Walt Disney Animation Studios have confirmed a partnership with a pan-African comics company, Kugali, which would result in a 2022 release of an animated sci-fi series set in Lagos.
The series is titled ‘Iwaju’, which in the Yoruba language, roughly translates to “The Future’’.
Kugali was founded by three Nigerian comic artists; Tolu Olowofoyeku, Ziki Nelson, and Hamid Ibrahim in 2017.
The Iwaju series will explore major themes of class, innocence, and challenging norms.
Disney also released the first look at the visual development art from the series on its social media handles.
Announcing the collaboration on Twitter, Kugali said they had been keeping this secret for over a year. They also described it as a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Disney Animation and Kugali.
Speaking about the project in a report published in Deadline, Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer, Jennifer Lee, said, “Here were three talented comic book artists. Their dream was to bring African stories created by African artists to the world, highlighting the diversity of cultures, histories, and voices across the continent. Their talents as storytellers blew us away. I’m proud to announce the first of its kind collaboration to bring original long for series to Disney+.”
