Beloved series She-Ra is getting a live-action series from Amazon and fans aren’t happy about it
Amazon Studios is developing a live-action series based on ‘She-Ra’, and fans are not happy about it. (Netflix)
Amazon is developing a She-Ra live-action series, and fans are concerned the new reboot could do away with LGBT+ representation in the franchise.
Variety reported the Amazon Studios reboot is still in the early stages, and there is currently no writer attached to the project.
But it has been confirmed that DreamWorks Animation will serve as an executive producer on the live-action. The animation studio produced the beloved Netflix series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which has been widely praised for its LGBT+ representation.
According to Variety, the Amazon Studios project will be a standalone story and won’t be connected to the animated show.
Fans of She-Ra were not overjoyed at the prospect that the cherish characters would be reborn in a new live-action series. Several voiced their concerns on Twitter that the live-action could erase the LGBT+ themes present in the animated series.
https://twitter.com/FRlGHTZ0NE/status/1437470554706087942
amazon and dreamworks said we were gonna take everything that made netflix she-ra successful (animated, lgbt, the voice acting) and take it out, great idea, we’re so business smart
— lyra 🍉 🫒 (@lyraveling) September 13, 2021
https://twitter.com/lilaccloudsss/status/1437520967094394891
we want OUR she-ra movie not some live action remake, this isn't Disney. The stories and characters in this show deserve to have their stories continued and not tarnished by Amazon pic.twitter.com/THU4Zkd28y— jacks 💫 (@auntcastaspella) September 13, 2021
why are we so critical? it's cos of She-Ra's impact on the lgbt community and representation only to find out that we may get a version where the rep is stripped away lol— zepra 🍪 silakbo 2 GL comic antho (@zepradraws) September 13, 2021
One She-Ra fan even created a petition on Change.org calling for Amazon to cancel the planned live action and instead make a movie based on the animated series.
The fan said the issue behind the live-action remake is that the “LGBT+ community fought for years to be heard and seen in children’s animation”, and the live-action series would ‘strip away’ all the hard-won victories the show made towards LGBT+ representation.
The petition concluded by calling for the studios involved in the live-action to cancel it “if you care about LGBT+ representation”.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power followed the journey of Adora – an orphan discovers she can transform into the legendary heroine She-Ra. Through the five seasons of the show, Adora travelled on thrilling journies and led a group of other magical princesses in a rebellion against evil.
The Emmy-nominated show – which was, itself, a reboot of the hugely-popular 1980s series – featured a fantastically diverse and gender non-conforming cast.
Show creator Noelle Stevenson told ITV that LGBT+ representation was central to their vision for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. They said the original She-Ra was “incredibly gay for a show made in 1987”, and the series creators wanted to make a new show that honoured the original but also brought in queer representation.
“You are trying to include the storylines, these characters, that are important to you – but also you don’t want people to feel cheated,” Stevenson said.
“You don’t want them to feel: ‘Oh you implied this character was gay but then never did anything with that, you sort of set us up and let us down’ and I didn’t want people to feel let down.”
He added it was great to see LGBT+ stories be the “central arc of the entire show and thematically what this show is about” instead of “just implied” or “there in the background”.
