Warrior Nun fans rejoice as creator confirms axed Netflix show will return: ‘Sapphics won’
Fans of Warrior Nun, don your battle armour and ready your halos once more, because the series creator has confirmed that the mythical TV tale will return for a third season after being cancelled last year.
When the wildly popular Warrior Nun was axed by Netflix in December 2022, everybody with access to a functioning Twitter account knew about it. The cancelling of the fantasy series, which followed a group of nuns that train teenage girls to fight demons – was met with heartbreak from viewers and a viral petition to save the show.
Reasons for the outrage were many, varied and valid: For one, it was the latest example in a long list of Netflix shows containing queer characters to have been given the chop. In that very same vein, Warrior Nun also showcased one of the best-written sapphic love stories in recent television memory, between Ava Silva (Alba Baptista) and Sister Beatrice (Kristina Tonteri-Young).
In the series, Ava is a young girl who wakes up in a morgue to discover that she has come into the possession of ‘The Halo’ (an artefact with resurrection-like properties). Over the course of the show, fans fell head over heels in love with ‘Avatrice’ – the slow-burn romance between Ava and martial arts expert Beatrice.
And now, according to Warrior Nun showrunner Simon Barry, fans will finally get to see Avatrice navigate their way down from the cliffhanger they were left on at the end of season two following the show’s surprise ‘un-cancellation’.
“Today I’m happy to officially report that because of your combined voices, passion and amazing efforts, Warrior Nun will return and is going to be more EPIC than you could imagine”, Barry tweeted on Wednesday (28 June), making a nod to the #SaveWarriorNun viral hashtag and accompanying petition, both of which were popularised by fans of the show.
The showrunner teased: “More details to come! SOON! Thank-you!!”
Today I’m happy to officially report that because of your combined voices, passion and amazing efforts – #WarriorNun will return and is going to be more EPIC than you could imagine. More details to come! SOON! Thank-you!! #SaveWarriorNun #WarriorNunSaved
pic.twitter.com/yuTbRR2L3q
— Simon Barry – legacy blue check (@SimonDavisBarry) June 28, 2023
As one can imagine, the announcement has been met with waves of sapphic joy at the prospect of seeing Ava and Beatrice again after the pair were dramatically torn into different realms after finally sharing their first kiss at the end of season two.
“YOU MEAN TO SAY I WILL SEE THEM AGAIN ON MY SCREEN AND FINALLY SEE THEM MAKE OUT AND THEN THEIR HAPPY ENDING?” one fan not-so-calmly asked.
Another added: “We find out Warrior Nun is coming back during pride month? The gays are winning.”
“Sapphics won over Netflix,” a third wrote.
WE DID IT HALO BEARERS.
WE SAVED WARRIOR NUN. #WarriorNunSaved pic.twitter.com/W1QrM5wqK6
— Indigo Five Alpha ︽✵︽ (@ttnneebn) June 28, 2023
WARRIOR NUN WAS RENEWED OMFG pic.twitter.com/LVktzUQDwX
— val (@puflyx) June 28, 2023
YOU MEAN TO SAY I WILL SEE THEM AGAIN ON MY SCREEN AND FINALLY SEE THEM MAKE OUT AND THEN THEIR HAPPY ENDING?????????
I cry
#WarriorNun #SaveWarriorNun #WarriorNunSaved pic.twitter.com/zoqmnOxF3H
— Teddy
| SAVE WARRIOR NUN (@halopulsebearer) June 28, 2023
Fans have been quick to point out that the show’s renewal is one of the few examples of an online movement being turned into tangible results, and a new hashtag, #WarriorNunSaved, has triumphantly surfaced on Twitter.
“We saved Warrior Nun,” one fan wrote.
“Congratulations everyone! We did it!!! Happy Pride!!!!!” another added, while a third extended their joy to the rest of the fanbase, affectionately named ‘The Halo Bearers’.
“Sending a virtual hug to all the Halo Bearers! We didn’t give up and today we get to receive!”
LONG LIVE THE WALLS WE CRASHED THROUNG HALO BEARERS THEY'RE COMING BACK HOME #WarriorNunSaved #WarriorNun pic.twitter.com/lKDBA8ow9O
— gi (@haizwelch) June 28, 2023
The #HaloBearers waking up right now to the news and seeing everyone tweeting #WeSavedWarriorNun #WarriorNunSaved#WarriorNun pic.twitter.com/MtvBea54E0
— S. | WARRIOR NUN SAVED (@partybil) June 28, 2023
It remains unclear what form Warrior Nun will return in – or indeed when and where – but fans have previously called for the show to be picked up by an another streaming service.
When the series was initially axed, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos told Bloomberg that the company had “never cancelled a successful show.”
“A lot of these shows were well-intended but talk to a very small audience on a very big budget,” he added.
“The key to it is you have to be able to talk to a small audience on a small budget and a large audience at a large budget. If you do that well, you can do that forever.”
Those comments sparked outrage with the Warrior Nun fanbase, who were quick to point out that the series garnered Netflix’s highest audience score on Rotten Tomatoes with 99% from 4,500 reviews.
The series also consistently sat in Netflix’s top 10 most popular shows in its release window.
Netflix’s CEO’s coming out with the most absurd justifications as to why they cancel shows, when the problem is their marketing strategies and how THEY handle THEIR budgeting #SaveWarriorNun #WarriorNun
NETFLIX FREE WARRIOR NUN
— kc (@dragonlover_26) January 23, 2023
LIARRRRRRR
I think it’s time we pull out the receipts on the popular shows they cancelled… let’s start at the most recent; Warrior Nun!!!!! pic.twitter.com/bxhRv39TqF
— ᖇamon ᘿvans
¹² (@ramontheworld_) January 23, 2023
The first two seasons of Warrior Nun are still available to stream on Netflix now.