Nimona’s always been a spunky little story that just wouldn’t stop.

April 11, 2022 7:25 AM

The Nimona movie is coming to Netflix in 2023.

Netflix announcement here.

Nimona was originally a webcomic, then a graphic novel - still available for purchase here. There is also an audiobook.

The original creator, ND Stevenson, has been featured on MeFi before. Previously, previously, previously, and previously.

posted by All Might Be Well (31 comments total)

I had a normal amount of emotions about Nimona in like the mid twenty-teens when I first read it. I reread it in the early pandemic after She-ra season 4 and had a completely unreasonable number of feelings all over the fandom discords I'm in, continuously, for months.

A friend pinged me immediately when they saw the tweets go up and I am screaming internally.
posted by All Might Be Well at 7:27 AM on April 11, 2022 [5 favorites]

Dear mods, the words "a graphic novel" should be "an audiobook" at the end of the penultimate paragraph sorry I got very excited.

ALSO if you want okay-resolution versions of the original graphic novel panels and Stevenson's original jokey early-2010's commentary, the Internet Archive still has it (you will have to go back to about 2014 though).
posted by All Might Be Well at 7:31 AM on April 11, 2022 [4 favorites]

Also screaming internally. I originally checked Nimona out from the library and devoured it, and have bought copies for multiple friends, and my sister--I think it's about time I bought myself a copy.
posted by bridgebury at 7:32 AM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]

Very exciting! It feels like Netflix isn't even trying to produce good content anymore, so when I saw Stevenson promote this on Twitter I was just briefly...confused.
posted by grandiloquiet at 7:34 AM on April 11, 2022

Truly I couldn't have asked for a more on-brand first FPP, thank you Netflix.
posted by All Might Be Well at 7:35 AM on April 11, 2022 [3 favorites]

This is such good news, I was bummed when this project got shelved so far into production.
posted by the primroses were over at 7:36 AM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]

Longer article here.

Today’s announcement is not the first time that Nimona has received a definitive release date, although it is the first such guarantee to come from Netflix. In 2017, Fox animation stated that the Blue Sky-produced film would be ready for theaters by Valentine’s Day of 2020. A first delay saw the film’s release pushed to March 2021 before several Fox films – The Bob’s Burgers Movie, Ron’s Gone Wrong, and Nimona – were all delayed. At that time, Nimona was the last Blue Sky title officially announced as going into production and was scheduled to release in January 2022.

Blue Sky’s future was quickly filling with grey clouds as uncertainty about the company swirled following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the studio’s parent company. In February of last year, Disney announced it was shutting down Blue Sky Studios and that production on Nimona had been halted. Blue Sky then closed on April 10, ending an era in which the company, powered by franchises such as Ice Age and Rio, became the largest animation studio on the east coast of the U.S.

posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:44 AM on April 11, 2022 [3 favorites]

Nimona is such a great comic, and Stevenson is such a singular talent.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:07 AM on April 11, 2022 [6 favorites]

I'm genuinely surprised by this - the House of Mouse tends to make Smaug look liberal about hoarding, but I would imagine that this is in part due to the kicking that Chapek is currently getting. And given that the last time Netflix stepped in to pick up an abandoned animation project resulted in The Mitchells vs. The Machines (which I still hold was robbed of the Oscar because the Academy refuses to treat animation respectfully), I'm going with "cautiously yet happily optimistic" here.
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:28 AM on April 11, 2022 [9 favorites]

Given how ND was able to work with Netflix on She-Ra, I'm hopeful that this will be ND's vision and not a corporate one. I think Netflix is smart enough to stay out of the way.
posted by bonehead at 8:28 AM on April 11, 2022 [3 favorites]

Metafilter: A Normal Amount Of Emotions

(I'm sorry I came here to say something comparably enthusiastic but that phrase hijacked my brain)
posted by mhoye at 8:29 AM on April 11, 2022 [6 favorites]

HOORAY
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:30 AM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]

I am so glad to see Nimona getting a second chance! Hooray!
posted by ourobouros at 8:31 AM on April 11, 2022

ALSO if you want okay-resolution versions of the original graphic novel panels and Stevenson's original jokey early-2010's commentary, the Internet Archive still has it (you will have to go back to about 2014 though).

