Last month, The Walt Disney Company decided to shut down Blue Sky Studios -- the animation studio behind 20th Century Fox's franchise of Ice Age films -- following its acquisition of Fox' television and film assets a couple years ago, citing the "current economic realities." Blue Sky is officially set to close in April, with its upcoming film Nimona -- based on the webcomic of the same name by Noelle Stevenson -- being canceled ahead of its January 2022 release. A new report ostensibly reveals two of the shelved film's major cast members, as well as supposed plans on the part of Blue Sky's leadership to try and keep the project alive.
According to Collider, Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, Tom & Jerry) and Riz Ahmed (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Venom) would have voiced two of Nimona's three lead characters. Moretz would have played Nimona -- the eponymous, "gender-nonconforming lead" character -- and had reportedly recorded about half of her lines when production was shut down. Meanwhile, Ahmed would have voiced Ballister Blackheart, who has a romantic link to his nemesis, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. While neither actor has directly commented on these reports, Moretz did retweet a post linking to Collider's original story.
Collider's sources, who are "close to the situation," also say that the high-ups at Blue Sky continue to "explore their options" with the hope of finishing the film. Nimona has supposedly been shopped to numerous potential buyers, though none have picked up the project as of yet. The film was reportedly about 75% complete when production was halted, and still had about 10 months to go before it was ready for release.
Had the film come to fruition as originally intended, it would have been a significant release for Disney in the way of LGBTQ+ representation. More specifically, it would have been the company's first feature-length animated film to feature LGBTQ+ characters in a leading capacity, as well as its first animated feature to include a same-sex kiss (between Blackheart and Goldenloin).
Stevenson originally launched Nimona on Tumblr, with the webcomic running from June 2012 to September 2014. In May 2015, HarperCollins published the comic in its entirety as a YA graphic novel. The comic follows Nimona, a teenage shapeshifter who becomes the sidekick of the villainous Blackheart, and eventually begins a conflict with Goldenloin -- whom Blackheart had fallen out with years prior. Stevenson once jokingly described the Nimona's plot as, "Man's new assistant doesn't care for his ex-boyfriend."
Source: Collider