Luckily for everyone, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira are keeping their partnership going outside of Wakanda. The Black Panther co-stars are set to collaborate on Americanah, an upcoming HBO Max exclusive mini-series.
Set to star Nyong’o with Gurira serving as writer and showrunner, the series will be based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel of the same name. In the novel, a young Nigerian woman named Ifemelu and her lover Obinze emigrate to America. However, in post-9/11 America Obinze is denied entry while Ifemelu is allowed in. Separated by distance, politics, and soon time itself, the two lovers pine for one another. Meanwhile, Ifmemlu becomes a popular blogger who comments on the underlying racism in America from a foreign perspective.
Obviously, the duo of Nyong’o and Gurira was last seen together in Black Panther. Both are expected to return for the 2022 sequel. Even more recently, Nyong’o appeared in Jordan Peele’s perplexing sophomore feature, Us. Elsewhere, Gurira has played Michonne on AMC’s The Walking Dead for the last six years but is set to exit the series during the upcoming 10th season. She’s also a Tony-award-winning playwright, unbeknownst to most fans.
Nyong’o previously tried adapting Americanah for the big screen but never gained much traction. No release window has been set for the series.
