Winx Club Forever
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A Fateful Encounter
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Fate: The Winx Saga is a live-action adaptation of the Winx Club series. It was created by Brian Young, a former producer for The Vampire Diaries. The series was released on January 22, 2021 on Netflix.[1][2][3]
A British company, Archery Pictures[4], produced the show in association with Rainbow SpA, a studio co-owned by Iginio Straffi and Viacom[5]. The writers for the show were entirely new and did not work on the animated series. Early in production, some of Nickelodeon's team from the cartoon met with the new crew members and reviewed the pilot episode's script[6].
The first season consists of six episodes, each up to one hour long[7]. According to Netflix, Fate: The Winx Saga is targeted towards young adults[8] and is "edgier and darker than they (the older audience of Winx Club) can imagine after being used to the colorful world of Winx."[9]
Later on February 18, 2021, it was announced that the show was green lit for a second season, which consists seven new episodes, and filming began later in that year in Ireland.[10]
Merchandise has also been created for the show, such as a book series and figurines.
In November 2022, the series was canceled after two seasons, causing it to end on an unresolved cliffhanger.[11]
Later, a graphic novel continuation, titled Dark Destiny was announced at New York City Comic Con 2023. It released on July 2, 2024, and the story picks up after the events of the second season.[12]. Volume two will be release the following July in 2025.
Synopsis[]
First[]
“For the first time the popular six fairies will turn into real teenagers learning to hone their powers while living together in a magic boarding school.”
Second[]
“Tucked away in a mythic parallel world, the Alfea School
has trained Fairies
in the magical arts for thousands of years, but it's never had a student quite like Bloom
. Raised in the human world, she's headstrong, kind... and dangerous. Within her is a power that could destroy both worlds, or save them. To control it, she has to control her emotions. She's a teenager. How hard could that be?”
Third[]
“The 6 episode series follows the coming-of-age journey of five unlikely friends attending Alfea, a magical boarding school in the Otherworld
where they must learn to master their enchanting powers while navigating love, rivalry and the monsters that threaten their very existence.”
Fourth[]
Official synopsis from Netflix's press site:
“Fate: The Winx Saga follows the coming-of-age journey of five fairies attending Alfea, a magical boarding school in the Otherworld where they must learn to master their enchanting powers while navigating love, rivalries, and the monsters that threaten their very existence. From creator Brian Young (The Vampire Diaries), Fate: The Winx Saga is a live-action reimagining of the Italian cartoon Winx Club from Iginio Straffi.”
Characters[]
On September 17, 2019, the Irish Examiner reported that filming for Fate: The Winx Saga had begun filming in Ireland[13]. On the same day, the official Winx Club Instagram account announced the following cast members[7]:
- Abigail Cowen
as Bloom
[14]
- Hannah van der Westhuysen
as Stella
- Precious Mustapha
as Aisha
- Eliot Salt
as Terra Harvey
- Elisha Applebaum
as Musa
- Sadie Soverall
as Beatrix
- Freddie Thorp
as Riven
- Danny Griffin
as Sky
- Theo Graham
as Dane
- Jacob Dudman
as Sam Harvey
- Josh Cowdery
as Mike Peters
- Eva Birthistle
as Vanessa Peters
- Eve Best
as Headmistress Dowling
[15][16]
- Robert James-Collier
as Saul Silva
[15][16]
- Lesley Sharp
/Miranda Richardson as Rosalind Hale
- Kate Fleetwood
as Queen Luna
[15]
- Leah Minto as Kat
[15]
- Alex Macqueen
/Daniel Betts as Ben Harvey
[16]
- Paulina Chávez
as Flora
- Brandon Grace as Grey Owens
- Éanna Hardwicke as Sebastian Valtor
- Jayden Revri as Devin
Episodes[]
Season 1
[]
- "To the Waters and the Wild
"
- "No Strangers Here
"
- "Heavy Mortal Hopes
"
- "Some Wrecked Angel
"
- "Wither Into the Truth
"
- "A Fanatic Heart
"
Season 2
[]
- "Low-Flying Panic Attack
"
- "Taken By The Wind
"
- "Your Newfound Popularity
"
- "An Hour Before the Devil Fell
"
- "Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?
