Nicki Minaj to star in new comic book superhero series, Lady Danger

Nicki Minaj and 50 Cent will be teaming up as co-executive producers for a new animated adaptation of the superhero comic, Lady Danger. Minaj is also set to star in the series, which is currently under production at Amazon Freevee.

Lady Danger is a two-issue Dark Horse comic, from the action/horror anthology series Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out by Alex de Campi, Mulele Jarvis and Marissa Louise. The plot follows the protagonist, Lady Danger – a newly resurrected, ex-government agent of BOOTI (the Bureau of Organised Terrorism Intervention) – as she takes on bad guys hellbent on destroying the world. The story is described by de Campi as an “over-the-top action/martial arts story about a superspy organisation... that defends the hood (and sometimes the rest of America) against evil”.

Earlier this week, Alex de Campi took to Twitter to warn fans that, as is often the case with adaptations, things may be subject to change, so fans shouldn’t take the comics “as gospel”. However, she added that 50 Cent was “one of the most respected producers in [Hollywood] because he gets shit done. G-Unit doesn’t option much, but what it does, almost always gets to screen, and is successful. This is RARE.”

Nicki Minaj and 50 Cent are building on a long-standing legacy between hip-hop and comic books. In the last few years, we’ve seen the blockbuster success of Marvel’s Black Panther and Sony’s Into the Spider-Verse, as well as the Black-owned comic-book publisher Godhood’s recent TV deal for The Antagonists. But this bond stretches back even further, with its roots reaching all the way back to the 90s: in 1999, Wu-Tang Clan released their own comic book, The Nine Rings of Wu-Tang, and there have been consistent allusions to superheroes in tracks by Jay Z, King T and Curren$y.

Lady Danger is a sign that comic book media is continuing to diversify, from the print to the screen, and that the mainstream is beginning to honour more diverse voices and narratives beyond just casting.

With the project still in production, we may be waiting a while before Lady Danger hits the screens. But if you need something to tide you over in the meantime, Dark Horse has got you covered with the Lady Danger issues now being free to read on Dark Horse Digital – and for the barbz, a “special, FREE Barbz Edition of Lady Danger” is on the way, courtesy of Alex de Campi.