Since acquiring the rights to Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s novels, Netflix has set forth on a number of high-profile projects with top creators. Wes Anderson has a Henry Sugar anthology series with Benedict Cumberbatch attached, while Taika Waititi is developing a couple of animated shows set within the Charlie & the Chocolate Factory universe.
And now you can add Ava DuVernay who is on board a Matilda animated series for the streamer. Puck News has the info, describing the show as following “a grown-up Matilda and an 8-year-old, gifted Black girl who travel the world, ‘X-Men’ style, and recruit other special kids for their boarding school.”
However, there’s been a problem already. An unnamed white showrunner has been fired from the project for “cultural sensitivities” and arguing with the diverse writing staff. And this one doesn’t come as a shock to me at all given the brief synopsis, but apparently the pilot episode had “white savior” tropes written all over it, with the white British girl and her black sidekick traveling the world plucking foreign kids from their home countries.
The showrunner was fired by DuVernay’s production banner despite Netflix’s investigation not really finding a worthy offense. That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Anyway, Matilda is a cherished novel about an 8-year-old girl who happens to be a genius. The book was turned into a 1996 live-action movie starring Mara Wilson, Rhea Perlman, and Danny DeVito who also directed.