Fans and haters of Okonkwo gather here. The 1958 book Things Fall Apart by the iconic literary mind Chinua Achebe is coming to life again as a TV series. The classic was first brought to life as a film in 1971 and as a miniseries in 1987 with Pete Edochie playing the brutal strongman, Okonkwo.
What has happened so far
The news was first reported by Variety Magazine on Thursday. According to Variety, the new Things Fall Apart series is still in development by the American production studio, A24. Ghanaian DJ and actor Idris Elba is leading the project as executive producer through his new 22Summers production company. Nigerian British actor, David Oyelowo and the creative executive Amanda N’Duka will serve as executive producers through their Yoruba Saxon production company. Ben Forkner, Dayo Ogunyemi, and Achebe Masterworks are also executive producers. A writer has not been announced for the project yet. A network or streaming service has not officially come on board yet.
Cast
While most of the cast has not been announced as the series is still in development, it has been confirmed that Idris Elba will play Okonkwo.
Synopsis
Things Fall Apart is set in the precolonial Igbo society of Umuofia. It follows the rise of Okonkwo to the top of his society as a wealthy farmer and his fall with the invasion of the colonisers. The book, which has been translated into over 60 languages, has been lauded as one of the first authentic novels about Nigeria. It won the Nigerian National Merit Award and the Man Booker International Prize. It is the first book of Achebe’s African Trilogy, which includes No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God respectively.
