Disney princess Tiana won’t be charming television audiences as planned.
Walt Disney Animation Studios has decided not to move forward with its Tiana series for Disney+ as the production house shifts focus, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the cancellation news on Monday, March 3.
Announced in 2020, the streaming series would have brought back Anika Noni Rose who voiced Tiana, the studio’s first Black princess, in the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog.
The new animated series was supposed to be a continuation of the story. But sources close to the project told THR that despite several changes to the creative team, the series ultimately could not move forward due to “production costs.”
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The outlet also reported the cancellation aligns with Disney’s shift away from creating original longform content for streaming.
The news comes less than a year after Tiana made a splash at Disney Parks with the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Set in 1920s New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog followed Tiana, a hardworking waitress with dreams of opening her own restaurant. Her plans took a turn when she was transformed into a frog after kissing a prince who was turned into a frog by an evil witch doctor.
Other voice cast members in the original film included Oprah Winfrey, Jenifer Lewis, Michael-Leon Wooley, and Keith David.
A Monday report in TheWrap said Tiana has become “one of the most popular titles in Disney Animation’s vast library” in recent years.
Despite Tiana being shelved, a separate short-form special inspired by The Princess and the Frog is said to be in early development.
According to published reports, the special is expected to feature new storytelling based on the 2009 film, with Joyce Sherri attached as director and writer, alongside Steve Anderson as co-director.
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