Last fall, Netflix announced plans to develop several new genre series, including ‘Warrior Nun’ based on the American manga comic ‘Warrior Nun Arealla’, created by Ben Dunn. The TV show will be written and executive produced by Simon Barry. The first season will consist of ten episodes.
‘Warrior Nun’ revolves around Ava, a 19-year-old woman who wakes up in a morgue with a new lease on life and a divine artifact embedded in her back. She discovers she is now part of an ancient order that has been tasked with fighting demons on Earth, and powerful forces representing both heaven and hell want to find and control her.
The regular cast has been set with Portuguese actor Alba Baptista as Ava, with Toya Turner, Tristán Ulloa, Thekla Reuten, Kristina Tonteri-Young, Lorena Andrea, and Emilio Sakraya.
“Ava is tasting freedom for the first time in her young life after being liberated from an abusive orphanage and a prison of her mind and body. As a result, she wants to experience everything at once, and she can be reckless in her ambition.”
Baptista has only worked in Portuguese projects, having starred on the telenovella ‘Jogo Duplo’, and films like ‘Caminhos Magnétykos’, and ‘Linhas de Sangue’ among others.
Turner will play Shotgun Mary, a woman who is more loyal to the sisterhood than to the Church. “She escaped family tragedy and was raised with religion but never really took to it fully. Naturally, she has a chip on her shoulder about loyalty. All the nuns know they can count on Mary to have their backs.”
Turner has been seen in small roles on ‘Chicago Fire’, ‘Empire’, ‘Easy’, ‘Chicago Med’, and ‘The Mick’. She has also appeared in some films, most recently ‘The Animator’, and she provided various voices for ‘Incredibles 2’.
Ulloa appears as Father Vincent, “the spiritual and strategic leader of the Order of the Cruciform Sword. Behind the Man-of-God persona, he presents a vulnerability that is both disarming and attractive. A veteran of making bad choices, putting on the collar and devoting himself to the Church was trading one addiction for another.”
Ulloa played another man of the cloth on another Netflix show, as Padre Albert on ‘Cathedral of the Sea’. He also starred on Netflix’s ‘Fariña’ a.k.a. ‘Cocaine Coast’. Most recently, Ulloa was seen as Mayor Ortega on Crackle’s TV series adaptation of ‘Snatch’.
Reuten portrays Jillian Salvius, the CEO of a tech startup who makes a discovery that could make religion obsolete, which makes her a target for the Vatican. Her description includes the cryptic line “They say there’s a fine line between genius and obsession.”
Reuten was most recently seen on the Amazon Video series ‘Beat’. She also starred on the British series ‘Stan Lee’s Lucky Man’, and appeared in the spy film ‘Red Sparrow’ opposite Jennifer Lawrence.
Newcomer Tonteri-Young plays Young Sister Beatrice, “a woman with a quiet Zen strength, Beatrice is a powerful Sister Warrior in her own right. The team’s resident strategist, Beatrice uses her reserved and intuitive nature to analyze everyone and everything around her.”
Andrea’s character, Sister Lilith, is a “legacy Nun” born into an elite family. She is committed to her beliefs, “which causes her to overstep and over-reach in her entitlement.”
Andrea has appeared in the films ‘Papillon’, ‘House on Elm Lake’, ‘Unhinged’ and ‘Jesters’.
German actor Emilio Sakraya plays JC, “the charismatic leader of a group of alluring petty criminals, running their game all over Europe, getting into trouble and “robbing the rich and giving to themselves.” While most members of the gang are aimless souls, JC has real ambition. He has big plans for his life, but for now, he is committed to living in the moments.”
Sakraya most recently appeared in the movie ‘Cold Feet’. He previously starred on the TV series ‘4 Blocks’, and appeared in the movies ‘Rock My Heart’, ‘Heilstätten’, and ‘Meine teuflisch gute Freundin’.
In addition to writing and executive producing ‘Warrior Nun’, Barry serves as showrunner. His previous TV projects include ‘Continuum’, ‘Van Helsing’, ‘Ghost Wars’, ‘Creeped Out’, and ‘Bad Blood’.
Are you a fan of the ‘Warrior Nun’ comic book? How do you feel about Netflix delivering a live action series?
Source: Deadline
