Image copyright Reuters Image caption Ruth Bader Ginsburg will make an appearance in Lego form

US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is going to make a cameo appearance in the new Lego movie.

Justice Ginsburg, known affectionately to her supporters as the "Notorious RBG", will appear as a Lego minifigure - complete with gavel and robes.

She was not required to do voice work for the film, but has given filmmakers permission to use her likeness.

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part - a sequel to the 2014 film The Lego Movie - is due to be released on 8 February.

Producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord say they were "trying to think of people who should be immortalised in Lego and who seem fun at weddings" when they decided to include the judge.

Her character has already made its first appearance, in a trailer posted to The Lego Movie's Instagram page yesterday.

The film will be about two siblings playing with their own Lego universe and, according to director Mike Mitchell, Justice Ginsburg will be part of the world invented by the creative younger sister.

"These movies are so full of surprises," Mr Mitchell told USA Today. "And we were thinking, 'who's the last person you would think to see in a Lego film as a minifig?' - Ruth Bader Ginsburg!"

The judge, who had cancer surgery last month, hasn't recorded any audio for the film - but the filmmakers say she's given it her blessing.

"She said, 'Of course, I'd love to be a Lego figure. That would be cool,'" Mr Mitchell says.

Who is Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

Justice Ginsburg is a bona fide icon among liberals in the US, known for her serious demeanour, her long pauses, and her pioneering work on women's rights.

And at 85 years old, Justice Ginsburg is also the oldest serving judge on the Supreme Court bench.

She's the subject of a new biopic, On the Basis of Sex, in which her character is played by Felicity Jones, rather than a Lego figure.

There has also been a bestselling book about her, appropriately titled Notorious RBG - her nickname, itself a pun on the 90s rapper Notorious B.I.G.

There's even merchandise with Justice Ginsburg's face on it, including T-shirts and coffee mugs - and after The Lego Movie 2 is released, it will be possible to buy small Justice Ginsburg Lego figurines.

And despite an image inadvertently broadcast on Fox News on Monday, she is very much still alive.

Hosts of the network's Fox and Friends programme apologised for the graphic briefly shown on screen, which was evidently created in the event of Justice Ginsburg's death.

"We don't want to make it seem anything other than that was a mistake," host Steve Doocy said on air shortly afterwards. "It was an accident."

"We apologise, big mistake," co-host Ainsley Earhardt added.

A Fox News spokesperson told the BBC: "This was a technical error that emanated from the graphics team."