"
- "Poor Unfortunate Souls
"
- "All the Wild Witches
"
Trivia[]
- The title of the show, Fate, is also the Italian word for "fairies".
- Most of the actors in the show are British or Irish, and production was mainly handled by a United Kingdom-based studio in London (Archery Pictures
).
- Fittingly, the original Winx Club remains very popular on Nickelodeon's British channel, ranking as the second-most-popular program on Nickelodeon UK.[17] On Fate's launch weekend (January 22-24, 2021), Nickelodeon UK aired the Winx episodes "Mystery of Calavera" and "Zombie Invasion" from Season 6.[18]
- According to Netflix's behind-the-scenes video, the visual effects crew made the decision early on that there would be no costume change during the transformations.[19]
- This is the second Winx Club spin-off to premiere on Netflix; the first being World of Winx.
- Fate: The Winx Saga was planned to hit a target audience of young adults.[8][20]
- According to Straffi, referring to complaints by fans of the animated Winx Club show that its newer seasons are childish, "the things we had to tone down in the animation have been emphasized in the live action—the relationships, the fights, the love stories."[9]
- According to an interview given by the showrunner Brian Young and the actress Abigail Cowen:[16]
- The Fairies
in Fate: The Winx Saga have no wings. Though at the end of season one, Bloom gained wings.
- The role of the Specialists
in Fate: The Winx Saga is to protect the Otherworld from feared beings known as the Burned Ones
.
- Fate: The Winx Saga challenges the outdated gender norms of the original Winx Club series by including male Fairies and female Specialists.
- The production team opted to go for a more realistic setting and for more realistic characters for Fate: The Winx Saga compared to the original Winx Club show.
- Fate: The Winx Saga is meant to be an emotionally authentic series for both Cowen, who experienced bullying in middle school, and Young, who was coming out as gay, and who therefore both experienced difficult high school years.
- The Fairies
- Shortly after the first teaser for Fate: The Winx Saga was released, fans criticized it for:[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]
- Whitewashing characters of color of the Winx Club franchise, as Flora is olive-skinned biracial Latina (and is designed after Jennifer Lopez and Musa is East Asian (and is designed after Lucy Liu in the original series) Flora was replaced by Terra and Musa is portrayed by a white actress in Fate: The Winx Saga.
- Being too dark and melancholically gritty compared to the original Winx Club series, and for abandoning the original series' colorful costumes and brighter elements.
- Lacking good writing/exposition and not being fully faithful to its original source material, mainly how their characters were changed to being bitter and vulgar towards each other and the transformations from Season 1.
Gallery[]
Promotional Videos[]
External Links[]
Fate: The Winx Saga on Instagram
Fate: The Winx Saga on Twitter
Winx Club on IMDb
- Fate: The Winx Saga Wiki
References[]
- ↑ Every Netflix Original Series Coming in 2020. What's On Netflix. December 5, 2019.
- ↑ Le Winx irlandesi e quella «Disney» europea che l’Italia dimentica. Il Sole 24 Ore. August 9, 2020.
- ↑ 'Fate: The Winx Saga' Season 1: Everything We Know So Far. What's On Netflix. November 9, 2020.
- ↑ Netflix ha prodotto una serie basata sul cartone animato Winx
- ↑ Netflix's latest TV series, 'Fate: The Winx Saga', is now filming in Ireland. entertainment.ie. September 17, 2019.
