The animation found a home atNetflix in the springof 2022.
DEADLINE:ND,Nimona grew out of your own personal experiences.
Was it hard to hand her over to another creative team?
NimonaNetflix © 2023
I just wanted her to be right.
It was my reason for telling the story in the first place.
This is the kind of character that I really wanted to see and didnt see ever.
DEADLINE:Aside from your personal story, were there any fictional characters who served as inspirationfor Nimona?
STEVENSON:I could talk about this for hours.
Shes an extremely minor character inStar Warsthat I really imprinted on as an eight year old.
Shes a bounty hunter who dies five minutes into the second prequelAttack of the Clones.
No-one remembers her and my lifes mission has been to make everyone care about her.
That character grew among me and my friends and my siblings as I built this whole parallel world.
I think that started my love of shapeshifters…
I was also always a big fan of Carrie Kelly in the Batman comics.
Did you build on the first iteration or start from scratch ?
But the story reels were having a hard time connecting with the story.
We came in with an outside perspective.
She drives the story.
As Nick said, it helped that we came in with a different perspective.
because a lot of the visuals were already on a path at that point.
STEVENSON:Id seen other versions of the story that hadnt centered on Nimona as much.
She was more of an accessory and it just never felt right.
It wasnt true to the heart of the story.
As soon as it became truly Nimonas story thats when everything really started clicking and picking up steam.
BRUNO:Thats an easy one.
Its because of the character of Nimona.
Thats what kept us fighting for it.
Nimona represents a very specific group of people, the LGBTQ+ community.
Thats the lesson you learn in the graphic novel and the movie.
Its also just fun.
Its ridiculously crazy, and its a movie that youve got to fight for.
QUANE: Even though Nimona speaks specifically to certain groups, its also universal.
DEADLINE:How did you decide to tackle the LGBTQ+ themes and characters in the film ?
QUANE:Its the DNA of the entire story and who the characters are.
I wouldnt say that is what the story is about.
No characters are struggling with that aspect.
Nimona comes in very self-assured about who she is and what she wants.
It was just an inexorable part of those characters.
Its just part and parcel of the story that ND put together and created in the graphic novel.
But the story is about being seen, finding acceptance and finding your place in the world.
Initially, I was wondering is this going to make it into the final cut.
It seemed like the answer was going to be pretty solidly No.
I had fought similar battles on other stuff I was working on.
And it looked completely effortless.
This was many iterations in.
It was just there.
And I dont know what fights yall had to fight for that, but I never saw them.
It looked like it was the easiest thing in the world.
DEADLINE:Do you think this film could have been made at Disney?
QUANE:All we can say is that the movie was shut down for financial reasons.
There were definitely conversations.
I cant speak to what would or wouldnt have happened in a fictional world.
DEADLINE:WithNimonafinally making its debut in Annecy, whats next?
STEVERSON: Im working on a two book series of novels that is not announced yet.
Thats all I can say about it for now.
Its based on an even older story that predates Nimona from my teenage years.
Im excited and terrified to be branching into a new form of storytelling.
Im still developingLumberjanes[acquired by HBO Max in 2020] and figuring out that world as well.