The original graphic novel is also available on various digital library platforms like Hoopla and Overdrive, both free with a participating library card.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:44 AM on April 11, 2022

The casting is great, too: Chloë Grace Moretz as Nimona, Riz Ahmed as Ballister, and Eugene Lee Yang as Ambrosius.
posted by ourobouros at 8:48 AM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]

Well this is flippin' awesome. Nimona as webcomic was my introduction to ND Stevenson, and I watched She-Ra 100% on the strength of that experience. I'm looking forward to seeing what Stevenson can do with Nimona in an animated form.

Is it clear how much of Blue Sky's work is being used? She-Ra sets the bar high for ND Stevenson stuff, and this being on Netflix is at least somewhat optimistic, but if Netflix is just releasing something that was completed earlier, under different management, that could go any number of ways...

Also, ND Stevenson is an alumni of MICA (home-state pride)!
posted by Alterscape at 9:17 AM on April 11, 2022

It's been over a decade since I posted The Broship of the Ring and still I gotta say I really wish Stevenson would get with Tolkein's estate and make it happen as a NetFlix series because it would be the best version of the story.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:35 AM on April 11, 2022 [4 favorites]

Is it clear how much of Blue Sky's work is being used? She-Ra sets the bar high for ND Stevenson stuff, and this being on Netflix is at least somewhat optimistic, but if Netflix is just releasing something that was completed earlier, under different management, that could go any number of ways...

Given that the last time they picked up prior work went quite well, I'm not worried about that. That said, I don't think they have access to the Blue Sky work, since that's firmly in the Disney Vault - but they have a number of Blue Sky alums involved with this, which should help push things forward.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:36 AM on April 11, 2022 [2 favorites]

Given that the last time they picked up prior work went quite well, I'm not worried about that.

Which work is this referencing?
posted by All Might Be Well at 10:01 AM on April 11, 2022

Same team finishing same work.
posted by rikschell at 10:27 AM on April 11, 2022 [4 favorites]

Is Broship of the Ring gone because of issues with the Tolkein estate or because she's got it packaged up for sale somewhere? Do I need to order it or look...elsewhere?
posted by straight at 10:42 AM on April 11, 2022

Which work is this referencing?

The Mitchell’s vs The Machines
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 10:43 AM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]

Mitchell's vs The Machines that a film that was completed by Sony and was ready to be released in theaters just as the lockdown happened, and then Netflix bought out the distribution rights.

Nimona is a film that was killed off by Disney when it was half-finished. Netflix still has a lot of work to do on Nimona before they can release it.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 10:52 AM on April 11, 2022

Straight, as I remember it, the Broship was always a series of small, silly fan-comics on Stevenson's old Tumblr - I don't think he's* ever tried to make money via fanworks.

The relevant tag is: https://gingerhaze.tumblr.com/tagged/The+Broship

You may find it easier to browse the tumblr tag in chronological order: https://gingerhaze.tumblr.com/tagged/The+Broship/chrono (this strategy will work on all tumblr blogs' tags)

Her old XMFC art is also fun.

One of my favorite pieces of Stevenson's ever is this non-canonical Nimona piece on Twitter, which is much newer and makes it clear how their style has changed from the old Tumblr fan stuff.

* at this time, ND Stevenson's Twitter bio indicates he/she/they
posted by All Might Be Well at 10:54 AM on April 11, 2022 [5 favorites]

Wonderful news!
posted by Wretch729 at 11:35 AM on April 11, 2022

Thanks, All Might Be Well, for the links and for the pronoun clarification.

"I liked ARAGORN Before he was KING"
posted by straight at 12:17 PM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]

The way I heard it, it was more like seven-eighths done when Disney killed it. So glad to hear a deal got made to bring it back from the dead.
posted by rikschell at 12:30 PM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]

Okay and now let’s get the Mouseguard movie revived too!
posted by gc at 3:53 PM on April 11, 2022

Very odd that there's no description of who the writers are. There have been a few different drafts with lots of different voices in the room.
posted by lewedswiver at 4:52 PM on April 11, 2022

ND Stevenson posted a comic about reading people's reactions to the movie announcement.
posted by carrioncomfort at 10:15 AM on April 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

Gizmodo has an actual clip that may be part of the movie.

also I definitely didn't get the feelings about the realization that the main promo image they're using has Nimona staring down the camera and covering Ballister's whole right side from view, shut up I am very normal about the fictional elgeebetees and their regard for each other
posted by All Might Be Well at 2:07 PM on April 12, 2022