Principal photography has kicked off for Netflix and EbonyLife studios’ latest production, the film adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s ‘Death and the King’s Horseman

Adapted for screen by award-winning novelist and ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ director Biyi Bandele who doubles as director, the film will be set as a period piece and will follow the plotline of Soyinka’s play.

Confirming production, EbonyLife boss Mo Abudu wrote on Instagram:

We started with Castle & Castle 2, we then went on to Chief Daddy 2, then recently announced Blood Sisters and yesterday, we started principal photography on something very dear and special- Death and the King’s Horseman.

“Death and the King’s Horseman is a play by Professor Wole Soyinka based on a real incident that took place in Nigeria during the colonial era: the horseman of a Yoruba king was prevented from committing ritual suicide by the colonial authorities.

“It has been a lot of work bringing this particular project to life because it is a project piece set in Nigeria in the 1940s.”

While the film’s cast is yet to be unveiled, Abudu confirmed that the new film is co-produced by Heidi Uys, Judith Audu, Quinty Pillay, Adeola Osunkujo and James Amuta. The Director of Photography is award-winning cinematographer Lance Gewer (‘Tsotsi’)