Back in 2022, HBO and Cartoon Network announced the coming of Iyanu, a Nigerian animation series by Roye Okupe. Two years later, Showmax has said the animation will be available to its subscribers in 2025.
Based on a Dark Horse comic, originally written by Okupe, the adaptation will feature the vocal talents of Serah Ibrahim, Adesua Etomi, Stella Damasus, Shaffy Bello, and Blossom Chukwujekwu. Dark Horse Comics is also behind the popular Umbrella Academy and Hellboy comics.
Iyanu is produced by Life Forge Entertainment, the company behind the 2019 Oscar-winning animated short film, Hair Love. Its CEO, David Steward II, said the forthcoming series “plays to young audiences everywhere in the world, but its heart and roots are in Africa, where it was conceptualised and created by Roye”.
“We envision African children being inspired by Iyanu,” he added.
At the centre of the series is the titular character, a teenage orphan whose ordinary life is altered when she unlocks her own superhero powers. She then embarks on an adventure that would lead to the uncovering of a lurking evil in her homeland.
Okupe said that he was partly inspired to start his animation studio because of superhero tales shown by Multichoice, owners of Showmax, during his childhood in Lagos. “It would be an understatement to say that I’m delighted that Showmax will be introducing Nigerian children to Iyanu, a superhero who looks and sounds like them.”
The show will also appear in the US next year on the aforementioned platforms, HBO and Cartoon Network.
