Rebecca Sugar is finally making her feature film debut. The Steven Universe creator is set to helm the first ever U.S.-produced animated film about Moomin, the sweet magical troll who looks like a hippo.
Sugar will write and direct the upcoming film, which adapts artist Tove Jansson’s work for the big screen. The project will be a co-production between Moomin Characters and Annapurna Animation, who previously released the 2022 animated hit Nimona and have started working on an animated adaptation of the beloved video game Stray.
“We are thrilled to partner with the talented Rebecca Sugar as well as Annapurna for this milestone new film,” CEO of Moomin Characters Roleff Kråkström said in a statement. “We are excited to see how this accomplished team will reinterpret the beloved Moomin stories and for them to be discovered and rediscovered by old and new fans alike.”
Co-presidents of Annapurna Animation Robert Baird and Andrew Millstein added: “We’re honored to bring Tove Jansson’s timeless vision to the big screen. Along with Rebecca and Julia, we can’t wait to introduce these beloved characters — and the humor, heart, and subversive spirit Tove brought to her work — to new audiences.”
Producer Julia Pistor — who is known for her work on The Rugrats Movie and The Spongebob Squarepants Movie — is also set to produce the feature.
Jansson’s artwork and stories have been a cultural touchstone for over 80 years, so it makes sense to see it finally coming to the silver screen. It has been adapted for television in more than 120 countries and Jansson’s Moomin books have been translated to over 60 languages globally. But in recent years, the franchise has regained mainstream popularity in the United States. The Brooklyn Public Library hosted an exhibit on the character from June to September, and he and his friends were also recently the subject of a feature story from The New Yorker in August.
This is, of course, extremely exciting news — but it gets even better, because Sugar is also working to expand the Steven Universe universe with Lars of the Stars. This upcoming spinoff series will focus on space outlaw Lars Barriga and will bring Sugar back into partnership with her husband, executive producer Ian Jones-Quartey.
No word on release dates for either project just yet, but we can’t wait either way.
Photo by Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing via Getty Images.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
