Hype is building for Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, a new animated series slated to debut on the Disney Channel in early 2023. With the buzz for Marvel projects like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania overshadowing Moon Girl, though, you may wondering what exactly the deal is. Is this this show for kids? Grownups? Is it part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or not? Here’s what we know!
What’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur about?
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur follows Lunella Lafayette, a 13-year-old genius who discovers a Kree device that opens a portal through time and space, leading her to her partner, Devil Dinosaur. Together, they use Lunella’s brains and Devil Dinosaur’s brawn to stop all sorts of baddies.
In the comics, Lunella is a 9-year-old Inhuman who’s bullied by her classmates, who call her “Moon Girl” because of her tendency to daydream. It’s not clear yet how closely the series will follow the comics, especially since they’ve already aged Lunella up a few years. However, it does look like the show will keep the comics’ fun, irreverent tone.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Marvel unveiled a two-minute clip of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur:
In the clip, we see Lunella and her friend Casey going on their first mission together, with Casey acting as videographer. After Lunella gets over her nerves, though, she discovers that Devil Dinosaur has ghosted her so that he can chow down on some shrubbery.
Is it a kids’ show?
The short answer is yes. It’s a series about a tween on the Disney Channel (NOT Disney+, where you’ll find most of the films and series in the MCU), so it’s geared towards a younger audience.
However, this clip and the teaser trailer above suggest that it’s well-written enough that adults can enjoy it, too. Other Marvel animated series, like Avengers Assemble and Marvel Rising, can fall flat if you’re over the age of ten, but Moon Girl looks to be heavily inspired by madcap classics like Powerpuff Girls and Teen Titans Go!
Who’s in the cast?
Lunella is played by Diamond White, and Devil Dinosaur is played by Fred Tatasciore. Alison Brie (Community, Glow) will play Aftershock, Laurence Fishburne will play Marvel comics villain the Beyonder, and Marvel veterans Wesley Snipes (Blade), Cobie Smulders (The Avengers), and May Calamawy (Moon Knight) will be making appearances, although it’s not clear yet what characters they’ll play. Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) will also play a role.
Is Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur in the MCU?
No … at least, not yet. Like many other Marvel TV shows, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur isn’t part of the canonical Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, Marvel has been known to incorporate non-MCU characters into the MCU before. Ms. Marvel had a stint on Marvel Rising before getting her own Disney+ series, and Daredevil made the jump from Netflix to She-Hulk, Echo, and Daredevil: Born Again.
When is the release date?
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur comes out on February 10, 2023 on the Disney Channel.
(featured image: Disney)
