Nimona follows Ballister Boldheart, a knight framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and the titular shapeshifter named Nimona who sets out to help him prove his innocence. Not only is it an absolute blast, but it is laden with important lessons about love, acceptance, and friendship. Nimona is based on a graphic novel of the same name that was created by ND Stevenson, who was very hands-on throughout the process of bringing it from page to screen.
Unfortunately, it was quite the journey for Nimona to get here. Originally a Blue Sky film, it was canceled by Disney when the studio shuttered its doors. However, it found its home with Annapurna and Netflix, causing the many fans of the graphic novel to be thrilled. Netflix releases the long-awaited film Nimona on June 30th.
Screen Rant caught up with Nimona Directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane to discuss the long road to get here, and why they think Nimona persevered through it all to make it to the screen. They also shared their thoughts on how perfect the cast is and the importance of creating content that the entire family can enjoy.
Directors Nick Bruno & Troy Quane Talk Nimona
Screen Rant: I don't have to tell you how much I love this movie, you already know. But I am not the only one. 100% on Rotten Tomateos. How does it feel?
Troy Quane: We're just going to take it while it lasts. It's exciting. It's nice to be able to see how people will be reacting to the movie, not just the story about behind getting the movie made, which is what it was for so long. Now people can see and react to the movie itself. And to see people reacting really positively to the movie is so great.
Screen Rant: Yeah, it's been a journey. What do you think it is about Nimona that made it power through it all?
Nick Bruno: Nimona is what helped it power through. Nimona is this incredible character. She's full of mayhem and talks about murder, but it's this cover for somebody who's really feeling misunderstood in their kingdom. It's a universal feeling, but it also connects with lots of people, and especially those of the LGBTQ+ community. Being able to tell that story in an authentic and truthful way, or at least trying to, has been important to us. It's helped us. It's helped us be better artists. It's helped us be better storytellers. And it's kept the movie alive.
Screen Rant: This cast is phenomenal. Can you talk about bringing them on?
Troy Quane: Oh, my gosh, yeah. Once we had the story locked down, we knew what we wanted to say, and who the characters were. It all came from Nimona. Casting became super clear, at least in our heads. I think the biggest thing we were excited about is our first choice cast all said yes, which is so rare, but I think it just spoke to the material. Chloe is just incredible as Nimona. She brings this energy, and this comedy, and this crazy manic presence. But she completely understood that all that was just a facade for some really deep emotion running below the surface. The way she could switch gears between those caught us off guard all the time.
Same thing, once we knew who Ballister was, what his shapeshift was, this character who was part of a society but felt outside of it. Felt like the class structure didn't include him. That idea is something that Riz and his music, and his movie choices, and is producial choices, he brings that message so much that when we pitched the character to him he got it immediately and knew how to play with that. And Eugene is just Eugene. He's so much fun. He's charismatic. He's funny, he's bold. He's performative.
Nick Bruno: And he's great at trivia. He is surprisingly good. Last night, he was very good.
Troy Quane: Unfortunately, I wasn't on his team, so that made it very sad for me. We're not competitive at all. We're not competitive. It was all for a good time. But yeah, the cast was incredible. We had a great time. They love to play. We'd love to have fun. I think that you feel that in the movie.
Screen Rant: One thing I love about this movie is that it is hilarious, but then at the end, you are sobbing. There are jokes for adults, like "Cold in here?" Can you talk about making something that is so universal?
Nick Bruno: Well, there's a huge emotional undercurrent to it all. We personally believe that if you're telling a true story, and it has strong emotion, it's really easy to make things funny because it's dramatic, right? All that comes from character, and these are two characters who, especially Nimona and Ballister, they're very funny in very different ways. Their philosophies go against each other, in many ways, as well. It just adds for a lot of comedy, and it gives us a fun playground to play.
Troy Quane: I think the biggest thing is just knowing when not to go for a joke. When to not be afraid of letting the emotion sit. I think they go hand in hand.
About Nimona
When Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn't commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a mischievous teen with a taste for mayhem — who also happens to be a shapeshifting creature Ballister has been trained to destroy. But with the entire kingdom out to get him, Nimona’s the best (or technically the only) sidekick Ballister can hope for. And as the lines between heroes, villains, and monsters start to blur, the two of them set out to wreak serious havoc — for Ballister to clear his name once and for all, and for Nimona to…just wreak serious havoc.
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