A decision to cast British actor Idris Elba as the one to portray the strongman character Okonkwo in the latest adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s 1958 debut novel, Things Fall Apart is somewhat being seen as a marketing strategy to attract global audiences but Nollywood veteran, Bob Manuel Udokwu is picturing this as a chance missed to shine.

It isn’t the first time tweaking the classic novel for the pleasure of a television audience as Pete Edochie had already done that in the late 80s playing Okonkwo, who is seeing his world change rapidly because of foreign interference in the fictional Iguedo village.

Now, a new vision is currently in development and it is being spearheaded by Elba’s A24 production company, although it is happening in partnership with the British-American actor of Nigerian descent David Oyelowo whose talent-led filmmaking platform, Yoruba Saxon will be making a contribution.

When Mr Udokwu appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief breakfast programme aired on Wednesday 9 October 2024, he was asked about what the missing piece seems to be that is preventing Nollywood from being truly great.

In the Anambra-born actor’s view, the answer lies in the lack of collaboration or not having enough of it. The sexagenarian mirrored the point by referencing what was going on with Chinua Achebe’s work. There’s this conversation about Idris Elba being cast as Okonkwo in the Hollywood make of Things Fall Apart and I don’t have anything against that as an actor but I think that we have people who are top-class actors in Nigeria who can play that role better knowing where that story is coming from but that’s another story for another day.

By successfully networking with outsiders, Nollywood has a better chance of being seen. Now, it feels like the advancement and exposure aren’t happening fast enough and this is what the Checkmate actor thinks must be improved.

ALSO READ: Remember this Olu Jacobs from the British late 60s drama The Crezz is still alive

Later in October, the 10th Africa Movie Academy Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient is set to be unveiled as a military commander who has the burden of recovering an aircraft commandeered by a group of four seeking the return of what looked like a stolen mandate in Hijack 93 (2024).

Before the Netflix release of the movie, he thinks what Nollywood needs now is collaboration and it’s beginning to happen.

I happen to be part of another production that involves two major actors in India and another Hollywood-based actress. We need to have more collaborations with our counterparts in Europe and North America and it’s happening gradually. The bundle of talents we have in Nigeria is awesome.

Right now, production work around the Things Fall Apart adaption is still negotiating its early stages with no streaming service or viewing platform involvement since conversations around it started in late September.

For the moment, it does not seem like the Nigerian viewers who are going to see Elba and Oyelowo’s production later on are hard-pressed to see a local face appear in the project, although most wouldn’t mind.

Instead, the movie buffs opine that seeing Things Fall Apart from a Hollywood prism is just what the evergreen classic needs to preserve its shelf life all through time. Nonetheless, there are some, including actor Mike Nliam, thinking that casting an indigenous film industry personality won’t hurt inclusivity. 

ALSO READ: Seun Kuti to play father, Fela in “77: The FESTAC Conspiracy”

Meiza Nigeria