If Lupita Nyong’o is out to prove that she can secure big roles after winning an Oscar, she certainly has achieved that this week. She started the week by getting cast in Star Wars: Episode VII and ended it by signing on to star in Americanah.
This new project is based on the acclaimed novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the winner of the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction and among many year-end “best” lists. It centers on an epic romance between two young Nigerians that also covers the immigrant experience and returning home.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nyong’o will not only star in the film, but has also agreed to produce. Brad Pitt’s Plan B, which also produced 12 Years A Slave, won the screen rights to the book and will produce with D2 Prods. and Potboiler Prods.
“It is such an honor to have the opportunity to bring Ms. Adichie's brilliant book to the screen,” Nyong’o said in a statement, notes TheWrap. “Page after page I was struck by Ifemelu and Obinze's stories, whose experiences as African immigrants are so specific and also so imminently relatable. It is a thrilling challenge to tell a truly international story so full of love, humor and heart.”
This is truly great news for Nyong’o, who some feared was not getting great roles after her stunning performance in 12 Years A Slave. But this week, she was officially added to the Star Wars cast and this project shows that she isn’t having any trouble in Hollywood now.
It’s not clear when Americanah would start filming and no co-star or director was announced.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com