Lion Forge Entertainment announced today that Iyanu, Roye Okupe’s animated superhero series isnpired by the legends and culture of Nigeria, is set to launch in both the U.S. and across Africa in 2025. The series will be available on Showmax in 44 African countries, while U.S. viewers can watch it on Cartoon Network and Max.
“One of the reasons I started YouNeek Studios was because I literally grew up watching superhero stories on DStv in Lagos, Nigeria,” says Okupe. “So 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 2D-animated series, produced by Lion Forge Ent. (Hair Love), is set in a magical kingdom called Yorubaland, where an orphaned girl named Iyanu must discover the secrets of her newfound power in order to save her people from an ancient curse. The show is adapted from Okupe’s popular graphic novel series, Iyanu: Child of Wonder, published by Dark Horse.
“Iyanu is a series that plays to young audiences everywhere in the world, but its heart and roots are in Africa, where it was conceptualized and created by Roye,” said David Steward II Founder & CEO Lion Forge Ent. “This is why we’re so proud to announce a deal with Showmax to stream Iyanu in 44 countries throughout Africa. We envision African children being inspired by Iyanu — and a superhero world shaped around their own.”
Award-winning actress Serah Johnson leads the all-Nigerian voice cast as Iyanu, alongside African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) winner and Vogue US cover star Adesua Etomi-Wellington, three-time AMAA nominee Stella Damasus, multi-award-winner Blossom Chukwujekwu and Shaffy Bello from The Black Book (Netflix).
“It’s an exciting time for African animation, which is winning many of the world’s biggest prizes,” says Nomsa Philiso, CEO of General Entertainment at MultiChoice, which owns Showmax with Comcast’s NBCUniversal. “As the largest producer of African content globally, MultiChoice is delighted that African stories are finally being told largely by Africans, but it’s also time for African audiences to be among the first to see African stories, as a common courtesy. Even today, an Oscar winning film like Nowhere in Africa is available, well, nowhere in Africa. There are numerous examples like that but stories about Africa should be told not just with Africans, but to Africans, too.”
Story editor Brandon Easton (Transformers: War for Cybertron, Marvel’s Agent Carter) headed the Iyanu writers’ room, which also featured Emmy winner Kerri Grant (Doc McStuffins; Ada Twist, Scientist).
The show’s executive producers are David Steward II and Matt Heath from Lion Forge Entertainment, Erica Dupuis of Impact X Capital, Ryan Haidarian of Forefront Media Group and Doug Schwalbe of Superprod.
