‘Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’ Producers Reveal What’s in Store For Lunella—and Share Their Dream Marvel Team-Ups
Lunella Lafayette (Diamond White) is back, and she’s tougher, smarter, and more lovable than ever! Season 2 of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur comes out on Friday, February 2, and the next chapter in Lunella’s story sees her taking on challenges from black holes to school dances.
We sat down with executive producers Steve Loter and Rodney Clouden to talk about what’s in store for Lunella in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur season 2.
Did either of you have any idea how successful Moon Girl would be when season 1 premiered?
Steve Loter: We’re thrilled with the fans’ reaction. The outpouring of love for the show, and the journey of Lunella Lafayette, has been absolutely incredible. Whenever you’re making a TV show, you make it the best it can be for yourself, because if it’s good and you feel good about it, hopefully someone else will respond to it in the same way. And the Emmy wins were a pretty nice bonus on top of that! So yeah, it’s been an incredible journey.
Rodney Clouden: You know, you never know with the audience, because you’re working on something and you’re feeling good about what you’re working on. When I came to work on this show, I saw the development of it and I was like, this show is incredible. It’s a very unique take on everything, like writing and character development, and all you can do is just hope that the audience in turn feels the same way once you release the baby into the wild.
When you began working on season 2, how did you decide how to continue the story you started in season 1?
SL: Well, we have an incredible all female writers room led by Kate Kondell and Halima Lucas. Season 1 was about Lunella becoming Moon Girl, so season 2 is about her being Moon Girl, which brings a whole new set of narrative problems that we can explore. One of those problems is that now she’s well known, so the villains are going to level up against her, maybe to make a name for themselves. Also, the conflict she has of trying to keep the secret from her family is just becoming more and more difficult as the season goes on, and it even strains the friendships she has with Casey and Devil Dinosaur. So everything got leveled up in a narrative sense. Also, in season 1 you got to know the characters, so in season 2, we can kind of put them through their paces a little bit and dive deeper into who Lunella is. Like, we have a junior high school dance where Lunella is trying to figure out if she’s ready to date yet.
Was there anything specific that you felt like you didn’t get to put in season 1, so you tried to do it in season 2? Or was season 2 more of a blank slate?
RC: We thought of [seasons 1 and 2] as separate story arcs. Was there anything we wanted to put in season 1, but didn’t? Not really, but in terms of how we approached Lunella as a developing person, as a teenager, we wanted to approach subject matter that was a little more intense and grown up. A 14-year-old person would go through anxiety, dealing with toxic expectations that she puts on herself, or that other people put on her. How do we deal with that in a unique way that’s approachable and relatable, but still entertaining and informative? And I give the credit to our writing staff, because they’re mostly women, and they put in their experience of how they deal with that kind of stuff in a society that treats certain people a certain way, with certain expectations that are put on them. It’s also good to see in a kids’ show that even superheroes go through troubles, whether they defeat or conquer them or keep going.
The show does tackle some difficult subject matter! Early in season 2, Lunella starts experiencing anxiety attacks after a villain nearly kills her. How do you strike a balance between comedy and lightheartedness, and this kind of honesty and authenticity?
SL: It’s definitely a balancing act, especially for a children’s show. We rely on our writers’ experience. We rely on consultants when needed, to make sure we’re on point with the message. It’s interesting to explore a superhero whose superpower is her brain. When she encounters a villain who has these god-like abilities that can transform matter and do anything, her giant brain may not be able to defeat him. It’s been important for us to make sure that the show is relatable, and these are definitely emotions that we all feel as human beings.
What was the process of developing the animation style for season 2? Did everyone feel like they nailed the show’s style in season 1, or was there a sense of wanting to experiment and try new things?
RC: It definitely has an element of experimentation, specifically in terms of the mix tape moments that we have, where Lunella’s fighting villains. We like to mix genres. In one episode, she’s in New Mexico getting her new suit, and we tasked [composer] Raphael Saadiq with creating something that was kind of like a duel—like a Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone style of music, but make it pop. And he did it, he created something. Then, with the visual motif that we have, the mixtape was pushed to a different level visually. If anything, the mixtape moments were the ones where we really said we need to step these up, visually and conceptually.
We’re seeing a lot of exciting things happen in the wider Marvel world. The Spider-Verse movies are another example of groundbreaking animation, and we’re seeing a lot more diversity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How do you see Moon Girl fitting into this new paradigm?
SL: Well, Marvel has been an incredible partner on this project. I like to feel that we’re MCU complimentary in a way. We even work with Marvel on the characters we bring into the show. They bring us a list. And it’s been incredible because Lunella is the type of character that we needed for a very long time. So we’re thrilled to be able to bring her to the screen.
RC: Yeah. It’s just very cool to have a character like Lunella, because in the media you don’t often see girls, particularly Black girls, in science and technology. So it’s great to have a character like Lunella who’s into that and is showing that there are other ways to be a superhero. You don’t have to have superpowers where you’re strong or flying or running very fast. You can use your brain. You can do a lot of things and achieve a lot of things.
As we start to wrap up, let’s end on a fun question. Steve, you said that Moon Girl is MCU complimentary, and with the multiverse, Marvel can have fun with alternate realities. If you each could have one character from another part of the Marvel universe team up with Lunella, who would you pick?
SL: Well, I gotta go with some favorite characters. When I was growing up, the X-Men were huge for me. Wolverine’s short temper, his lack of ability to think through a situation, the way he just charges into action—I think that would be an interesting dynamic for Lunella to have to deal with, honestly. I think that would be a very interesting team-up.
RC: For me, I’d have to go with my man Miles Morales. I’ve been a big Spider-Man fan since I was young, and when I saw Spider-Verse and read the comics books, I was just like, wow. Yeah. I love Miles Morales.
I think you’re going to give fans some fan fiction ideas!
SL: [laughing] That’d be cool. That’d be great.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur season 2 comes out on Disney Channel and Disney XD on Friday, February 2. It comes out on Disney+ on Saturday, February 3. This interview was edited for length and clarity.
(featured image: Disney+)
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