'Warrior Nun' Trailer: Hell Hath No Fury Like A Nun With Superpowers

What if you took Buffy, put her in a habit, and gave her a team of diverse, ass-kicking magical girls? You'd get something like Warrior Nun, the new Netflix action series that delivers on everything it promises to. It's about warriors...who are nuns.

Based on the manga-style comic series of the same name by Ben Dunn, Warrior Nun follows a girl named Ava, who after a near-death experience, wakes up in a church with a strange symbol on her back and a new lease on life, literally. Ava has been recruited by an ancient society of nuns and priests who defend the world from demons, and that symbol on her back — a glowing halo — grants her superpowers to fight these demons, like phasing through walls and objects. But the thing is, Ava just wants to be a normal girl!

The trailer is flippant and snarky, with same kind of cheeky tone that Joss Whedon's iconic Buffy the Vampire Slayer had, and nearly the same teenage girl chosen-one narrative. But what Warrior Nun has, in addition to an even crazier name than Buffy, is a whole team of warrior nuns. Beatrice, Shotgun Mary, Lilith, and Camila are all recruits to this same society, and aren't too pleased that Ava is coming in to steal all the glory. But they must team up to deliver their righteous fury against a woman who has somehow unlocked a portal to heaven.

The series seems a little more on the YA superhero side than the ridiculous pulp that the title promises, but Warrior Nun at least seems to lean into the original comic's anime-style weirdness as well as the strangely rich genre of "nunsploitation" that inspired it. Maybe with Warrior Nun, Netflix will have the power of God and anime on its side.

Here is the synopsis for Warrior Nun:

Caught in the middle of an ancient war between good and evil, a young girl wakes up in a morgue with inexplicable powers. Her search for answers brings her to The Order of the Cruciform Sword, a secret society of warrior nuns sworn to protect the world from evil. While juggling her responsibilities as the chosen one with the normal obstacles of a teenage girl, this mysterious fantasy drama is full of mystery, action, adventure, and teenage romance, proving our main character might fight in the name of good, but she's no angel.

Warrior Nun will release on Netflix on July 2, 2020.