After more than a decade of attempts to bring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s acclaimed novel Americanah to the screen, the project has found new life. As first reported by African Film Press, CANAL+ has included the 2013 novel among its African story projects currently in development under its “Creating African Stories With Global Resonance” initiative. The announcement comes six years after HBO Max’s planned adaptation was shelved.

Americanah has had a long journey toward adaptation. In 2014, Lupita Nyong’o was attached to star in and produce a feature film before the project evolved into a television series. HBO Max later commissioned a 10-episode limited series in 2019, with Danai Gurira serving as writer and showrunner. However, production delays during the COVID-19 pandemic created scheduling conflicts, leading to Nyong’o’s departure and the cancellation of the series in 2020. CANAL+ has not disclosed whether its version will revive the earlier project or begin from scratch, with details on the cast, creative team, production schedule, and release date expected at a later time.

First published in 2013, Americanah follows the intertwined lives of Ifemelu and Obinze as they navigate migration, race, identity, class, and belonging across Nigeria, the United States, and the United Kingdom before returning home. The novel won the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and was named one of The New York Times Book Review’s Ten Best Books of 2013. Its inclusion in CANAL+’s development slate reflects the broadcaster’s growing investment in African storytelling, following its expansion across the continent, and places it alongside projects such as Agoodjie, The Heist of Benin, and The Road Home.

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