Nigerian actress, Adesua Etomi, will executive-produce and voice-cast the protagonist of Roye Okupe’s upcoming animation feature ‘Malika: Warrior Queen’.
The animation feature is created by Okupe, whose animated series ‘Iyanu’ is a huge success on Cartoon Network.
Adapted from YouNeek Studios’ graphic novel series of the same title, “Malika: Warrior Queen’ tells the story of a 15th-century queen and warrior who inherits the throne from her father, leading to the splitting of the Kingdom of Azzaz in half.
After several wars, she united the Kingdom, expanding it into one of the largest empires in West Africa. However, with the expansion comes the rise of enemies within her council, along with the allure of one of the world’s feared superpowers, the Ming Dynasty. Malika must battle to win the clandestine war within the walls of her empire, while simultaneously working to defeat an indomitable external foe determined to vanquish her entire people.
The first graphic novel series by Roye Okupe, published by YouNeek Studio in 2017.
Already a Singapore-based production house and financier, August Media Group has agreed to finance up to one-third of the production and marketing costs for the feature film, while joining as a co-producer.
The group will oversee animation production for the film, working with a team of established studios and artists from across Asia to bring Okupe’s anime-inspired African mythology fantasy to life.
“Roye Okupe’s vision for ‘Malika: Warrior Queen’ pushes the boundaries of what afro-anime can be on the big screen. We are excited to bring together some of the most talented anime animation studios in Asia to help realise that vision,” said August Media Group founder and CEO, Jyotirmoy Saha.
On his part, Okupe said, the CEO’s ability to “attract gifted studios and artists through Asia to work on this film adds an exciting new dimension to the visual storytelling we are looking to achieve”.
August Media Group animation projects comprise the internationally Emmy-nominated preschool series ‘Tish Tash’, and the Asian Television Award-winning action-adventure series ‘Barangay 143’ and ‘George of the Jungle’.
With ‘Malika: Warrior Queen’, Okupe brings his signature afro-anime storytelling to the big screen, blending African mythology, epic fantasy, and anime-inspired visual language to introduce the legendary warrior queen to a worldwide theatrical audience.
