It’s hard to believe it’s finally happening, but after Disney did its best to kill the movie stone-dead, we’ve at last got our first glimpse at Netflix’s upcoming anarchic animated fantasy film Nimona, hitting streaming this June. Check out the teaser trailer above, starring Chloë Grace Moretz as the titular shapeshifting anti-heroine.
As those who have kept up to date with the long and storied saga of Nimona‘s journey to the screen may be aware, a film version of ND Stevenson’s popular webcomic/graphic novel was originally in the works at Blue Sky Studios until 20th Century Fox was swallowed up by Disney. Following this acquisition, Disney canned the project, due to reported concerns with the story’s strong LGBTQ+ themes. Although the project seemed dead in the water, a year later Annapurna Pictures picked it up, with Netflix landing distribution rights.
Moretz plays Nimona, a teenager with the power to shapeshift living in a fairy tale world, who is targeted by a knight for assassination. However, when he is accused of a crime himself, the knight forms an unlikely partnership with Nimona as they both fight to clear their names. The cast also includes Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, and RuPaul.
As directed by Spies In Disguise‘s Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, Nimona promises to have some of the same kind of visual pop and spunky style as recent breakout animated hits Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, so with any luck it’ll achieve the same kind of acclaim come its arrival on June 30. If any film deserves it, it’s this one.