Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is set to premiere November 16th of this year, and executive producer Noelle Stevenson (Critical Role) and stars Aimee Carerro (Elena of Avalor), Karen Fukuhara (Suicide Squad) and Marcus Scribner (Black-ish) descend upon New York Comic Con to discuss the hotly-anticipated reboot. Carerro, Fukuhara and Scribner play Princess Adora and Glimmer respectively, and Stevenson’s been the force behind getting the series off the ground.
The series remains true to its roots following the life of Princess Adora, a member of the evil Horde who awakens to a different destiny after the discovery of an enchanted sword. Stevenson opened the panel by discussing her history as a fan artist on Tumblr through her creation of comics like Lumberjanes and finally her destination into animation writing which brought her to She-Ra. The actors, however, had barely heard of the property when they got the call to audition, though Carerro’s husband quickly educated her on the culture importance of the 1980s series.
The panel audiences were shown the first key art of the character of Catra, who’s been developed from her character in the original series into someone more complex. She and She-Ra were best friends when She-Ra was a member of the Horde, and their relationship will remain deep even though they eventually find themselves on opposite sides. Also shown were other Princesses of Power and familiar characters including Entrapta, Scorpia (so friendly), Natossa, Frosta, Mermista, Swift Wind, Shadow Weaver and Hordak.
Audiences were then treated to an exclusive peek at the first few minutes of the pilot which featured Adora in a training exercise with other Horde recruits, including her best friend Catra. The two have a loving, if competitive relationship, that Stevenson warned hits tragic moments as the two women grow apart and Catra insists that Adora is being disloyal and Adora insists that she cannot stay with the Horde once she’s seen the havoc they’ve wreaked on the members of the Rebellion. Audiences were also treated to a clip of Glimmer handing over the enchanted sword to Adora and watching Adora’s first spectacular transformation. This happens in front of Catra, and Stevenson illuminated why despite how amazing Adora’s transformation is, it was still significantly difficult for her betray her family: “It’s really hard for her to turn her back on the people she loves, but once she realizes what the right thing is to do, there’s no stopping her…”
As to why the show is called the Princesses of Power, plural, Stevenson revealed that much of the first season would revolve around the development of a Princess Alliance. Glimmer’s set to spearhead the movement just as her parents did in the past. As for what’s new to the series and what was kept from the original, Stevenson was careful to point out the high number of Easter Eggs as well as characters based on original roots. But she also made sure to mention that given the structure of the show and its ability to tell a serialized story, there’s far more world-building than was able to be completed in the original. In addition to the more realistic body types portrayed on the show, Princesses of Power has even managed to include some LGBTQ representation in the form of Bow’s two fathers.
The final clip released to the audience was the full SeasonOne trailer featuring an abbreviated version of Adora’s initial transformation into She-Ra and her eventual defection to the Rebellion. Glimpses of other iconic characters like Castaspella (Sandra Oh) and the winged Queen Angella were also seen.
CBR is here live, so keep hitting refresh for updates!
