After King Richard, a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination, Will Smith is back with another exciting project. Will Smith’s production house Westbrook Studios, and two-time Emmy nominee David Oyelowo’s production house Yoruba Saxon have joined hands with Netflix to produce the film adaptation of Tọlá Okogwu’s upcoming young-adult fantasy novel Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun.
From British-Nigerian author, journalist, and hair care educator Tọlá Okogwu, Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun tells the story of a teenager who, after discovering that she has supernatural powers, travels to Nigeria to learn more about her origins. However, upon reaching there, she learns about a looming threat to her newfound magical brethren.
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Given how supernatural, fantasy, and superhero genres have peaked in recent years, with nearly all the shows/films from the mentioned categories doing extremely well, both in terms of box office and viewership, it looks like Smith and Oyelowo have found a golden goose with Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun.
Okogwu’s upcoming book is the first in an action-packed series of books for middle-grade children, set to be published in the U.S. and U.K. by Simon & Schuster in June. The author is being represented by CAA and Claire Wilson at RCW Literary Agency.
Will Smith and David Oyelowo are Only Two of the Talented Names Associated with the Netflix Adaptation
As mentioned earlier, the film adaptation of Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun will be jointly produced by Will Smith and Co-President of Film Jon Mone, for Westbrook Studios, along with David Oyelowo via his production house Yoruba Saxon. Thanks to Smith’s recent critically-acclaimed film King Richard, Westbrook Studios needs no new introduction. A subsidiary of Westbrook Inc., the media company launched in 2019 by founders Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Miguel Melendez, and Ko Yada, with the focus on “empowering artists to tell stories that connect the world.”
Westbrook Studios is also the house behind Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris’ Emmy-nominated Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk; Netflix’s Amend: The Fight For America; the Disney+ adventure series Welcome to Earth; Season 4 of the Netflix series Cobra Kai; and the ABC limited series Women of the Movement.
Oyelowo founded Yoruba Saxon with his wife Jessica, focusing on creating values-based content, with an aim to “shift the culture and color outside the lines” by creating content for a global audience.
Famed screenwriter Ola Shokunbi, the man behind Satellite, Indigo, and the upcoming A Yellow Heaven, will be adapting Okogwu’s anticipated novel to screen. He is being represented by CAA and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
