For the honor of Greyskull! ‘She-Ra’, the beloved animated series based on the twin sister of ‘He-Man’, is getting a reboot this November 2018 on Netflix in collaboration with Dreamworks. The series is officially titled ‘She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’ and represents a modern take on this powerful female icon.
As fans of strong female protagonists ourselves, we were super excited to hear about the re-imagining of this classic cartoon. With approx. 4 months to go to its final launch, here’s everything we know about the reboot so far!
1. The series will be co-executive produced by former Eisner Award recipient, Noelle Stevenson
The Eisner Awards (short for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards) is essentially the comic industry’s equivalent of the Oscars. It is given out for creative achievement in American comic books, and guess what? Noelle Stevenson has won – not one, but – TWO Eisner’s for her work on ‘Nimona’ and ‘Lumberjanes’ respectively.
She has also worked on ‘Runaways’ and ‘Thor’ under Marvel Comics, ‘Wonder World’ under DC Comics, and ‘Wander Over Yonder’ under Disney in the past. We couldn’t think of anybody else more suited to head the ‘She-Ra’ reboot!
2. Stevenson’s other co-executive producer is Chuck Austen (of ‘X-Men’ and ‘Tripping the Rift’ fame)
The other person on the project is Chuck Austen who has a career in comics spanning back to the 1980s. Since then, he’s worked on big titles like ‘War Machine’, ‘Uncanny X-Men’, and ‘Avengers’, as well as cartoons ‘Steven Universe’ and ‘Tripping the Rift’.
3. The reboot will launch on Netflix under the official title ‘She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’ on 16 November 2018
Judging by the title, we’re expecting the series to focus a lot more on the team rather than just the titular character herself. This also seems accurate judging by the official description of the show released by Dreamworks:
“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is the story of an orphan named Adora, who leaves behind her former life in the evil Horde when she discovers a magic sword that transforms her into the mythical warrior princess She-Ra. Along the way, she finds a new family in the Rebellion as she unites a group of magical princesses in the ultimate fight against evil.”
4. As part of the deal between Netflix and DreamWorks, the series will be animated by DreamWorks Animation Television
The project will be part of DreamWorks Animation and Netflix’s on-going partnership between 2013 to 2018 to create over 300 hours of television inspired by well-known franchises such as DreamWorks Dragons, Madagascar, and some from the Classic Media library.
Some of the existing series under this collaboration include TV series adaptations for ‘Boss Baby’, ‘Captain Underpants’, ‘Trolls’, and ‘How To Train Your Dragon’. But obviously, we know which one is the coolest so far.
5. One of the biggest changes is She-Ra’s new look, which has sparked criticism from fans of the original series
Upon the release of the news, Internet trolls were quick to attack her new character design. The main complaint seemed to be that the new She-Ra has lost her “womanhood” and that the more tomboy design was a selfish decision on Stevenson’s part, as she is openly queer.
The situation got so bad that one of the original co-creators of She-Ra, J. Michael Stracyznski, had to make a public statement denying allegations that the character was designed after the creators’ ideal women. In part of his statement, he clarified:
“We spoke, and wrote of, and considered her a warrior, first and foremost. So I think anyone who is looking back at She-Ra (or Adora) as the “ideal woman” is doing so through the lens of prepubescent (since it was aimed at kids) interest and kind of, understandably, imprinted on her like baby ducks.”
You go, dude.
6. Other than She-Ra, the new character designs for Glimmer, Bow, and Catra were also released
In the promotional images above, She-Ra is in her normal form as Princess Adora. In the first image, she is beside Glimmer, the Princess of Bright Moon who can manipulate light, and Bow, one of the few male characters in the She-Ra franchise and well-known as the best archer in all of Etheria. In the second picture, she is with Catra, one of members of the Evil Horde ruled by Hordak, the main nemesis in the She-Ra series.
7. The titular character will be voiced by Aimee Carrero, who is also the voice of Princess Elena from ‘Elena of Avalor’
You may recognise Aimee Carrero from her work on ‘Level Up’, ‘American Horror Story’, and ‘Young and Hungry’, but did you know she was also in ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel’? Needless to say, we’re definitely interested in seeing what this actress will be bringing to the voice of She-Ra.
8. The remaining voice cast boasts a ton of BIG names, including Sandra Oh and Lorraine Toussaint
Here’s the full list of voice actors and actresses you can look forward to hearing in a couple of months:
- Aimee Carrero (Elena of Avalor) as Adora/She-Ra
- Jordan Fisher (Grease Live!) as Seahawk
- Marcus Scribner (black-ish) as Bow
- Lorraine Toussaint (Orange Is the New Black) as Shadow Weaver
- Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy) as Castaspella
- Karen Fukuhara (Suicide Squad) as Glimmer
- AJ Michalka (The Goldbergs) as Catra
- Reshma Shetty (Royal Pains) as Angella
- Keston John (The Good Place) as Hordak
- Lauren Ash (Superstore) as Scorpia
- Christine Woods (Hello Ladies) as Entrapta
- Genesis Rodriguez (Time After Time) as Perfuma
- Vella Lovell (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) as Mermista
- Merit Leighton (Katie and Alexa) as Frosta
- Krystal Joy Brown (Motown: The Musical) as Netossa
9. It is highly speculated that Kari Kimmel will be singing the new She-Ra theme song
Known for singing the theme song of the TV series, ‘The Fosters’, as well as many other shows, Kimmel’s personal website recently updated with this statement: “Kari most recently landed her 16th theme song for the upcoming Dreamworks remake of a very popular 80s show which will be premiering in the fall of 2018.”
This fact has yet to be confirmed, but considering She-Ra is the only 80s show to be premiering this year… Well, it speaks for itself.
