Netflix Canceled Fan-Favorite Series Revived In New Form
Despite being canceled in 2022, Netflix’s live-action series Fate: The Winx Saga will continue on in a new graphic novel. Publisher Mad Cave Studios will be debuting the new title, The Winx Saga, Vol. 1: Dark Destiny, on July 31st.
Netflix’s Fate: The Winx Saga and the upcoming graphic novel are both based on Iginio Straffi’s animated series that premiered in 2004. Over the years, as popularity grew, the show caught the attention of Nickelodeon and by 2010 they were co-writing episodes with Straffi’s production studio Rainbow SpA. In 2019, the Italian animator commented on this partnership, “The know-how of Rainbow and the know-how of Nickelodeon are very complementary; the sensibilities of the Americans, with our European touch.”
Fans Rejected The Netflix Series
Initially, news of Netflix’s Fate: The Winx Saga was met with much excitement; fans who grew up with Straffi’s show were delighted to see it come to life. However, attitudes quickly changed when Netflix released the first promo picture of the main cast. Critiques came pouring in, and OG Winx Club fans were quick to point out that the fairy Musa, who Straffi wrote as East Asian, was being played by a white woman and that Flora, the confirmed Latina fairy, was fully excluded from the adaptation and was replaced with a new character Terra, also being played by a white woman.
From the jump, Fate: The Winx Saga was already letting down a large chunk of its core audience.
Cut Short At Two Seasons
Not to much surprise, after a two-season run, Fate: The Winx Saga was axed by Netflix in November of 2022. In 2024 the streaming giant is looking for redemption for the Winx Club property and hopes to find it in the world of graphic novels. Written by Olivia Cartero-Briggs and illustrated by Christianne Gillenardo-Goudreau, Fate: The Winx Saga, Vol. 1: Dark Destiny, will carry on right where the Netflix series left and hopes to be the first installation in a larger series.
The Graphic Novel Picks Up The Slack
Publisher Mad Cave Studios teased what audiences can expect in a statement released to their website, “In a continuation of the hit Netflix series, Fate: The Winx Saga Vol. 1 Dark Destiny, follows a group of fairies enrolled at the magical school of Alfea in the wake of losing their close friend, Bloom. In this new school year, Aisha, Kat, Terra, and the rest of our heroes must face a mysterious new enemy that threatens to destroy everything they love.”
Netflix Fumbled
A new Winx Club graphic novel is not that much of a surprising installation. As of 2020, Straffi’s Rainbow SpA has already produced over two hundred issues of the Winx Club Comic Series, and almost all of them can be found and read online for free. So, while Netflix’s diving into the world of graphic novels is admirable, it is just another attempt to replicate something the original property has already perfected and a last-ditch effort to make Fate: The Winx Saga a worthy adaptation.
More Of The Winx Saga Is In The Works
Fate: The Winx Saga, Vol. 1: Dark Destiny is set to be available to purchase by July 31. However, the title will not be released on Amazon until August 13. As far as any other Winx Club news, Straffi did announce in 2022 that a new animated reboot was in the works and a big-budget movie was on the horizon; however, that was the last time that either idea was mentioned.
Despite its cancellation, the live-action series Fate: The Winx Saga is still available to stream on Netflix; go check it out if you haven’t already. As for now, we look forward to what lies in store for the Winx Club and hope that the magic of the original series is restored.
