Wings of Fire book
Netflix was developing a new event series called Wings of Fire, which is an adaptation of author Tui T. Sutherland’s fantasy novel series of the same name. However, after a year in development it was announced in May 2022 that the project had been scrapped. Here’s what we knew about the project and what we know about its status going forward.
The project was first announced by Tui T. Sutherland via Netflix back in April 2021.
The showrunners for Wings of Fire were Emmy nominee Dan Milano (Robot Chicken, Greg the Bunny, Warren the Ape), Christa Starr (Warren the Ape) and Justin Ridge (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels). David S. Cheng (Megamind, Avatar, How to Train Your Dragon) was also the technical director of the series.
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay was set to produce with her ARRAY production company. Author Tui T. Sutherland was also on the creative team as executive producer. She commented on the development of the series when it was announced in April 2021:
“Will there ever be a TV show?” has been the #1 question I’ve gotten at events almost from the beginning, and the answer is finally yes! Not just “yes,” but “yes, AND I cannot believe the amazing team who are going to make this so great.” I am so immensely thrilled and grateful that Ava DuVernay is our Queen of Dragons (I’m pretty sure that’s the official title). Ava is someone who saves the world every day without waiting for any prophecy to tell her what to do. I hope some of my dragons grow up to be just like her! And I knew the minute I met our showrunners, Dan Milano and Christa Starr, that they are funny, kind, super-nerd kindred spirits who 100% understand what I’m trying to do with the books.
As stated, the project was put on ice (scrapped) in May 2022 according to a report from Variety.
Their report states:
“Sources at Netflix stress the decisions not to move forward with these projects were creative rather than cost related, meaning they would have taken place regardless of the company’s slower revenue growth. Insiders also note that animation has a longer gestation period than live-action. Given the comparatively drawn-out timeline, it’s less unusual for movies or television shows to go back into development or part ways entirely over creative decisions.”
Here’s everything else we knew about Netflix’s Wings of Fire before it was scrapped:
What was the plot of Wings of Fire?
Netflix’s Wings of Fire is an animated event series adaptation of the #1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling book series from author Tui T. Sutherland.
A bitter war has raged for generations between the dragon tribes who inhabit the epic world of Pyrrhia. According to prophecy, five young dragons will rise to end the bloodshed and bring peace back to the land. Raised and trained in secret from the time they were hatched, the Dragonets of destiny – Clay, Tsunami, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny – embark on an evolving quest that will bring them face to face with their true selves and the overwhelming scope of this savage war they are destined to bring to an end.
What’s the animation studio behind Wings of Fire?
The studio responsible for bringing the world of Wings of Fire to life for Netflix would’ve been Warner Bros. Animation. Their collaboration with Netflix already includes Green Eggs and Ham as well as the upcoming Skull Island anime about King Kong.
Here’s the trailer for the former:
Among the names we’ve found to be involved in the series include Violaine Briat who serves as episodic director, Lila Martinez who serves as a storyboard artist on the project, and Jean-Denis Haas as an animation supervisor.
Lila Martinez serves as a Storyboard Artist on the project and gives some insight into the production process and animation style behind the show:
“A hybrid 2D and 3D storyboarding pipeline is utilized mixing traditional drawings and previsualization in Blender software. Incorporated emotional beat boards, live-action style dynamic staging, cinematic character & camera/lens choreography, filmic composition, and strong drafting abilities for dragon anatomy.”
Wings of Fire artwork
Audrey Diehl is overseeing the Warner Brothers Animation series slate which includes Wings of Fire.
On Netflix’s side, Jess Choi serves as a production executive on the project.
How many episodes was Wings of Fire going to be?
Netflix’s Wings of Fire will reportedly consist of 10 episodes. Their exact length is still unconfirmed, but we’ve seen evidence indicating that they will be around 40-60 minutes long.
That’s all we know about Wings of Fire for now. Do you wish Netflix was still going to be releasing the project? Let us know in the comments.
