It appeared there was a time when Hollywood was failing Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, the fiercely talented 12 Years a Slave actress who came out of nowhere to deliver that film’s most searing, heart-rending performance. Months after she took home the Best Supporting Actress statuette, Nyong’o still hadn’t signed on for her next leading role. Then, she boarded The Jungle Book as the voice of a motherly wolf, and we asked whether that was really the best that studios could offer the young actress. My, how times have changed.
Just three days ago, we brought you news that Nyong’o had signed on for Star Wars Episode VII, and now we’ve learned that she has another exciting project lined up. Nyong’o will star in and produce an adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s award-winning novel Americanah. A winner of the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award, Americanah tells the epic but intimate love story of two young Nigerian immigrants, Ifemelu and Obinze, “whose romance spans continents, visas, phone cards and breakups.” It explores the perils and hardships of the modern immigrant experience while also focusing on the difficulties Ifemelu and Obinze face in finding a place to call home.
Nyong’o, who will star as Ifemelu and produce alongside along with D2 Productions, Brad Pitt’s Plan B shingle and Potboiler Productions, said of her involvement with the project:
“It is such an honor to have the opportunity to bring Ms. Adichie’s brilliant book to the screen. 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.”
We’re certainly thrilled to see that Nyong’o has found a project worthy of her blinding talents. Though her upcoming part in the new Star Wars film is exciting, Americanah sounds like a movie that will truly allow her to deliver another tour-de-force performance like the one which put her on the map. That Nyong’o is reteaming with 12 Years a Slave co-star and producer Brad Pitt for the film just gives us more confidence that this project will soar.