Welcome To the day that the universe has apparently set aside for long-gestating animated movies to creep towards an actual release date. We've already seen forward movement for action satire Paws Of Fury, and now it's the turn of troubled 'toon Nimona, which will finally see screens next year via Annapurna and Netflix.
Nimona started life way back in 2015 as a passion project of Patrick Osbourne, who directed the wonderful short Feast that was attached to Big Hero 6. Though he'd been working for Disney, the new movie was set up as Fox-affiliated Blue Sky Studios.
Yet the Mouse House wasn't done with it – when the company bought Fox, it essentially wound down most of Blue Sky's work and Nimona was shelved (there were ominous rumours that Disney ditched it because of LGBTQA+ content).
Osbourne's no longer involved, but the movie is finally back on track, with Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed as Ballister Boldheart, and Eugene Lee Yang among the voice cast. A first look can be found lurking at the top of the page.
Adapted from the New York Times bestselling graphic novel by author ND Stevenson, the story sees a knight framed for a crime he didn't commit. The only person who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona, a shape-shifting teen who might also be a monster he's sworn to kill. Set in a techno-medieval world unlike anything animation has tackled before, this is a story about the labels we assign to people and the shapeshifter who refuses to be defined by anyone. A first look can be found lurking at the top of the page.
All being well, Nimona will appear on Netflix next year.