Nepola's Odyssey

Nepola is an upcoming American 3D computer-animated fantasy film produced by Illumination. It is directed by Steve Samono and written by Samono, Laurie Craig, Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. The film is scheduled to be released on July 1, 2022 by Universal Pictures.

Synopsis
In Ancient Greece, Nepola, a teenage girl born with wings, embarks on a journey to find the mysterious goddess Medusa, hoping she could become a powerful goddess like her.

Production
The idea for Nepola originated by Steve Samono in late 2017 while he was still directing Paradoria 2: Enchanted Realm for a 2019 release. On April 21, 2019, during the success of Paradoria 2, it was announced that Samono had officially signed a five-year deal with Universal Studios that allows him to helm live-action and/or animated films, including the ones by Illumination. A week later, Samono revealed that he would be directing and writing an original animated film for Illumination, which would follow a story from the Greek mythology.

Samono later explained that the reason for pitching his film to Illumination rather than its sister studio Universal Animation is their films mostly received a mixed critical reception which did not achieve the same level as Pixar as well as most Universal Animation films including Paradoria and its sequel which Samono directed due to "mediocre storylines, unfunny jokes and overused pop culture gags" according to Samono and they haven't made a critically acclaimed film since Despicable Me (2010). Samono said that this Illumination film would be better and the best one since the first Despicable Me, due to the internet backlash against Illumination.

On May 14, 2019, the title was revealed as Nepola, along with its plot and release date of July 1, 2022, exactly 17 years after Samono's directorial debut M.I.S.S.I.O.N. in 2005. Laurie Craig (a frequent collaborator with Samono), Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio were announced as co-writers. According to Samono, Illumination's CEO Chris Meledandri was "entirely proud" of the film's concept when Samono pitched it to him. Samono also said that it would "co-exist" with the Universal Animation films including Paradoria. The film will be animated by Illumination Mac Guff.

Release
Nepola is scheduled to be released on July 1, 2022 by Universal Pictures.