In 1994, Ben Dunn and Antarctic Press attempted to produce a fan-funded Warrior Nun ArealaAmerican anime series, with contributors donating $125 in exchange for their names in the credits, only for Sunrise, the hoped-for animation studio, to require about $200,000 to make the series. In 2001, Darkain Arts made another attempt, producing a television pilot, though that pitch too failed. Only the opening credits of the series' pilot, created by the animators of X-Men: The Animated Series, have been made publicly available,[2] released to YouTube.[3]
In September 2018, Netflix approved a television adaptation of the comic book series, with a series order for a first season.[4][5] The series was created by Simon Barry, who is credited as an executive producer alongside Stephen Hegyes and Dean English.[4]
It stars Alba Baptista as Ava Silva, a new character invented for the series. The series also features re-imagined versions of the characters from the comic book—Shotgun Mary (Toya Turner), Lilith (Lorena Andrea), Mother Superion (Sylvia De Fanti), Areala (Guiomar Alonso) and Sister Shannon Masters (Melina Matthews). The main antagonist of the first season is Jillian Salvius (Thekla Reuten), a female version of the character Julian Salvius from the comic book.[6] The series debuted its first season in full on July 2, 2020.[7] A second series was released in November 2022.[8]
Film series
Warrior Nun Areala was being adapted into a feature film to be directed by A. J. Annila. The film was to take all the main characters and mythology that author Ben Dunn provided and re-imagine it in a modern setting. Dunn's involvement included doing storyboards for the film as well as designing the opening sequence which was to blend animation and live-action. Perfect Circle Productions has been developing the film and the official website can be found at WarriorNun.com.[9]
In October 2015, there were talks of a live-action Warrior Nun movie from Perfect Circle Productions, intended to be the first of a trilogy. The film was put on hiatus in 2018 when Netflix acquired the television rights.
Warrior Nun Ava (TBA)
On December 13, 2022, Warrior Nun creator Simon Barry revealed on Twitter that Netflix would not be renewing the television series for a third season.[10] Fans responded on social media, with many seeing the decision as part of a trend of discontinuing female-led shows with queer representation, known colloquially as the trope "Cancel Your Gays".[11] On June 28, 2023, the series had been revived in another format without Netflix, crediting the fan support in helping making it happen.[12] and discussions were taking place with other outlets for a revival in the form of a standalone film or a shortended final season.[13][14] On August 15, 2023, executive producer Dean English confirmed that the storyline of the series would continue in a trilogy of feature films, intended to be expanded into a multimedia "cinematic universe" based on the original comic books.[15]
The creation of Warrior Areala was inspired by the martial arts pursuits of the nuns of Fraternité Notre-Dame, or the Fraternity of Our Lady, a traditionalist Catholic organization. In 1991, a chapter was established in New York City's East Harlem to found a soup kitchen. It was in New York that Sister Marie Chantel, who had been a black belt in judo, learned taekwondo under a Hell's Kitchen martial arts master. Her fellow nuns, including the mother superior, also learned self-defense, hearing that the neighborhoods were dangerous, though they insist that their martial arts training is mostly for sport and that they have had no problems with the surrounding neighborhoods. Their story was picked up and reported by The New York Times.[16]
Ben Dunn, who attended Catholic schools, was inspired by The New York Times article. In an interview, he said: "Other superheroes, you never know what their faith is. Batman or Spider-Man or Superman, they do all these great things, but what do they believe in?"[17] His interest in understanding the impacts of religious affiliations on fictional superhero characters led him to write Warrior Nun Areala from this unique perspective. However, Ben Dunn does not consider the story a Christian comic book, as it avoids directly calling readers to repentance or propagating the faith. Rather, the series makes use of Christian imagery and Christian-based speculative fiction.
Part of this was due to the power Ben Dunn sees the Vatican as possessing. At one point, he wrote that it may not speak of itself as being a world power, but it is. That is because, despite being the smallest country on Earth, the Vatican's influence on world affairs is disproportionately large by its moral and spiritual authority as the headquarters of Earth's largest religion. With over a billion adherents, a headquarters that is a sovereign nation, a leader that is a world leader, it is a force in the world. Thus, it was only a small step to grant the (fictionalized) church a military force that would serve as Heaven's proxy if demons were to attack. In further explaining the concept, he added: "If Hell were an actual physical place with physical manifestations, then they would be subject to some of the physical laws of nature would they not? Of course, that would mean Heaven too would be a physical place. While this may not be so in our world it certainly is so in WNA's world. Therefore, things would progress differently. To the Vatican in WNA's world, 'thou shalt kick Satan's ass!'".[18] However, in creating the character, Dunn sought to distinguish Areala from scantily clad bad girl antiheroines with which she might be confused. He was also desirous of creating a true hero, not an anti-hero: "I made it a very strong point that she doesn't kill people, only demons... She believes everybody – no matter how bad they've been – can be saved".[19]
On September 28, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production of a Warrior Nun television series a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes.[20]Simon Barry was set to serve as showrunner for the series. Barry is also credited as an executive producer alongside Stephen Hegyes with Terri Hughes Burton serving as a co-executive producer for the series.[4] Production companies involved with the series are Barry's Reality Distortion Field and Fresco Film Services.[21][22] The series premiered on July 2, 2020.[7] On August 19, 2020, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.[23] On December 13, 2022, it has been announced that the series has been canceled after two seasons.[24]
