Will Smith's production company, Westbrook Studios, and actor David Oyelowo's Yoruba Saxon production company are partnering on a film adaptation of a children's superhero story "Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun" for Netflix. The novel by British-Nigerian journalist, Tola Okogwu aimed towards middle-school children is the first installment in a series set to be published by Simon & Schuster in the U.S. and U.K. in June 2022.
"Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun" follows the story of a teenage girl who learns her hair has psychokinetic powers and travels to Nigeria to learn more about her origins, where she discovers a threat to her magical community.
Ola Shokunbi is set to write the film adaptation after helping to bring “Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun” to Netflix. Shokunbi is a screenwriter on the rise who has worked on the upcoming Netflix sci-fi thriller Satellite.
Critics have described the project as "Black Panther" meets "X-Men" or "Percy Jackson", noting that it could be the first franchise for both the Westbrook Studios and Yoruba Saxon production.
Westbrook Studios recently produced the Academy Award-nominated "King Richard," and also produces "Cobra Kai" for Netflix. The company is also behind Peacock's reboot of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," simply titled "Bel-Air", while, Oyelowo's Yoruba Saxon has put out "Captive," "Nightingale," and "Ferguson Rises" among others.
