Fate: The Winx Saga has brought the magical Fairy world of Winx Club to Netflix as a gritty live-action reboot, but it leaves behind a few key cartoon characters, including the Tecna Winx Club character, the Fairy of Technology. While core characters like Bloom, Stella, Aisha, Musa, and Sky all make the jump to live-action in Fate, two of the original show’s main Fairies have been kept out – Flora the Fairy of Nature (who is replaced by her cousin Terra), and the Winx Club Tecna character, who isn’t mentioned at all.
The idea for Fate: The Winx Saga has been long on creator Iginio Straffi's mind, as the show was initially conceived all the way back in 2011 when Viacom became co-owner of his studio and started financing his projects. The series premiered on Netflix in January of 2021 and saw 57 million subscribers in its first month of running. Despite the Winx Club Tecna character not being in it, the series had enough success to be renewed for a second season. Even though the show had a successful two seasons and a devoted fanbase, Fate: The Winx Saga was canceled after its second installment — meaning people likely won't ever get to see the Tecna Winx Club character in live-action.
Why Tecna Wasn't In Netflix's Live-Action Winx Club Adaptation
Netflix has made some major changes in Fate: The Winx Saga, from the nature of the Fairy universe to the various personalities and backgrounds of several key Winx characters. One of the biggest lore changes has to do with Fairy magic itself. In Winx Club, each fairy had a unique set of powers based on their own distinct energy, personality, and heritage. In The Winx Saga, there are only six core elements that Fairies can manipulate – fire, water, earth, air, light, and mind. Every Fairy belongs to one of these elements, and while two of the same element may express their abilities in different ways (Sam and Terra, for example, are both Earth Fairies, but Terra’s powers focus on plants while Sam can walk through walls), there are no extreme divergences.
That particular change makes Tecna’s inclusion difficult, hence why she couldn't be a part of Fate's six types of fairies. In the cartoon, the Tecna Winx Club character comes from Zenith, the realm of technology, and wields magic over all manner of technological things. For obvious reasons, that power set doesn’t quite fit in the more realistic fantasy world of Fate or its adherence to a six-element magic system. Introducing the Winx Club Tecna character as she appeared in the cartoon wouldn’t have fit with the new tone.
Fate: Winx Saga Should Have Used Tecna
That being said, Tecna could've appeared in some form. She would just need to have been changed a bit to fit with the new world of Winx. The best option might've been to make her an Air Fairy, as it’s already been shown that Air Fairies can wield power over electricity. That could be turned into a kind of tech-magic with the right explanation, and it would give the core Winx a Fairy of the one element they were missing in the Winx Saga world.
While many viewers have responded positively to Fate, some fans of the original cartoon have been frustrated with the character changes. Flora’s season 1 absence also drew ire, particularly because she was perceived to be a Latinx character in Winx Club but was replaced with a white character in Terra (although season 2 rectified this by introducing Paulina Chávez as Flora). And while Musa was based on Asian-American actress Lucy Liu in the original show, she is played by a seemingly-white British actress on Fate. These Winx whitewashing criticisms began before the first season aired and have understandably continued post-release.
Iginio Straffi's Winx Club Movie Can Rectify Netflix's Tecna Mistake
While the Tecna Winx Club character may not have shown up in Fate, creator Iginio Straffi is now shopping around an idea for a live-action Winx Club movie, meaning there's still a chance to Tecna to transcend her animated roots. Straffi was surprised when Netflix decided to cancel the Abigail Cowen-led Fate: The Winx Saga, especially with little-to-not justification for the axing given by the streaming service. That being said, Fate's cancelation means that Straffi can now go ahead with his idea for a live-action feature film — which he budgets at $100 million.
To the Winx creator, the movie would act as the pinnacle of his career and is the only way to truly close out the saga he created. Straffi plans on making the movie a Winx Club film, rather than a Fate film, which gives even more hope for a live-action Tecna from Winx Club. This is of course great news for fans of the Winx Club Tecna character. As one of the most popular fairies in the original show, Tecna is much more likely to appear since the live-action Winx Club movie will be going back to its animated roots. As of now, Iginio Straffi is shopping his movie idea around Los Angeles, proving that he isn't letting the cancelation of Fate: The Winx Saga keep him down.