Disney’s line-up of Princesses is going to get an African inclusion after they acquired a pitch titled Sadé, a live-action fairytale film about an African Princess, originally written by Ola Shokunbi and Lindsey Reed Palmer, with the director of the movie ‘Dope‘ attached to produce the film and the entire project will be overseen by Tendo Nagenda and Zoe Kent for the studio. Shokunbi and Palmer were brought on board to co-write the screenplay. The project currently doesn’t have a director.
‘Sadé’ will center on a young African girl named Sadé who, when her kingdom is threatened by a mysterious evil force, accepts her newly discovered magical warrior powers to protect herself and her people. With the help of the kingdom’s prince, Sadé embarks on an adventure that will allow her to embrace what makes her special and save the kingdom, via Deadline who broke the news.
Disney saw massive success this year with its Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther,” set in the fictional African nation of Wakanda with worldwide box office grosses hitting $1.35 billion. It’s the third-highest domestic performer of all time at $700 million. The studio’s 2009 animated comedy “The Princess and the Frog” starred Anika Noni Rose as a black waitress in 1912 New Orleans who dreams of owning her own restaurant. After kissing a prince who has been turned into a frog by a voodoo sorcerer, Tiana becomes a frog herself and must find a way to turn back into a human. “The Princess and the Frog” grossed $265 million worldwide, Variety Reports.
African content is finally getting the recognition it deserves, our stories are being told and have begun to make it’s way to the big screen after years of being shut out. It’s great to see more African narratives being represented and we hope they don’t screw up ‘Sadé‘ and create something incredible for the culture.
