‘Nimona’ Adaptation Culled As Disney Shuts Down Blue Sky Studio
by Erik Amaya
We were afraid this day might happen.
As Deadline reports, Disney has decided to close Blue Sky Animation Studio. The company, a part of the former 20th Century Fox studio, always seemed like a likely place for Disney to tighten its belt as it is, unfortunately, a redundancy in the corporation’s vast media empire. Sadly, though, one of the projects lost in the closure is Nimona, an adaptation of Noelle Stevenson‘s acclaimed graphic novel. As it happens, the project was just ten months from completion. Stevenson spoke on the matter via Twitter.
Sad day. Thanks for the well wishes, and sending so much love to everyone at Blue Sky. Forever grateful for all the care and joy you poured into Nimona ❤️
— Noelle Stevenson (@Gingerhazing) February 9, 2021
The project was picked up by Blue Sky some years ago, with a January 14th, 2022 release date planned following a number of schedule changes. To a certain extent, the film was a “good faith” project in the event the merger did not go through as a result of a regulatory objection or a successful dark horse suitor. Indeed, Comcast was still considering the option to outbid Disney at the time. But once Disney successfully completed the merger, the future of all Blue Sky’s projects, and the studio itself, became precarious to say the least. An early indication of trouble was Disney’s decision to pull the plug on 20th’s planned Mouseguard adaptation just weeks before it was set to go into production back in April of 2019.
Meanwhile the future of Blue Sky’s Ice Age franchise is anyone’s guess. It’s real easy to see Disney burying it or using the characters for animated projects on Hulu. But one also hopes Nimona finds a new home. It’s such a unique fantasy tale that it deserves a special sort of animated treatment.