He may have had only a brief moment in Interstellar, but David Oyelowo has drawn both praise and a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Martin Luther King Jr. in the upcoming Selma. He’s now set to star alongside an awards veteran, 12 Years A Slave's Lupita Nyong’o, in indie drama **Americanah.
Adapted from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel, Americanah is the story of Ifemelu, her early life in Nigeria, her expatriate experience working in America, and her later return to her home country. It's also a love story between Ifemelu and Obinze (Oyelowo), who she leaves behind in Nigeria while she embarks on her odyssey through American class politics.
Adichie's most recent book (following the bestsellers Purple Hibiscus, That Thing Around Your Neck and Half Of A Yellow Sun), Americanah was listed as one of the New York Times' ten best books of 2013, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, and was shortlisted for this year's Baileys Women's Prize For Fiction.
Brad Pitt’s Plan B company – which worked on both 12 Years and Selma – is behind this one, with the team now looking for a writer and director to handle the adaptation. Given that it’s without its two key creative positions behind the camera, the film doesn’t yet have a shoot date.
Oyelowo will next be seen in J.C. Chandor’s A Most Violent Year, due here on January 23, while Ava DuVernay’s Selma will hit our cinemas on February 6. Nyong’o is voicing Rakcha in Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book (out October 16) and has a role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is set for release on December 18 next year.