John Boyega just announced that he partnered with Netflix to release films that will center on countries in West and East Africa.
According to Deadline, the partnership will be through Boyega’s UpperRoom Productions company, and he’ll pull stories from those African countries, as well as screenplays, casts, characters, mythology and other elements.
“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,” said Boyega in a statement. “We are proud to grow this arm of our business with a company that shares our vision.”
News of the partnership comes almost two years after Boyega said it’s a perfect time for African stories to be told.
“Because of the success of ‘Black Panther,’ now Hollywood wants African stories, and I think Nigeria is at the forefront of that,” he told CNN in 2018. “They are ready to see all these epic stories that we have in Nigeria.”
It seems that Netflix is in full agreement with Boyega, because in February the streaming company released the show “Queen Sono,” based on a female South African spy.
Then, later that month, the company announced Netflix Naija, a branch that will release Nigerian-based content.
Boyega shared news about the Netflix partnership on Twitter as well, and right away many asked when they could pitch their own projects to him. There were plenty of people who also sent their congratulations.
“This is what I wanna see!! Nice move,” one person tweeted on Tuesday.
“Look at you living your best life we love to see it,” wrote someone else.
“We stan a man who wants to broaden people’s views on film!” another person tweeted.
David Kosse, VP of international film at Netflix, spoke about the new deal as well.
“Africa has a rich history in storytelling, and for Netflix this partnership with John and UpperRoom presents an opportunity to further our investment in the continent, while bringing unique African stories to our members both in Africa and around the world,” said Kosse in a statement.
