Warner Bros plans to create an animated film of this exciting fairytale retelling-turned-space opera.
If you’re a classic Disney movie kid who became a Star Wars or Marvel young adult, this is the project for you. Warner Bros has announced a collaboration with Locksmith Animation on a film based on Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles. The storyline spans four novels, one prequel novella, two graphic novels, and one short story collection. In it, Meyer puts a sci-fi twist on classic fairy tale characters such as Cinderella and Snow White and reimagines them to become the heroines of their stories.
What’s The Main Plot?
The first book, Cinder, follows the perspective of Cinder, a young woman living in Beijing several centuries in the future. Following the classic Cinderella tale, Cinder lives with her horrible step-family, meets a prince, and crashes a royal ball. But everything takes a new twist from there. A lethal disease is sweeping the Commonwealth of China, and the cure lies in an alliance with Luna, a nation of humans living on the moon. Its queen, Levana, offers her hand in marriage to the Commonwealth’s Prince Kai, but he quickly figures out that she is only after power. He allies with Cinder, a talented mechanic shamed by her stepmother for needing cybernetic enhancements, to investigate Levana’s true plans. It culminates at the ball, when Cinder attempts to expose the queen only to have her turn the tables and reveal details from Cinder’s past that she never expected.
As the books continue, characters inspired by the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White enter the picture and join the fight against the threat of war. Scarlet works alongside former Lunar operative Wolf to find her missing grandmother, and discovers secrets bigger than she’d bargained for. Lunar tech whiz Cress lives out her days in an isolated satellite, until Cinder’s ally Captain Thorne breaks her out. And Levana’s own stepdaughter Winter leads her own silent protest against the queen’s tyranny within the walls of her palace. Each book seamlessly introduces its lead into the environment set up by the previous one, cleverly weaving the genres together. Not one character or event feels out of place.
Big News
The Lunar Chronicles is the first major series written by Marissa Meyer, who has penned numerous other young adult novels. Aside from this, she is known for her standalone Heartless, the Renegades trilogy, and her newest arrival, With A Little Luck. She also hosts The Happy Writer, where she speaks with other YA authors about their books and tips for writing. About a year ago, Meyer announced that Warner Bros decided to adapt The Lunar Chronicles to the screen. Fans flocked to her story to vote on whether it should be animated or live action, a show or a set of movies. The poll resulted in a 3D animated movie with an innovative, futuristic art style much like the beloved Spiderverse films.
Since that fateful poll, Meyer has shared little about the project until recently. On May 14 of this year, Meyer posted a scene heading of the completed script of the adaptation. The fanbase exploded with excitement and curiosity, begging for more details about the creation process. Locksmith Animation has chosen several creators of note to take part in bringing the series to life on film.
Who Is Making The Lunar Chronicles?
The Lunar Chronicles will be written by Travis Sentell and Kalen Egan. They have worked together in such projects as Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, Stone Junction, Kaleidoscope, and The Thing About Pam. Noëlle Raffaele, who has worked on numerous animated projects across Warner Bros, Disney, Amazon, and Dreamworks, is directing. She contributed to the story development of Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Lego Ninjago Movie, and DC Superhero Girls, among others. The film’s producer is Christina Steinberg, known for producing both Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse and Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse. Many of her films received nominations for Best Animated Feature, and some have even won Emmys and Academy Awards. With a lineup like this, I can imagine Locksmith will end up with something truly ground-breaking.
When Does It Come Out?
At the moment, Warner Bros has no announcements regarding a release date or potential voice actors. Officials at Locksmith have expressed excitement for Meyer’s series to life, and hope to do it justice for the fans. Meyer feels just as ecstatic, as she reads through the scripts that have been finished. I’ve been a “Lunartic” for years, and I have high hopes that Locksmith’s team, like the books themselves, will deliver something unexpectedly magical.
