Why did Wings of Fire get Cancelled?

Netflix offered plenty of exciting content in 2021, ranging from compelling documentaries to arthouse dramas.

Fortunately, the streamer is in the business of delivering promising news too, and Deadline confirmed last year that they greenlit an animated series adaptation of Wings of Fire.

This is a series of fantasy novels written by Tui T. Sutherland and published by Scholastic. It consists of three arcs – The Dragonet Prophecy, The Jade Mountain Prophecy, The Lost Continent Prophecy – with the first two made up of five books. The first published was The Dragonet Prophecy in 2012 and the series is still ongoing.

The fourth instalment of the third arc – The Dangerous Gift – was published in 2021.

However, it was just announced that Wings of Fire is cancelled at Netflix.

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Wings of Fire cancelled at Netflix

Deadline reports that sources close to Netflix have confirmed that a Wings of Fire animated series is no longer to go ahead on the streaming service.

The series was anticipated to follow young dragons fulfilling prophecies in a fantasy realm; the first arc falls on five dragonets of destiny who set out on a quest to help solve conflicts between the dragon tribes of Pyrrhia.

As for who was behind it, Dan Milano (Robot Chicken) and Christa Starr (Mystery Science Theater 3000) were adapting the series, noted as showrunners and executive producers. The series’ voice-cast is yet to be announced.

Alas, it just wasn’t meant to be. But why?

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Spiderhead | Official Trailer | Netflix

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Spiderhead | Official Trailer | Netflix

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Fans are wondering why it was cancelled

Although a concrete reason for the cancellation hasn’t been confirmed, the decision to axe Wings of Fire is reported to be part of wider animation cuts at Netflix.

Other shows such as Meghan Markle’s kids series have been cancelled and around 150 positions have ceased at the streaming service in response to a slow in the company’s revenue growth.

Taking this into consideration, Wings of Fire has been cancelled in the wake of cutbacks behind the scenes, much to the disappointment of fans:

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— Arlynn Lake, Professional Optimist (@DrWhoWhatWhyHow) May 17, 2022

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come ON, who would want to lose the chance to see THESE come to life? Just imagine how incredible these could all look, fully blooming with life in its own show. why would netflix do this #SaveWingsofFire #WingsofFire pic.twitter.com/vV2Zby5kOG

— carmen debunking reality (@TheCarmenStar) May 17, 2022

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So, I received the news today that the #wingsoffire series was cancelled on Netflix. As a fan of the series, I'm am saddened by this news.

With that said, I'd like to get on the trend with the #SaveWingsofFire hashtag in hopes that Netflix changes their mind.

— Kahuna (@HalderanKahuna) May 18, 2022

Ava DuVernay on Wings of Fire series

Looking back at when the project was announced, Deadline reported on Ava DuVernay sharing her excitement about the project:

“Within this epic book series from the mind of Tui Sutherland is an elegant saga filled with wisdom and wonder, exploring ideas of belonging and bias, camaraderie and community.”

She added: “On behalf of my colleagues Sarah Bremner and Paul Garnes of ARRAY Filmworks, we’re thrilled to partner with Netflix and Warner Bros. Animation for this dynamic adaptation where five young dragonets fulfil their destiny and show viewers how to fulfil their own.”

Quite a blow to the fans, indeed.

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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.

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