Mo Abudu to produce Netflix's adaptation of Wole Soyinka & Lola Shoneyin's literary works

Mo Abudu has partnered with streaming giant, Netflix, to create multiple branded films and a series.

According to a Twitter announcement by the streamer, EbonyLife films will create a series based on Lola Shoneyin's bestselling novel 'The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives' as well as a film adaptation of Wole Soyinka's 1986 classic play 'Death And The King's Horseman'.

📣We’ve got MAJOR news for you today! Netflix has partnered with acclaimed producer @MoAbudu to bring you two of Nigeria’s most beloved literary classics to screens around the world! 📚🎥 pic.twitter.com/3zAE4zAndH

— Netflix Naija (@NetflixNaija) June 12, 2020

Reacting to the newly commissioned adaptations, Wole Soyinka shared: “In a creative industry which, even in pioneering countries, is so male dominated, it is always a delight to see robust challenges offered by the female gender, and of attestable quality.

"Mo Abudu's incursion into this arena as film and television producer has been especially stimulating. It becomes part of one's sense of achievement, if one has contributed, however minutely, to the creation of an enabling environment.”

For the executive producer of 'Chief Daddy', 'Castle & Castle' among others, the need to create authentic Nigerian stories has motivated her filmmaking style over the years. “As a Nigerian storyteller, my biggest motivator has always been to tell authentic and untold stories that resonate with every person, regardless of where they’re from in the world while showcasing our culture, heritage and creativity,” says Abudu.

Although production details are still sketchy, reports are that one of Abudu's commissioned films will premiere on the service before the year runs out. Soyinka's play adaptation will be will be among the newly-licensed Netflix branded films.