Draft:Iyanu: Child of Wonder

Iyanu: Child of Wonder is a upcoming superhero-action children's animated series by Roye Okupe, based on Okupe and Godwin Akpan's graphic novel series of the same name. It will premiere on Max and Cartoon Network in 2025.

Premise
A teenage orphan girl, Iyanu, lives in Yorubaland, a magical land, and triggers her magical powers by accident, joining two two other teens to discover the reality of evil in her homeland, and learn about her past in the process.

Cast

 * Serah Johnson
 * Okey Jude
 * Samuel Kugbiyi
 * Adesua Etomi-Wellington
 * Blossom Chukwujekwu
 * Stella Damasus
 * Shaffy Bello

Production
In July 2022, an adaption of the Iyanu: Child of Wonder graphic novel series by Okupe and Akpan was announced by HBO Max and Cartoon Network. It was further noted the series is "heavily influenced" by Nigeria's Yoruba people and will be overseen, and financed, by Lion Forge Animation, a Black-owned animation studio, which is an animation unit for Lion Forge Comics. The series is aimed at children ages 6 to 11.

The series announcement also noted that multiple episodes will be written and directed by Okupe, while head of production for Lion Forge, Saxton Moore, will be supervising director, and Brandon Easton would lead the writers room. The show's executive producers would include Okupe, Doug Schwalbe, Carl Reed, David Steward II and Matt Heath of Lion Forge, Erica Dupuis of Impact X Capital, and Ryan Haidarian of Forefront Media Group. It was also said that the announcement of this series signals emergence of Africa as a "player in global streaming", along with Lupita Nyong’o's Super Sema and Blood & Water, a South African drama on Netflix. Steward stated that the story's authenticity means everything to Lion Forge Animation, aligns with their mission, and said that "depth and layers of the Iyanu world" allows the studio to create and explore "a beautiful universe" on the screen. In December 2022, ComicBook stated that Iyano: Child of Wonder would "soon be coming" to HBO Max and Cartoon Network "as an animated series".

In January 2023, Comic Book Resources noted that the series would be released in 2024, would "draw from Nigerian culture, music, and lore", and that Okupe would write and direct multiple episodes. In an interview with the show's executive producers, David Steward II, said it had been "a great partnership" of working with Okupe, making sure his creative voice is heard, and authenticity of the series is present. Saxton Moore described Okupe as "an amazing storyteller", stated that the focus on African culture drew him to the project, and said the series brings in "authentic folklore from Nigeria". He and Stewart also said that Black Panther, American Gods, Hair Love, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Rise Up, Sing Out and Gods of Egypt paved the way for their project. Moore further noted inspiration from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, Star Wars, and said that the show's story will be "ongoing" and "epic", with animation quality "similar to what is done in anime". A release date for the series has not yet been announced. It was later announced that products related to the series would be released in January 2025.

In June 2023 it was announced that Lion Forge Entertainment was is partnering with Black Women Animate Studios to recruit a "diverse pool of talent" for pre-production roles the series. It was also stated that the series will release on Cartoon Network and Max. This was confirmed in October 2023, with reports that Lion Forge would introduce the series to global distributors at MIPCOM.

In May 2024, Serah Johnson, Okey Jude, Samuel Kugbiyi, Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Stella Damasus, and Shaffy Bello joined the cast of the series.

Release
Iyanu: Child of Wonder is scheduled to premiere on Max and Cartoon Network in 2025.