Disney teams up with African comics creators on Iwájú

Disney has announced a partnership with pan-African entertainment company Kugali to create an animated science fiction series it describes as a “first-of-its-kind collaboration”.

The Iwájú series will debut on the streaming service Disney+ in 2022.

Iwájú means “The Future” in the Yoruba language.

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer, Jennifer Lee, is quoted by entertainment website Deadline as saying that the series is set in Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos, and has “deep themes of class, innocence and challenging the status quo”.

Disney animation has tweeted a sneak peek at the series’ artwork.

Kugali was founded by three friends from Nigeria and Uganda. They told the BBC in a previous interview that they hoped to showcase artists and writers from across Africa and bring African comics to the mainstream.