producer Kenny Ortega, the creative mind behind High School Musical.
Kenny Ortega, the director, producer, choreographer and concert creator behind High School Musical and the Descendants is bringing his unique ability to connect with tweens to LEGO Friends. The LEGO Group have hired him to executive produce a live action LEGO Friends musical special for release in 2026.
His credits do not just include Disney Channel musicals, but also movies including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Dirty Dancing and Hocus Pocus, as well as television shows including Ally McBeal, Gilmore Girls and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
The LEGO Friends musical special is shooting this August and will follow the story of a girl who constructs a world out of LEGO bricks, then finds herself in Heartlake City (or Heart Lake City, as the new version of the location may be called), where she finds ‘fun, friendship and adventure.’
Upgrade your LEGO hobby! If you take out a subscription to Blocks, the monthly LEGO magazine, you’ll get each issue first and at a discount, plus other perks including a free digital subscription and the chance to win LEGO prizes every month.
“I don’t know who’s more excited – my family or me,” he said of the gig. “We are a LEGO loving household and receiving this invitation from the LEGO Group to join them in their first live-action musical is an absolute honour. Also being able to produce alongside the wonderful team at FINAL PIXEL, leaders in virtual production has me overjoyed, and I am thrilled to have my longtime creative partner, Paul Becker, alongside.”
Paul Becker, whose credits include Julie and the Phantoms and The Kissing Booth, will direct and choregraph the special. “I couldn’t be more excited to bring this story to life through song, dance, and cutting-edge technology. We’ve got an incredible team, and we’re creating something truly special,” he said.
According to the LEGO Group’s press release, this special will ‘enchant audiences with lively musical performances and a captivating fusion of physical and digital backdrops. Produced by next generation technology specialists, Final Pixel, it will incorporate oversized LEGO elements alongside state-of-the-art LED volume technology and real time rendering with Unreal Engine.’ The last time the LEGO Group made a live action television show with cutting edge technology, it was titled Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimensions.
Despite being for television, the special will be ‘cinematic’ and despite being live action, the production will be inspired by the animated series’ aesthetic.
“Creating a live action interpretation of the Friends world is breaking new ground for us, so it’s very exciting,” said LEGO Senior Vice President Global Entertainment Partners and Content Jill Wilfert. “LEGO Friends has been a significant theme for 13 years, and as we continue to develop and offer our fans new exciting experiences, this special is the perfect fit to the creative and playful LEGO Friends universe.”
Support Blocks’ work by purchasing your LEGO sets via our affiliate links, and if you want to get new LEGO set announcements straight to your inbox, sign up to our free newsletter. Of course, if you really want to upgrade your LEGO hobby for the true insider experience, take out a subscription to the monthly LEGO magazine for fans.