In the wake of greenlighting Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio update, streaming giant Netflix is moving forward on a slew of animated projects, one of which is aimed at Latino audiences.
Netflix has announced that they’re moving forward on the limited series Maya and the Three, an animated project created by Book of Life director Jorge Gutierrez.
The Mexican animator, painter, and director has described Maya and the Three as a humorous “Mexican Lord of the Rings,” starring a female superhero who is half human and “half divine.” The director acknowledges that the fantasy genre is heavily male-driven and says, “this is my attempt to provide an awesome female hero.” Outside of that, the only facts known about it are that it will draw heavily from “Mesoamerican legends.” Gutierrez will direct four of the nine episodes in the series, as well as serve as screenwriter.
Just a year ago Gutierrez was discussing plans for a sequel to Book of Life, though there hasn’t been much public movement on that. Since the success of Coco which, like Book of Life, deals with Day of the Dead, it’s hoped that Book of Life’s sequel will be able to continue the trend of Latino-centric animated stories. As of right now, Maya and the Three sounds like a highly fascinating story that could take the epic in a new direction.
There’s no set release date for May and the Three.