During the Walt Disney Studios panel at the D23 Expo, representatives from Disney Animation announced that the company’s next animated feature film will be Raya and the Last Dragon. The film is billed as an epic fantasy adventure with a Southeast Asian flavour. The film is set in a fictional land called Lumandra, which comprises of five clans and was described during the D23 presentation as “a reimagined earth inhabited by an ancient civilization.” A young female warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon in the world.
Cassie Steele (Rick and Morty) will be playing the lead character, Raya. Rapper Awkwafina (Nora Lum) who gained immense popularity after her stellar comedic performance in Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8 will lend her voice to the dragon, Sisu. She said:
“She’s not like any other dragon that you’ve seen before; she’s a water dragon.”
Raya and the Last Dragon definitely sounds like a highly promising project, not just because of its Asian themes and charismatic actors attached, but also because the screenplay is penned by Adele Lim, the co-writer of Crazy Rich Asians. Crazy Rich Asians was one of the best films of 2018 and that’s largely due to its tip-top script which was populated with nuanced characters and had a perfect blend of comedy and drama. And you know what’s super cool? Adele Lim was born and raised in Malaysia.
After the D23 presentation, Lim shared her excitement on Twitter.
“SO happy to finally share our very secret baby at #D23Expo – that crowd and energy got us all tingly…”
https://twitter.com/adeleBlim/status/1165494921903497217?s=20
Raya and the Last Dragon is set for a November 2020 release.
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