Posted in: Movies, Netflix, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: ben dunn, dean english, opinion, preview, simon barry, warrior nun

Warrior Nun or Warrior Done? Reboot Worries Spawn #SaveOURWarriorNun

After some uncertainty earlier this month, Warrior Nun fans are channeling their worries about a reboot with the #SaveOURWarriorNun campaign.

As far as fan campaigns to save their series go, we would have to rank the "Lucifans" who helped find the Tom Ellis-starring Lucifer a new home, and the "Halo Bearers" who resurrected the Alba Baptista-starring Warrior Nun back would definitely be at the top of a list of big successes. For the former, it was a new home at Netflix for its final three seasons – and for the latter, it was the news that the franchise would be making a three-film return (and the possibility of spinoffs within the "Warrior Nun" universe). But now, Warrior Nun fans are getting nervous that maybe their #SaveWarriorNun campaign should've been a #SaveOURWarriorNun campaign – a hashtag that sums fans have begun adding to their social media posts.

But why – especially when things were looking so good earlier this summer? It was back in June when series creator & showrunner Simon Barry (Continuum, Van Helsing) dropped the good news that the #SaveWarriorNun campaign was a success – promising more details soon:

A few days later, Barry posted a link to the "Warrior Nun Saved" site to sign up for more intel as the countdown clock to a big announcement got underway:

By mid-August, the countdown clock had wound down – but Barry had pretty much gone quiet on the Warrior Nun front. With both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes already underway at that point, many had assumed that would've been a major factor. Plus, with a big announcement about to be revealed, how much could really be said that wouldn't undercut the announcement? Here's a look back at EP Dean English's announcement confirming the future of the franchise from back in August – followed by the full text with all of the details (up to that point):

Hi, my name is Dean English and I'm the executive producer of Warrior Nun. I'm the person who found the graphic novel and asked the dangerous question of, "What if?" First of all, I need to start by thanking all of you loyal fans. It's because of you and your incredible energy that we keep pushing forward to make these stories. You guys really make it all worthwhile. So thank you so much for your continued support.

​I am very happy to announce that Warrior Nun is coming back as a trilogy of motion pictures. Once again, a trilogy of feature films. Three.

​One thing we need to touch on involves the strike in Hollywood involving actors and writers. And it's due to that that we cannot make any announcements today on that front. Some may ask, "Does this perhaps infer that there's going to be a universe being launched of Warrior Nun, which could expand into films and TV series following characters that we already know?" The answer to that question is yes. And there will be more details in the future.

​There is a Halo Bearer email hotline that you sign up for. And from there, you're going to get announcements of all the major developments as we go forward. And there's going to be a lot. And I know a lot of you have questions. Your answers will come through that.

​In closing, I want to say that you guys have made me very, very proud through all your hard work and inspired me all the time to keep going. So in this life or the next.

For close to the next two months, "Halo Bearers" were basking in the glow of knowing that more Warrior Nun was on the way – that is until October hit. That was when Barry and writer & producer David Hayter (American McGee's Alice) informed fans that they were not attached to the upcoming trilogy of films and weren't aware of what the next big announcement was that was being promoted.

That was definitely a bit of news that the fanbase didn't see coming – and they're not happy about it.

With that news already making its way around social media circles, later that day saw the reveal of the next big announcement. And it came in the form of a video of Warrior Nun creator Ben Dunn promoting an art contest for fans of the series to submit their own original designs for the new Halo – with the winner getting a hand-drawn illustration signed by Dunn that's set in the "Warrior Nun" universe. While a great opportunity for up-and-coming artists, a number of fans left the reveal video more than a little disappointed – and feeling understandably defensive. In the span of about 24 hours, Warrior Nun fans went from excited to grave concern – learning that two major players who helped make the original series a success were being kept out of the future planning process while reading into the "new Halo" contest as a sign that might be plans underway to reboot the series. And that is definitely not what the fans fought for over several months.

Do they have a reason to be concerned? Should we be seeing more #SaveOURWarriorNun? With the WGA strike having wrapped not that long ago and the SAG-AFTRA strike potentially going on longer than expected, it's tough to make a definitive call when there are still so many question marks in play. That said, Barry & Hayter not being involved are definitely red flags – and the art contest didn't exactly meet the bar set for "big announcement" (especially when that was the same tag, given to the news that Warrior Nun would be returning). So while we're not advising going to the mattresses quite yet ("The Godfather" rules), a steadily growing flow of #SaveOURWarriorNun couldn't hurt. You know… as a reminder.

Netflix's Warrior Nun stars Alba Baptista (Ava), Tristán Ulloa (Father Vincent), Kristina Tonteri-Young (Sister Beatrice), Lorena Andrea (Sister Lilith), Toya Turner (Shotgun Mary), and Thekla Reuten (Jillian Salvius). The series also stars Sylvia De Fanti (Mother Superion), Emilio Sakraya (J.C.), Olivia Delcán (Sister Camila), Joaquim De Almeida (Cardinal Duretti), May Simón Lifschitz (Chanel), Dimitri Abold (Randall), and Charlotte Vega (Zori). Barry, Jet Wilkinson, and Stephen Hegyes executive produce.

Editorial Note: In the interest of full disclosure, "Warrior Nun" is based on a property owned by Avatar Press, which also owns Bleeding Cool. Avatar Press has not been, is not, and will not be involved in the editorial process behind Bleeding Cool's coverage of the series.

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