Black Panther actresses Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira are teaming up again, bringing Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Americanah, to life in the form of a TV miniseries.
Lupita Nyong’o has held the rights to Americanah for a while now and had initially planned to turn the book into a feature film. There hadn’t been a ton of news about the film, apart from the fact that David Oyelowo would be playing opposite Nyong’o (who will also take on the role of producer) in the film.
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However, it has finally been announced that Nyong’o has found the perfect writer to bring Americanah to life–actor and prolific playwright Danai Gurira. This isn’t the first time the two have worked together outside of Black Panther either. The two collaborated on the play Eclipsed, which was written by Gurira and starred Nyong’o.
We are so excited to see these two amazing women collaborate once again, and we’re excited to see Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s brilliant novel come to life. Plus, a miniseries will allow the adaptation to really stretch its legs without having to cut too much of the novel’s amazing story.
If you haven’t read Americanah, the novel tells of two star-crossed lovers who are separated when they immigrate from Nigeria to the West. Ifemelu heads to America where she hopes her boyfriend, Obinze can join her.
However, he is unable to enter the country after the events of 9/11, and ends up settling in London instead, living as an undocumented immigrant. The two aren’t reunited for 15 years when they are able to return to a newly democratic Nigeria, where they rediscover their love for one another and the land of their birth.
We are so excited to see such a beautiful novel come to life, especially in the hands of two truly talented women. There’s no official release date for the Americanah miniseries, or any network information. However, we’ll keep you posted as more information is released.