Emily the Strange Escapes Hot Topic for New Movie From J.J. Abrams & Nimona Writer

Goth icon Emily the Strange is finally getting the feature film treatment thanks to producer J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot. Emily the Strange was created by Rob Reger and first appeared in 1991 on professional skater Ross Goodman’s skateboard. In 2001, the first Emily the Strange graphic novel was published, which launched a merchandising empire that included additional graphic novels, a popular clothing line, and various other items featuring Emily and her four black cats. If you were a young kid or teenager in the 2000s to early 2010s and passed by a Hot Topic, you are likely familiar with Emily the Strange.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Warner Bros. Animation is developing a feature film based on Emily the Strange. The movie will be a partnership between Warner Bros. and J.J. Abrams’ production company Bad Robot. Emily the Strange will be written by Pamela Ribon, whose credits include Smurfs: The Lost Village and Ralph Breaks the Internet, and was nominated for an Academy Award for her animated short film, My Year of Dicks. She also contributed to the script for the Academy Award-nominated Nimona, which, like Emily the Strange, is an animated film based on a popular graphic novel.

Ribon released a statement regarding the film, saying that animation is “the perfect medium for [Emily’s] wild and wonderful inventions and adventures. I’ve always been drawn to Emily’s risk-taking, genre-bending attitude and style. I mean, brains and bangs? There’s nobody cooler. This one’s going to be so much fun.”

Warner Bros. Pictures released a video on Instagram announcing the project. Regarding the upcoming film, President of Warner Bros. Animation Bill Damaschke said, “Emily is an enduring pop-culture icon of individuality and empowerment, and Pamela Ribon has a singular and iconic voice. What an honor it is for us as Warner Bros. Pictures Animation to partner with Bad Robot, Rob [Reger] and Trevor [Duke-Moretz] in bringing Emily the Strange to the big screen.” Meanwhile, Rob Reger, the creator of Emily the Strange, released a statement following the news of the feature film, saying:

“Both the creative and executive teams we have in place for the movie are incredible. Everyone shows up with a keen perspective along with an understanding and respect for the unique connection
Emily the Strange
has with our ‘real world.’ Emily celebrates all that is weird and different, which in turn makes the strange and unusual in all of us, feel a little less alone. Bringing to life Emily’s universe and many mythologies we have created over the years is truly one of Emily’s best nightmares come true.”

Emily the Strange’s Long Journey to the Big Screen

This is not the first attempt to make a film based on Emily the Strange. Back in 2005, right as Emily the Strange was taking off, Fox Animation began developing an adaptation that would be a live-action/animation hybrid. In 2010, Universal Pictures acquired the film rights with Chloë Grace Moretz set to play the titular character. The project seemingly remains in development hell; back in 2016, Amazon was reportedly looking to develop Emily the Strange as an animated film. Every film incarnation has envisioned Emily the Strange and her world as an animated project. Hopefully, this Warner Bros. adaptation can move forward.

What is fascinating is that Emily the Strange appears to be one of the few projects to materialize from the deal that Warner Bros. made with Bad Robot back in 2019. However, in the five years since the deal was struck, very few projects have materialized. J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot were developing various titles based on supernatural DC heroes, like Zatanna, Madame Xanadu, and Constantine, which were scrapped after James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed the heads of DC Studios. Emily the Strange joins Hot Wheels as one of the few Bad Robot productions at Warner Bros. to gain any traction.