For perhaps the first time ever, Netflix is the one to capitalize on other studios canceling projects as it picked up the scraps of Disney’s Nimona.
Disney generally isn’t associated with canceled projects in the modern day, with their image one of factory-like efficiency in pumping out high-quality product after product. One of the recent few public failures associated with Disney, Nimona was shelved following the Mouse House’s acquisition of animation studio Blue Sky during the Fox merger.
Netflix was quick to advance on the cancelation, with them taking on the film secretly in 2021, announcing so in April 2022. The film hasn’t seen many updates since then but finally has a release window nearly a decade after the original production began. Netflix has set a wide release window of 2023 for the animated film, alongside releasing a synopsis.
The brainchild of ND Stevenson of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power fame, the film follows a young shapeshifter named Nimona (Chloe Grace Moretz) who could be the only one who can clear Knight Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) of a crime he may or may not have committed. With a techno-medieval setting, it feels like something quite different from what Disney has been doing of late.
The vague release window is good news, however, showing Netflix has no intention of canceling it or quietly shelving the property. Given She-Ra‘s successes on the platform, it could be a shoo-in for streaming success. With Nick Bruno and Troy Quane — who helmed Spies in Disguise — directing the feature, which caused alleged controversy within Disney for a same-sex kiss that the company didn’t want to be featured. Classic Disney.
Nimona will shapeshift onto Netflix by the end of 2023.
