Ownvoices trans YA novel Dreadnought optioned for film

The 2017 ownvoices trans YA novel by April Daniels, Dreadnought, has been optioned for film to Wayne Brady’s production company, Makin’ It Up Productions.

Although this doesn’t mean that it will become a film, Dreadnought and the series it belongs to, Nemesis, have both been optioned for movies to Makin It Up Productions, as confirmed by agent Saritza Hernandez on Twitter.

We’re hoping that if this turns into a film, they’ll hire an actually trans actor to play Danny instead of a cisgender actor that got movies like The Danish Girl and 3 Generations into trouble. Part of this book’s appeal is that it is an authentic tale of trans womanhood. However, the action scenes as written could rival the best scenes seen in Iron Man or The Dark Knight, and the dialogue is among some of the best that YA books have to offer. I think it will help fans to have a great discussion about feminism and transwomen.

The 2017 book is a hard read, full of transphobia and Danny finding out more about herself and those she’s surrounded herself with … and adding in some superpowers to boot. Dreadnought introduces us to Danny, who hasn’t come out as transgender, but effectively can’t not come out once she inherits superpowers from the hero of the same name.

While normally that would make it the happiest time of her life, the first few weeks are much more difficult and complicated than ever. From trying to fit in with other superheroes to her friends and family attempting to adjust to her new self, it’s not great, and it’s made worse by the fact that the villain who killed Dreadnought is still out there and still threatening the city (as you might expect of any villain who isn’t defeated by a superhero). You can check out the full synopsis here.

But with all the issues it deals with as well as a teen heroine, it will make a fantastic superhero movie to join the ranks with our favorites from Marvel and DC, and there’s already a second book published for an easy sequel, too.

Author April Daniels reacted simply to the news.

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I can’t wait to see what comes from this collaboration!