Nimona movie finds a second life at Netflix

Netflix has picked up the animated movie adaptation of ND Stevenson’s comic, Nimona, which will premiere some time in 2023. The movie stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Nimona, Riz Ahmed as Ballister Boldheart, and Eugene Lee Yang as Ambrosius Goldenloin. Previously, Nimona was in development at 20th Century’s Blue Sky Studios, before Disney shut down the studio in 2021. Stevenson announced the news on Twitter.

“Nimona’s always been a spunky little story that wouldn’t stop,” they wrote. “She’s a fighter… but she’s also got some really awesome people fighting for her.”

Stevenson started Nimona while in college, basing it on a character they had created in high school. Originally a web comic, Nimona follows the titular shapeshifter who becomes a sidekick to a scheming villain, and the two plan to destroy the all-powerful Institute. Stevenson published Nimona on Tumblr and it became their senior thesis, before Harper Collins reached out and published a book version in 2015. Nimona won an Eisner Award, a Cybils Award, and a Cartoonist Studio Prize, and also made The New York Times Best Sellers list.

The film adaptation was announced in 2015, though after Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the film was delayed multiple times. By the time it was ultimately canceled, the movie was nearly 75% complete. Former Blue Sky staffers spoke out, saying that they had received pushback from Disney about the movie’s same-sex romance and overarching LGBTQ themes.