Kunle Afolayan declares Netflix wants him to make 'Anikulapo' series

The well-known streaming service Netflix has requested that Nigerian director Kunle Afolayan create a television series based on his most recent hit film, Anikulapo.

He claimed that Netflix urged him to first make a movie, and if it was successful, a series would be created, despite his initial desire to turn the film into a television show.

This was stated by Afolayan in an interview with the Guardian UK that was published on Friday.

The filmmaker said, “I’ve been working on Aníkúlápó for six years. Originally, I wanted to make a series, but I shopped it and kept telling people that this movie would be bigger than Game of Thrones.

“Eventually, Netflix told me to make a movie first since I believed in the project that much, and if it became a success, we’d develop a series.”

On September 30, 2022, "Anikulapo," a Netflix original series set in the ancient Oyo kingdom's 17th century, made its debut.

With a total of 8.7 million streaming hours a week after its release, the picture surpassed all other foreign films on Netflix in terms of popularity.

“Right now, Netflix is the one urging me to start making the series. I knew we made a great film and that it’d start conversations, but I didn’t know it’d do as well as it has done,” Afolayan said.

A-list actors and actresses including Kunle Remi, Yinka Quadri, Bimbo Ademoye, Sola Sobowale, and a plethora of others appear in the Yoruba-language film.

Afolayan said he could not comprehend the committee's decision not to choose his movie for the Oscars in response to the committee's repeated rejections of his film.

He said, “I don’t even care about it anymore. I don’t understand the decision, and quite a number of the guys in there are people I’d call friends. For the second year running, they’re saying no film from Nigeria deserves to be presented – it makes no sense.

“Honestly, I’m over it because if Aníkúlápó weren’t successful, they’d have said it wasn’t picked because of that reason. Now, it’s almost like, ‘How couldn’t you have presented this?’”

Afolayan expressed hope last week in response to the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences' choice to allow the NOSC another opportunity to submit a nomination for the 2023 Oscars.

The committee, however, was unable to select any Nigerian film since they insisted that none of them qualified.

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