In a world of reboots, specifically 90s properties, Daria is one of those properties that has jumped on and off the shelf. According to Variety, it looks like the spinoff is finally happening. The spinoff, simply titled Jodie, will be an animated film centering around Daria’s friend and former classmate.
In the original Daria series, Jodie was a recurring character. Unlike most of the other students at Lawndale High, Jodie was a fellow intellectual and one of the only other kids that understood Daria’s sense of humor. Her parents strived to have her be an achiever, so she was forced to be a member of multiple clubs in order to bulk up her college applications. Being one of the only black students, she was also utilized as a voice for black issues and thus was also seen doing volunteer work and extracurricular courses. Grace Edwards, executive producer and writer of Jodie, expressed excitement to work with the character.
“It was a joy because I grew up with Daria. I remember watching it on MTV and feeling very seen by it. I was a nerdy girl, and I really felt like Daria and Jane were representative of those of us who felt unseen. Like Jodie, I went to primarily white schools growing up, so I related so much to having to feel like you really can’t fully be yourself. Every time I would see Jodie, I would sit up straighter and I’d always want more. I felt like there wasn’t enough of her.”
Jodie will bring the young woman back, now graduating from college and setting off as an intern for the tech firm, Firstfinity. Jodie herself, voiced by Jessica Cyndee Jackson in Daria, will now be voiced by Tracy Ellis Ross (Black-ish). Joining Ross will be Cole Escola (Tuca & Bertie) as Ryan, Pamela Adlon (King of the Hill) as Jocelyn Light, William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) as Mack, Jojo T. Gibbs (Good Trouble) as Tiffany, Alex Moffat (Ralph Breaks the Internet) as Barry, Zosia Mamet (The Flight Attendant) as Greta, Dermot Mulroney (Shameless) as Lionel, Kofi Siriboe (Queen Sugar) as Raymond, Kal Penn (House) as Sandeep, Dulcé Sloan (The Great North) as Cas, and Helene Yorke (The Other Two) as Nia. Rounding out the cast will be Arden Myrin (Insatiable), who will be playing the bubbly Brittany Taylor, the very same one from Lawndale High.
Grace Edwards is credited with writing Jodie along with executive producing with Ellis Ross and Ashley Kohler of Awesome Inc. MTV Entertainment Studios will be producing the film. According to Edwards, the film will focus on a major turning point with the character, a theme that is all too familiar with former ‘gifted’ students.
“We’re gonna see Jodie Landon, who used to be the perfect Black teen, come to a whole other environment and realize that she was the big fish in the small pond. And now she’s a small fish in the ocean. It’s about her just growing into being an adult in a different environment than Lawndale where we get to see the 360 degree, full, three-dimensional character.”
Currently there is no news where the film will premiere within the various realms of Paramount, but chances are high that it will be a Paramount+ feature. The streaming service has since found success in animation with the two South Park specials that centered around the COVID-19 pandemic.