Sometime after the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Alba Baptista, Toya Turner, Tristan Ulloa, Thekla Reuten, Kristina Tonteri-Young, Lorena Andrea, and Emilio Sakraya would star in the series.[4] On April 1, 2019, it was announced that Sylvia De Fanti had joined the cast as a series regular.[25] On October 18, 2021, Meena Rayann, Jack Mullarkey and Richard Clothier joined the cast as recurring roles for the second season.[26]
Filming for the first season took place on location of Andalusia (Spain), in the town of Antequera (where the headquarters of the Order of the Cruciform Sword is located) Marbella, Ronda, Málaga, and Sevilla, from March 11, 2019 to July 5, 2019. The El Tajo Gorge was featured in one of the scenes.[27][28][29] Pre-production for the second season began in late May 2021 and filming began in late July 2021 in Madrid, Spain.[30][31][32] Production for the second season wrapped up on November 4 in Spain.[33] On June 17, 2020, Netflix released the official trailer for the series,[34] and the first season was released on July 2, 2020.[35] The second season was released on November 10, 2022.[36]
Controversy
In his review for Daisuke Moriyama's similarly themed anime/mangaChrono Crusade, manga critic Mike Toole likens such ideas to "the old standby of nuns with guns" and makes explicit comparisons between it and Dunn's comic book. Toole states that Dunn's idea of a "woman who slays monsters in a habit" is novel but that it "just doesn't make any goddamned sense". Quite differently, he writes that Moriyama is more restrained, and while his fully clothed heroine nun Rosette Christopher may be somewhat comical that she and her fellow characters "otherwise seem vaguely authentic".[37]
Dunn made it a point to focus on escapist storytelling and after Antarctic Press' failed attempts at a "serious version" backfired this was reinforced. The man they chose for this was Barry Lyga, who wrote the second series. He wrote of that experience: "The original three series were very tongue-in-cheek... Unfortunately, the audience for the book liked the more tongue-in-cheek approach, and by mutual agreement, I left the series after six issues". Indeed, Lyga's willful decision to reject monster attacks out of hand and focus on "realism" led to less-than-successful issues that were never even completed.[38]
Website Comicsutra states "that's what makes Warrior Nun Areala so special. At its core, it portrays people who have unshakable faith in God and their religion. ...Its affection for nuns is also evident—and sometimes returned. One real nun asked about Warrior Nun Areala noted that she and her colleagues give poor children college prep-level educations—that they are superheroes. Amen, sister".[39]
Catholic criticism
Such sentiments also extend to members of the real Roman Catholic Church.[5] Real priests and nuns sent their letters, alternately praising and condemning the series. In July–August 1997, the US Catholic League stated that "it does object to the comic strip characters that appear in the Warrior Nuns comic strip, a product of Antarctic Press".[40] In another example Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a speaker for Washington, D.C.'s United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that Areala's costume is "offensive. The habit is something sacred".[19] That is seen in early issues with how the upper half of the muscled, buxom Sister Shannon's ultra-low cut battle habit would show cleavage and/or show perpetually erect nipples through the cloth while the lower half consists of a loincloth, if that much in other Warrior Nuns. It was a seeming contradiction in terms with how a nun's habit is meant to hide the body in order to discourage lust. In fact, Ben Dunn wrote that the reason he did that was that "nipples sell". Regardless, Dunn stated the loincloth is "for mobility" and that is the official in-continuity explanation that the modest Sister Shannon herself unapologetically espoused when confronted on her seeming lack of modesty.[41] This was resolved by having Sister Shannon's superior assign the Warrior Nuns new more modest battle habits that covered their breasts in the second series to replace the previous ones that she felt were "a bit too revealing!"[42] Dunn himself ultimately did say that perhaps, "I think I did go a little overboard" in the earlier issues.[43]
When Areala was accused of being a "bad girl" comic, Lyga countered that the second issue of his Areala series "had not a single punch thrown. When was the last time anyone saw a so-called 'bad girl' comic without a fight scene?"[39] In fact, the same Sister Mary Ann Walsh, despite disliking Sister Shannon's battle habit, adds that the creation of Areala comes from someone with "a positive feeling toward sisters".
This section is in a table format that may be better if supplemented with prose. You can help by adding a prose summary of the table(s). Editing help is available.(November 2023)
Music
Two CD singles were made for Warrior Nun, one by Pink Filth and Bad Habit's Monkeys on the Throne.[47][48] Songs for Monkeys include,
^Anime Jump
Catholic blogger and comic reviewer D.G.D. Davidson follows a similar train of thought. He acknowledges that Catholicism with its "imagination", large size, and vast hierarchy lends itself more easily to use in such things, though he admits the overuse.
For one thing, we've already got the monster-fighting equipment: as I write this, I have a full bottle of holy water at my elbow in case the vampires or zombies show up, I have several icons nearby, and I can lay my hands on a rosary or crucifix pretty quickly if the situation calls for it. It's also easier to imagine the Catholic Church with a supercomputer and demon-tracking satellite network than it is to imagine, say, the Conservative Baptist Association.
However, he nonetheless criticises Areala as being mere gimmickry and for being disrespectful of women with the early costumes. He also criticises the lack of sufficient research and for not taking advantage of Catholicism's rich history:
The story could have been significantly cooler if Dunn did a little research. Apparently, Warrior Nuns govern certain "sectors" in which they are responsible for keeping demonic activity in check. If Dunn referred to dioceses, deaneries, and parishes instead of sectors, I might have believed he knew what he was talking about. A few references to actual Catholic practices or maybe a little use of Vatican politics might have enriched the story immensely. For example, instead of creating an oddly named order of Magic Priests, Dunn could have assigned magic powers to our exorcists, who already have less spectacular demon-fighting rituals.
