Culture

Netflix picks up Nimona after Disney scraps the LGBTQ+ animated film

By Zoya Raza-Sheikh

13th April 2022

Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, and Eugene Lee Yang have been cast in Netflix’s animated adaptation of Nimona.

The Netflix production is based on the graphic novel written by non-binary creator ND Stevenson.

Nimona gives way to an “inclusive story about the labels we assign to people” in a fast-paced techno-medieval world. The graphic novel follows Knight Ballister Boldheart (Ahmed) is framed for a crime he didn’t commit.

The only person who can help him is Nimona (Moretz), a shape-shifting teen who might also be a monster he’s sworn to kill. Nimona is a defiant character that refuses to be defined by anyone. Yang is playing a character named Ambrosius Goldenloin.

The animated film was originally set to be made by Blue Sky studio via Disney but was shelved in 2021.

Nimona is currently being produced by Netflix and Annapurna Pictures. Nick Bruno and Troy Quane have joined the project as directors. The LGBTQ+ film will be available on Netflix in 2023.

“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,” Nimona creator ND Stevenson tweeted.

ND Stevenson is an American cartoonist known for their Netflix hit She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and comics series Lumberjanes.

Netflix unveiled the exciting premise of the animated film online: “In a future medieval land, shapeshifter Nimona @ChloeGMoretz bursts into the lives of heroic knights @rizwanahmed + @EugeneLeeYang and blows up everything they believe in. An epic animated film adapted from the groundbreaking comic by @Gingerhazing.”