She-Ra was my absolute faaaaavorite cartoon growing up. I would race home after school to get home in time to watch it in those prehistoric days before everyone had a VCR. I had action figures. I had the Crystal Castle. Most importantly, I had a female hero who, despite her being white and blonde, I didn’t have to break my brain in order to see myself as. Now, she’s back for a whole new generation of kids.
Netflix, in partnership with Dreamworks Animation is bringing us a reboot called She-Ra: Princesses of Power. Immediately, the title tips us off to what might be a pretty big change. While She-Ra will likely remain the central focus, there seems to be an equal amount of focus on the other women in her life, if they’re all “princesses” of power. Here’s the poster Netflix just released:
Noelle Stevenson, creator of the comics Lumberjanes and Nimona, will be co-Executive Producer and co-showrunner along with Chuck Austen, and even though she wasn’t born until many years after She-Ra (I’m old!), she wishes she had been able to enjoy the original, and is thrilled to bring these characters to today’s kids.
“I was always looking for the female characters in sci-fi and fantasy who were more than just the girlfriend,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I love the female characters in She–Ra. There isn’t another show quite like it.”
Something else that makes the show pretty great? Check out the photo of the voice cast along with Stevenson (third from the left) over at EW. Now that’s an awesomely diverse group of talented folks, is what that is! You may recognize many of them from some of your current favorite shows!
The show stars: Aimee Carrero (Elena of Avalor, Young and Hungry) as Adora/She-Ra, Jordan Fisher (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) as Seahawk, Marcus Scribner (Black-ish) as Bow, Lorraine Toussaint (Orange is the New Black) as Shadow Weaver, Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) 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 Perfumam, Vella Lovell (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) as Mermista, Merit Leighton (Katie and Alexa) as Frosta, and Krystal Joy Brown (Motown: The Musical) as Netossa.
image: Filmation/NBCUniversal
While they haven’t officially announced a release date, She-Ra: Princesses of Power is set to debut on Netflix later this year. Stevenson thinks its about time.
“She–Ra was ahead of its time,” she said. “I’m so excited to bring these stories of female power and love and friendship back now when it seems like we need them more than ever.”
Will you be checking it out?
(image: Netflix)
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