DisneyFanatic.com The Latest News, Advice, and Perspective from Disney Fans for Disney Fans!
Most Disney fans and animated film fans will associate the now-defunct Blue Sky Studios with the Ice Age movies, but there was another casualty when Disney shut down the animated film studio Blue Sky aside from the popular Ice Age films — and Netflix has stepped in to save the movie that almost languished in development purgatory!
Nimona is a web comic that became a cult-favorite fantasy graphic novel by ND Stevenson, who also created She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and (according to Entertainment Weekly) the storyline of the web comic and fantasy graphic novel rapidly became “popular in queer circles for its inclusivity and representation”.
The book has won multiple awards for best book, as well as an Eisner Award, a Cartoonist Studio Prize, an award for Best Web Comic, and a Cybils Award.
Nimona’s always been a spunky little story that just wouldn’t stop. She’s a fighter…but she’s also got some really awesome people fighting for her. I am excited out of my mind to announce that THE NIMONA MOVIE IS ALIVE…coming at you in 2023 from Annapurna and Netflix 🤘 pic.twitter.com/wEZuM2sXTt
— ND Stevenson (@Gingerhazing) April 11, 2022
Fox and Blue Sky Studios were first meant to make a movie of Nimona, but Disney abandoned the movie and closed down Blue Sky Studios in 2020. Now Netflix has come on board to make the film a reality for fans of the graphic novel — and Netflix says that the movie’s planned release will be in 2023!
DNEG Animation is working on the film, and production is already underway. You can see one of the first character renderings from the movie below!
Credit: Shapeshifter Films
In this rendering we can see Nimona, the heroine who is voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz, and Lord Ballister Blackheart, who is voiced by Riz Ahmed. Actor Eugene Lee Yang has also been cast as the voice of Ambrosius Goldenloin.
In the novel, Nimona is a shapeshifter who partners with a knight to clear his name — but her shapeshifting abilities also mean that she might secretly be the knight’s enemy.
Lightyear Credit: Disney/Pixar
“Nimona’s always been a spunky little story that just wouldn’t stop,” Stevenson tweeted. Some former employees recently told Business Insider that Disney leadership had a problem with a same-sex kiss in the story, implying that the kiss may have played a part in Disney’s decision not to move forward with the film (a similar issue occurred recently with Lightyear). But now that Netflix is taking over, Nimona is back in action for 2023!
