“Fate: The Winx Saga” To Give Us a Whitewashed Version of the Winx Club Franchise!

I knew Netflix was working on a live-action adaptation of the popular Winx Club animated series. However, now that a teaser trailer for Fate: The Winx Saga has been released, fans are understandably calling out the blatant whitewashing.

The Winx Club animated series debuted way back in 2004. Over the years, it has gained a very passionate fandom and the series introduced new characters and storylines to keep things fresh. I grew up watching Winx Club as a teen (and W.I.T.C.H. too).

Frankly, I wasn’t interested in seeing the franchise get a live-action adaptation, especially one that follows the overused “Everything-has-to-be-dark-and-gritty” aesthetic for “older fans.” I mean, I’m an older fan, and I’m not interested in none of that. Simply say the show didn’t have the budget to do justice to the wonderful set pieces, magical powers, and fashionable outfits from the animated series.

Along with going down a so-called darker route, Fate: The Winx Saga is also ready to give us a whitewashed version of the diverse animated cast. Going by what the fandom has been sharing online, when it comes to the PoC fairies in Winx Club, Aisha’s casting (actress Precious Mustapha) is the only one that makes sense.

What’s interesting is that, according to certain tweets, the creative team tried to create a loophole where Flora was concerned. So, instead of saying that Flora’s being played by a white actress (Eliot Salt), they decided to change Flora’s name to Terra and pretend that the show features an originally white character.

Here are some of the tweets in a thread created by Twitter user @thebloomix.

For some fans, the current casting decision shouldn’t come as a surprise for the rest of the fandom. Over the years, certain fans have been vocal about the changes in Aisha and Flora’s skin tones, with the World of Winx animated series (on Netflix) making Flora look like a white woman.

Sigh!

Brian Young (The Vampire Diaries) serves as showrunner for the six-episode first season of Fate: The Winx Saga, executive-producing alongside Winx creator Iginio Straffi, Judy Counihan and Kris Thykier from Archery Pictures, and Cristiana Buzzelli and Joanne Lee from Rainbow.

Fate: The Winx Saga will premiere on Netflix come January 22, 2021.

Let’s see what kind of reception this show gets.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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