British-Nigerian actor John Boyega is working with Netflix to produce at least three non-English movies for the East and West African markets in a multi-year deal.
Boyega signed the deal with Netflix to produce the movies through his U.K.-based production company, UpperRoom Productions.
His production company will develop movies based on stories, characters, mythology, screenplays and other elements in or around African countries, with a focus on West and East Africa, according to Hollywood Reporter.
The multi-year deal reportedly includes the production of two movies from Nigeria and one from Egypt.
Boyega rose to stardom starring as a character named Finn in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy films, “The Force Awakens”, “The Last Jedi”, and “The Rise of Skywalker”.
He created UpperRoom Productions in 2016 for his debut producing role in the hit film “Pacific: Uprising”, OkayAfrica reports. Boyega launched the firm alongside British talent agent Femi Oguns.
“I am thrilled to partner with Netflix to develop a slate of non-English language feature films focused on African stories, and my team and I are excited to develop original material,” Boyega said, according to Black Enterprise.
“We are proud to grow this arm of our business with a company that shares our vision.”
This deal builds on Netflix’s commitment to producing more African content for its global audience.
In 2018, Netflix announced its plans to commission original series from Africa.
Since then, the streaming service has commissioned a Zambian animation series called “Mama K’s Team 4,” and two South African series — “Blood and Water” and “Queen Sono“, according to Pulse. “Queen Sono” was released on Netflix at the end of February.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 69: Jamarlin Martin
Jamarlin goes solo to unpack the question: Was Barack Obama the first political anti-Christ to rise in Black America? To understand the question, we have to revisit Rev. Wright and Obama’s decision to bring on political disciples David Plouffe, Joe Biden and Eric Holder.
The U.S. video streaming firm recently announced that it is developing two original Nigerian series, according to Variety.
Netflix previously acquired rights to several Nollywood movies and series, beginning with the acquisition of a movie called “Lionheart” in 2018.
