Will Smith and David Oyelowo Team to Adapt ‘Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun’ for Netflix (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comAngelique Jackson Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and David Oyelowo’s Yoruba Saxon have partnered with Netflix to produce the film adaptation of “Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun.”Based on the upcoming book by British-Nigerian author, journalist and hair care educator Tọlá Okogwu, “Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun” tells the tale of a teenager who learns she has powers and travels to Nigeria to learn more about her origins, where she discovers a threat to her newfound magical community.Described as “Black Panther” meets “X-Men” or “Percy Jackson,” the book is the first in an action-packed series for middle-grade children and will be published by Simon & Schuster in the U.S.
and U.K. this June. Okogwu is represented by CAA and Claire Wilson at RCW Literary Agency. Ola Shokunbi is set to write the film adaptation after helping to bring “Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun” to Netflix.
The project is produced by Smith and Jon Mone, Westbrook Studios’ co-president of film, and Oyelowo on behalf of Yoruba Saxon.
Executive producers are Westbrook Studios’ Heather Washington and Yoruba Saxon’s Jessica Oyelowo.Westbrook Studios is a subsidiary of Westbrook Inc., the media company launched in 2019 by founders Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Miguel Melendez and Ko Yada.
Read more on variety.com
