Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur would be a 2026 film directed by Steven Spielberg and Laurance Fishburne, and written by Spielberg, Christina Hudson, and Meg LeFauve, while Kevin Feige would produce the film. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the film would star Shahadi Wright Joseph, Alfred Molina, and the voice of John Kassir. The film's score would be composed by John Williams, a recurring collaborator of Spielberg's.
The film would be first announced in January 2023, with Spielberg being in talks to direct the film. Spielberg and Laurancr would join the project by mid-August, with Wright Joseph being set to star as Lunella Lafayette / Moon Girl. Filming would begin in July 2024, in Atlanta Georgia. Animatronic dinosaurs would be used during filming, which would be replaced by CGI dinosaurs by Industrial Light & Magic during post-production.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur would be released on May 13, 2026, and would become a critical and financial success, earning 1.2 million dollars in box-office over a budget of 150 millions. The film would be praised for Wright Joseph and Molina's performances, its direction, visual effects, and musical score. The film would have an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects and Best Picture, and would win a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.
== Synopsis ==
For gifted teenager Lunella Lafayette, life has been quite hard as of late, having moved to New York City and having to adapt to a new school. Just as she starts to get her life back on track, destiny throws her another big change: a giant dinosaur known as Devil shows up and kidnaps her. Lunella soon discovers that the poor dinosaur is actually looking for help to escape his abusive owner: the mad scientist and warrior known as the High Evolutionary, who has been using genetically-altered dinosaurs for centuries to attack planets in order to make them evolve the way he envisions. As Lunella develops a bond with the creature, she must embrace the destiny upon her as a heroine to prevent the High Evolutionary from capturing Devil and taking over the world.
== Cast ==
* Shahadi Wright Joseph as Lunella Lafayette / Moon Girl:A gifted teenager who is struggling with her life after moving to New York City, and who develops a bond with Devil Dinosaur. Wright Joseph would describe the character as "a regular girl with relatable problems, cause she has a problem with change. And then she meets this big giant dinosaur who ends up helping her to accpet change". According to director Steven Spielberg, the character's arc in the film would be based on a line from her first appearance, during which she expresses fear for change, which he would felt "it would bring a down-to-earth arc in a crazy film". According to producer Kevin Feige, Moon Girl would be used over Moon Boy, Devil Dinosaur's most recurrent companion, becuase they felt "she could bring a level of relatability" that Moon Boy couldn't, througth he wouldn't discard any appearance of Moon Boy in the MCU.
* John Kassir as the vocal effects of Devil Dinosaur, a genetically-altered dinosaur who, after being abused for years by the High Evolutionary, escapes to New York City, eventually meeting and befriending Lunella. According to co-director Laurance Fishburne, the character would be a combination of the comics' version and "a giant dog".
* Alfred Molina as the High Evolutionary:A mad scientist with a god complex who has been using an army of genetically-altered dinosaurs to impulse evolution on planets for ages. According to producer Kevin Feige, Molina would be cast "because of his ability to bring to the character the complexity that he had in the comics". Molina would describe the character as "someone who has the good idea of change being good for the universe, but executes it in an evil, corrupt, and twisted way. And that's what makes him dangerous". Molina would also say that he would choose to play the character because "he has this Shakesperean kind of complexity, which really intrigued [him]".
== Music ==
Longtime Spielberg collaborator John Williams would compose and conduct the film's score. Williams would describe his score as "a combination of Jurassic Park and E.T". He would describe his theme for Moon Girl as "a theme that barely changes" to reflect the character's arc, for which he wouldn't use it during action scenes until near the film's end, while he would say that his theme for Devil Dinosaur as "a friendlier version of" his Jurassic Park score. Williams would call his theme for the High Evolutionary as "a balance of good and evil" to reflect the character's complexity.
== Reception ==
The film would have an approval rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 8/10. The website's critical consensus would read, "With a charming lead performance, stunning visual effects, and a pack of Marvel's action and Spielberg's direction, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur takes the best of two worlds to give both Marvel and Spielberg's fans a wonderful journey". On Metacritic, the film would have a weighted rating of 77 out of 100 based on 48 reviews, indicating "generally positive reviews".
== Trivia ==
* This would be Steven Spielberg's first superhero film
* Right before Devil Dinosaur takes Lunella, she notices water vibrating, a clear reference to Spielberg's Jurassic Park.
* Laurance Fishburne previously played Bill Foster in the 2018 MCU film Ant-Man and the Wasp.
* According to producer Kevin Feige, Fishburne would be hired so the film could have "the same spirit as the cpmics", while Spielberg would be hired in order to give the film a "E.T.-like heartfelt tone that really complements the film's story".
Category:Marvel Studios
Category:Films directed by Steven Spielberg
Category:Films written by Steven Spielberg