Why Netflix Canceled Warrior Nun

In the case of a troubled TV show, few things are more powerful than a passionate (read: loud) fan base. Fandom fervor can often be the one thing standing between a series and outright cancellation, even if a renewal isn't immediate.

So it was for "Warrior Nun," a Netflix Original based on the American manga "Warrior Nun Areala." The series follows Ava (Alba Baptista), a young girl who's accidentally resurrected by an ancient Catholic relic and later joins a secret order of... well, warrior nuns. It was something of a cult hit, attracting fans who were hungry for queer representation and general female badassery on screen. Their love for "Warrior Nun" kept the series alive: the fans campaigned hard for another season of the series, and Netflix eventually obliged. Unfortunately, that same strategy wouldn't work for season 2.

"Warrior Nun" returned in November 2022, but its second season failed to meet Netflix's shrewd viewership standards. Per Deadline, the series spent "just" three weeks in the streamer's Weekly Top 10, and that low viewership inspired Netflix to officially pull the plug a month after its premiere. Critics and fans agreed that the cancellation was premature, though, especially since it fit an unfortunate pattern from Netflix. Indeed, "Warrior Nun" was just one of many openly-queer shows that the streamer had canceled after just a couple of seasons. (Which is not to suggest Netflix is alone in canceling openly-queer shows at a higher rate.)

That injustice lit a fire under the fandom anew, kick-starting an even bigger campaign to #SaveWarriorNun. And though their prayers would eventually be answered, salvation didn't come in a form that anyone expected.

"Warrior Nun" fans campaigned tirelessly for the series in 2023. Months of protest finally seemed to get results in June, when the creator of "Warrior Nun," Simon Barry, teased a potential revival on X (formerly known as Twitter). "I'm happy to officially report that because of your combined voices, passion and amazing efforts — 'Warrior Nun' will return and is going to be more EPIC than you could imagine," Barry posted.

It'd take a few more months for concrete news to emerge, but that August, executive producer Dean English confirmed that "Warrior Nun" would soon return — this time in the form of a big-screen film trilogy. Details at the time were scarce, as the news broke during the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, but it was soon revealed that the "Warrior Nun" movie trilogy would not be distributed by (or have anything to do with) Netflix.

Even then, fans were conflicted about the news. They'd lobbied hard for a series renewal with the original cast, not a feature-length reboot that could potentially change everything they loved about "Warrior Nun." And things only got worse when the creative team behind the series — Barry, along with writer-producers Amy Berg and David Hayter — revealed that they wouldn't be returning, either.

In the years following that bittersweet announcement, "Warrior Nun" is no closer to returning. In September 2024, the trilogy faced another major setback when Productivity Media Inc. — the financier attached to the "Warrior Nun" reboot — suspended its CEO amid allegations of financial mismanagement. With the company in the midst of a major internal investigation, there's no telling when (or if) production can feasibly begin on "Warrior Nun" — but that may be just as well for the fans who feel betrayed by recent developments.

English recently admitted that PMI's financial troubles dealt "a significant blow" to the future of "Warrior Nun." In an interview with the fan-run OCS Newsletter, English formally addressed the fandom for the first time since 2023:

"To all of you so deeply invested in this universe, I need to apologise for some of the things that have happened over the last few years. So much of this has been due to nonsense behind the scenes — things I am not at liberty to share with you — but I know there have been a lot of hurt feelings and expectations that feel cast aside. Most of you may not know (and perhaps not care) — but I share many of these hurt feelings."

Per English, the upcoming trilogy "may or may not" continue the stories introduced in Netflix's "Warrior Nun," but the producer also teased "many similar stories this universe has to offer." It may be easy to assume that "Warrior Nun" is officially dead, but there's still a slim chance that the films could resurrect the series the way fans always wanted. Based on English's comments, fans just need to be patient and wait for more concrete news.