She-Ra cast and creator tease new roles for Glimmer, Catra in season 4
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power premiered on Netflix last November and at the show’s New York Comic-Con panel on Sunday, the cast and showrunner announced that season 4 will land on the streaming service this Nov. 5.
That means there will have been four seasons of the show within the span of a single year — needless to say, the characters have gone through a lot in that time. When season 4 opens, both Catra (A.J. Michalka) and Glimmer (Karen Fukuhara) have new roles as leaders of the Horde and the Rebellion, respectively.
After their panel, She-Ra cast members and producer Noelle Stevenson stopped by EW’s video studio to tease how the characters will adjust to their new status quo. The word “princess” is a big part of the show, but following the sacrifice of Queen Angella (Reshma Shetty) at the end of season 3, Glimmer is no longer a princess. She now has to become the queen of Bright Moon in her mother’s stead.
“It’s hard for her bc she’s not really given the time to grieve and think about her loss. On top of that she has these new responsibilities as queen,” Fukuhara tells EW. “She’s always needed to get validation, and the one person that could’ve given her validation is now gone. So she’s now put a lot of pressure on herself to become this queen, and I don’t think she’s ready yet.”
On the other side of the war, Catra is now almost coequal with Hordak (Keston John) as the leaders of the Horde. But as usual, every time Catra gets a new position, there’s still someone above her. Following the events of season 3, Horde Prime (the intergalactic warlord of whom are Hordak is a mere clone) is now on his way to Etheria.
“I don’t think I realize the intensity of Horde Prime yet,” Michalka says. “For Catra it’s like ‘yeah sure Hordak, we sent the message but is he really gonna come?’ But there’s a glimmer in the back of her mind that ‘gosh, maybe he will come and maybe he’ll be the guy who puts Hordak in his place.’ Who knows, it could go either way. But Catra’s loving being on top right now. You’re gonna see Catra and Glimmer at some point go head-to-head. You’re gonna see a new rival. It’s really been Catra and Adora head to head, and you’re gonna see a new battle take place. It’s really cool, it’s a gnarly fight.”
The crew screened the first episode of season 4 at their Comic-Con panel — the first time they’ve ever screened an episode for an audience. Fans responded with appropriate gusto, and Catra, in particular, got consistently raucous applause. There is something relatable about Catra’s refusal to go for an easy redemption.
“There was a story I really wanted to tell with Catra that we don’t get to tell very often with female characters, which is: What happens when you’re the toxic friend?” Stevenson says. “What happens when you’ve messed up and hurt your friends and pushed people away? Sometimes you don’t get better right away. I think that’s a place a lot of people find themselves in. It is something real that happens. Is there a chance you could make it right? Where do you even start sometimes? Some of it is drawn from my experiences as well, and the other writers and crew members. It’s so rare to see a female character who gets to just be angry, furious, messy, hurtful, destructive, all of these things. Adora struggles with a lot of the same stuff but she’s always trying to push through, while Catra is just stewing in this rage and misery. I think that’s two very real responses from people who have been through a lot and are dealing with a loss of control in the only way they know of.”
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power season 4 hits Netflix on Nov. 5. Watch the teaser above, as well as EW’s full-length video interview with the women behind the show.
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