Coming to Netflix sometime in 2022 is the upcoming fantasy film Slumberland. Starring everyone’s favorite Hawaiian, Jason Momoa, we have an in-depth breakdown of everything we know so far about Slumberland on Netflix.
Slumberland is the latest children’s fantasy story to join the slate for 2022 Netflix original releases. Based on the 1905 comic strip, Little Nemo In Slumberland, by Winsor McKay, this live-action adaptation will be coming to Netflix in November. This movie will be the second full-length feature adaptation of the original comics, with the first being the 1989 Japanese animated film Little Nemo: Adventures In Slumberland. Slumberland was originally announced in early 2020, with Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) at the directorial helm. Lawrence also directed The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as well as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and is currently filming the prequel film, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
The Trailer
The teaser featured Momoa and Marlow Barkley, the film’s lead, at the start of their adventure together. Momoa’s character is seen telling Barkley’s Nema (based on Nemo from the comic strip) that everything is about to change, before urging her to be careful if she wants to make it out alive and return to the waking world. He then introduces her to his world showing Nema “brand new dreams still under construction”, before giving her the rules of the dream world.
The newly released trailer sees Nema (Marlow Barkley) traveling through this magical land with the help of Flip (Momoa), who claims to have known her father, who could also travel into Slumberland and helped Flip steal things from other people’s dreams. Whether his claims that he can bring her father back are true or not, Nema follows him anyway, and what results is sure to be the adventure of a lifetime, filled with danger and delight in equal parts.
The clip is lighthearted and informative in equal measure as viewers are clued into the fact the two are on a mission to find missing pearls. The footage also previews the personalities of the two lead characters as Nema is shown to be smart and quick-witted while Momoa’s Flip is flamboyant and charismatic.
Slumberland release date
On Aug. 24, 2022, Netflix announced that Slumberland starring Jason Momoa will be released on Friday, Nov. 18. The film’s release comes just a week before the Thanksgiving holiday and will surely be a big hit with families during the holiday celebrations.
Who’s In the Slumberland Cast?
Marlow Barkley will be making her feature film debut as Nema. She is known for her role as Sophie Cooper in the television series, Single Parents as well as her voice acting for the Disney animated series, Amphibia. She also has several upcoming projects underway such as Spirited, which is a modern retelling of Charles Dickens’s classic novel A Christmas Carol with a musical twist set to be released in 2022 on Apple TV+.
In Netflix’s Slumberland, Jason Momoa is set to star as Flip, a nine-foot tall creature that is half-man, half-beast, with shaggy fur, and long curved tusks. The creature will be created by CGI with a performance captured by Momoa.
Luxton Handspiker will be playing a new character named Matt. He can be seen in the trailer with Nema and Flip behind the wheel of some sort of dreamland vehicle. Nema’s father, whose character has yet to be named, will be played by Kyle Chandler. Chandler is known for his roles in Bloodline, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Game Night. Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) has also been cast in an unnamed role.
There are four characters that are listed as Agent Red, Agent Orange, Agent Green, and Agent Brown being played by Tonya Cornelisse, Jamillah Ross, Weruche Opia, and Leslie Adlam, respectively. It’s unclear what role these agents will play in Slumberland, or whether or not they will be considered enemies or allies to Nema and Flip.
Slumberland Plot
Netflix’s Slumberland will be based on the 1905 comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay. In the original comic, the plot follows a young boy, but the Netflix adaptation will follow a young girl.
“A young girl, Nema, with the help of a large half-man/half-monster creature, travels to a mystical land in her dreams in search of her missing Father. 11-year-old Nema lives in a lighthouse with her father, Peter, who has taught her how to sail. Sadly, Peter dies one night during a storm at sea. Nema is sent to live with her estranged uncle Philip, who is dull and nothing like Peter. Nema discovers a world called “Slumberland” in her dreams. She encounters Flip (Momoa), a creature who claims to have been an outlaw with Peter years ago, stealing things from other peoples’ dreams. Nema decides to go on an adventure with Flip when he claims to know a way that she can wish for her father back.”
The protagonist from the comics and previous film adaptation was originally a young boy named Nemo, however, in the new reimagining, the character has been changed to that of a little girl named Nema. The name “Nemo,” or in this case, “Nema” has Greek origins which loosely translates to “Nobody.”
Nema once lived with her father, who told her an enchanting bedtime story one night about the mystical Slumberland. It’s a world built on dreams…but also nightmares (yes, like The Sandman). It’s a place where you can wish for anything, and it will happen. After he passes away, she finds a mysterious map that supposedly shows her the way into Slumberland. As she falls asleep that night, she finds herself being transported into that realm atop her (now magical) bed.
It’s there that she meets the notorious character named Flip. Flip is a loveable rascal with a knack for getting into some trouble in Slumberland. Not unlike the Artful Dodger, who takes young Oliver under his wing in Oliver Twist, Flip and Nema form a friendship, and together, the two of them venture through the ever-changing world of dreams in an attempt to reunite Nema with her late father one more time.
What’s the production status of the movie?
The film started production on February 8, 2021, in Toronto, Canada, and is wrapped by May 18th, 2021. In April 2021 Netflix officially released the first look at Slumberland and revealing that Momoa will not in fact be completely a CGI character and we will be seeing Jason Momoa himself a lot more in the movie.
