British actor Idris Elba is set to headline the television adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s literary masterpiece, Things Fall Apart, with production under the A24 studio banner. Elba will not only portray Okonkwo, the novel’s iconic protagonist, but will also serve as an executive producer.
While the writing team has yet to be announced, Variety reports that Elba will be joined by fellow executive producers David Oyelowo and Amanda N’Duka under their Yoruba Saxon banner, as well as Gina Carter from 22Summers, a newly launched production company.
Things Fall Apart, a seminal work in African literature, follows the story of Okonkwo, a respected leader whose life unravels when British colonizers disrupt the traditional society he fiercely defends. The novel delves into themes of change, resilience, and the inevitable conflict between tradition and modernity, as Okonkwo’s pride and unyielding nature set him on a tragic path.
Originally published in 1958, Things Fall Apart has been translated into more than 60 languages and is hailed as one of the greatest novels ever written. The book, the first in Chinua Achebe’s African Trilogy, has garnered numerous awards, including the Nigerian National Merit Award and the Man Booker International Prize. It was followed by No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God.
This adaptation isn’t the first for Achebe’s novel, which was previously brought to screen in a miniseries with Nigerian actor Pete Edochie in the role of Okonkwo.