- ↑ Molly Quinn (Nickelodeon voice of Bloom) official account. Twitter. January 8, 2021.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Winx Club official account. Instagram. September 17, 2019.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Netflix to Adapt Winx Club Into a Live Action Young Adult Series". Netflix. 14 March 2018.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 TV Kids Licensing Expo, Annecy & NATPE Budapest 2019. Worldscreen. May 23, 2019.
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CLcEn8dnB8O/
- ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/netflix-cancels-fate-the-winx-saga-2-seasons-1235252745/
- ↑ https://screenrant.com/netflix-sequel-winx-saga-comic/ First Look at Netflix Sequel FATE: THE WINX SAGA Vol. 1 (Exclusive)
- ↑ Netflix young-adult series begins filming in Wicklow. Irish Examiner.September 17, 2019.
- ↑ ‘Fate: The Winx Saga’: Abigail Cowen To Lead Ensemble Cast Of Netflix YA Series. Deadline Hollywood. September 17, 2019.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Netflix’s ‘Fate: The Winx Saga’ Season 1: Everything We Know So Far. What’s on Netflix. July 2, 2020.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 'Boys can be fairies - it's the 21st century': How Fate: The Winx Saga finds the reality in fantasy. The Guardian. December 10, 2020.
- ↑ "Nickelodeon Consumer Products' Winx Club drive bolstered by strong viewing figures". Licensing.biz. October 11, 2011.
- ↑ Nickelodeon UK schedule: January 24 and 25, 2021.
- ↑ Netflix official channel - Fate: The Winx Saga VFX Breakdown. Netflix. January 28, 2021.
- ↑ "‘Winx Club’: Netflix Adapting Italian Animated Franchise As YA Series". Deadline Hollywood. March 14, 2018.
- ↑ Fans aren’t happy about ‘whitewashing’ of Netflix’s ‘Winx Club’ adaptation. Daily Dot. December 10, 2020.
- ↑ Fate: The Winx Saga Delivers a Whitewashed & Glitter-Free Adaptation of the Cartoon. The Mary Sue. December 10, 2020.
- ↑ Netflix releases trailer for 'Winx Club' remake: 'Fate: The Winx Saga'. Today. December 10, 2020.
- ↑ Netflix Slammed for Whitewashing Winx Club Live Action Cast. Decider. December 10, 2020.
- ↑ Netflix criticised for whitewashing two characters in Winx Club adaptation: ‘They just killed my favourite childhood’. The Independent. December 11, 2020.
- ↑ Netflix Delivers Whitewashed "Winx Club" Adaptation. Chaos and Comrades. December 11, 2020.
- ↑ Netflix accused of ‘whitewashing’ its Winx Club reboot by disappointed fans. indy100. December 11, 2020.
- ↑ Winx Fans Accuse Netflix of Whitewashing the Live-Action Series' Cast. CBR. December 11, 2020.
- ↑ Winx Club ‘whitewashing’ controversy explained: Twitter reacts to Netflix revival!. HITC. December 11, 2020.
- ↑ “Fate: The Winx Saga” To Give Us a Whitewashed Version of the Winx Club Franchise!. The Geekiary. December 11, 2020.
- ↑ 'Winx Club' Whitewash Controversy: Fans Are Angry With Netflix Right Now. Distractify. December 11, 2020.
- ↑ Netflix is slammed for 'whitewashing' new live-action remake of Nickelodeon cartoon Winx Club by replacing beloved Latina and Asian characters with WHITE actresses. December 11, 2020.
- ↑ Fans On Twitter Accuse Netflix Of Whitewashing The Cast Of The New 'Winx Club' Series. The Things. December 13, 2020.
- ↑ Relive your childhood with the Winx Club live-action that is angering the internet. The Tempest. December 20, 2020.
- ↑ Why Netflix's Winx Club Has Fans Angry: Whitewashing Controversy Explained. Screen Rant. December 20, 2020.
- ↑ Flora on Netflix’s Winx Club remake sparks ‘whitewash’ accusations. Monsters and Critics. December 11, 2020.