If you’re a fan of the Paris-set animated superhero series that has captivated audiences since its debut in 2015, then here’s some great news for you: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is getting a live-action adaptation from See-Saw Films, the studio behind Slow Horses and Heartstopper, and Miraculous Corp, which could take the series to a whole new level of success, bringing it to a wider audience than the (wildly successful) animated series ever had before. The producers of the new series say they intend to reach a “broad and older audience” while also meeting the hopes and (high) expectations of existing fans.
The series, created by Thomas Astruc, Jeremy Zag, and Nathanaël Bronn, centers on Marinette, a girl who, despite being kind and hardworking, is convinced she must be perfect to be loved. And who does she long to be loved by? Her classmate, Adrien. But Marinette has a secret: by day she may simply be just a student, but by night she becomes Ladybug, a superhero intent on keeping her city safe from the villainous Hawk Moth. Little does she know that Cat Noir, the hero she fights alongside, is actually Adrien, the boy she’s in love with.
According to Maria Nicholson, the executive producer at See-Saw Films who spoke exclusively with Variety, it’s going to be a series filled with intimacy and romance, something that the live-action medium will truly let the studios express. “Miraculous has always been, at its heart, a story about the distance between who we are and who we let people see. Live action gives us the space to really feel that—to let it breathe, to let it hurt,” she said. Elaborating on the vision, Nicholson added, “We’re aiming to build something with the emotional intimacy of a great romance and the scale of a genuinely epic superhero story. I think audiences are going to fall in love with these characters all over again.”
The adaptation is coming after six successful seasons of the animated series (with a seventh on the way), and while no directors or actors have been officially attached to the project, it’s been announced that Emme Hoy, who has worked on series like Sweetpea and Renegade Nell, will head the adaptation. Fan reactions since the announcement have been mixed, with some thrilled by the idea and others convinced the show won’t be able to maintain what made it so special as it transitions to live-action. “This is amazing news to hear, and I can’t wait to see this series out in the near future, and this is my most anticipated television series of all time,” said one fan. Another less convinced fan added, “This is either going to be an expensive CGI hell or a cheap, low-budget, low-quality disaster series. I don’t see anything in between.”
