Draft:Lunella Lafayette (Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur character)

Lunella Lafayette is a fictional character voiced primarily by Diamond White in the animated series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and associated media, based on the character of the same name created by Marvel Comics—commonly known by her alias, Moon Girl. After accidentally bringing Devil Dinosaur into the 21st century while trying to help her family during a series of blackouts, Lunella decides to become a superhero alongside Devil to protect the Lower East Side in New York City from supervillains.

Concept and creation
The character of Lunella Lafayette / Moon Girl made her debut in Marvel Comics' Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1 (2015), created by writers Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder and artist Natacha Bustos. She was created as a modern-day successor to the character Moon Boy, created by Jack Kirby.

In 2018, Marvel Animation announced an animated Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur series was in development, to be co-produced by Laurence Fishburne's Cinema Gypsy Productions and Disney Television Animation. The series was conceived by Fishburne after he began reading the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur comics. Steve Loter had joined the series as an executive-producer by 2020, and Diamond White was cast as Moon Girl in 2021.

Casting
Early during development, multiple actresses auditioned for the role of Moon Girl, with Diamond White getting cast in the role after "three or four" auditions. After Steve Loter was brought into the project and redeveloped it, he heard White's audition tape and let her stay in the role. White wanted to play the character due to an interest on increasing positive Black representation on superhero media media, as well as due to finding Lunella to be a relatable character for both herself and teens, noting how many of the character's experiences reflecting real-life teenagers to have been unexplored in animation.

White also served as a consultant, in order to make the character more authentic. She gave the writers a list of her experiences growing up as a Black girl for them to incorporate into the series. One of her notes, regarding a Black girl's hair, inspired the writers to conceive the episode "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow". While recording her lines, White drew inspiration from herself as a 13-year old.

Characterization
White said that "all Lunella wants to do is to protect [...] her home, the LES, and her family and [their] roller rink".

Online videos

 * Lunella Lafayette / Moon Girl appears in Disney's Chibi Tiny Tales shorts.
 * Lunella Lafayette / Moon Girl makes a non-speaking cameo in the Broken Karaoke music video "Born To Be Strange".
 * Lunella Lafayette / Moon Girl appears in the How Not To Draw short How Not To Draw Moon Girl, with Diamond White reprising her role.
 * Lunella Lafayette appeared in a Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur-themed Theme Song Takeover short, voiced again by Diamond White.

Theme park attractions

 * Lunella Lafayette / Moon Girl appeared as a temporary meet-and-greet character at the Disney California Adventure during February 2023 as part of the Black History Month.

Comic books

 * Lunella Lafayette / Moon Girl will appear in the graphic novel Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Wreck and Roll!, set for release in April 2024.