Disney Picks Up ‘Sadé’ Pitch, Fairytale About An African Princess; Rick Famuyiwa Producing
EXCLUSIVE: Disney has acquired a pitch for Sadé, a live-action fairytale film about an African Princess, based on an original idea by Ola Shokunbi and Lindsey Reed Palmer, which has Dope director Rick Famuyiwa is attached to produce, while Scott Falconer will serve as exec producer via their Verse production shingle.
Shokunbi and Palmer will co-write the screenplay. It centers 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.
Tendo Nagenda and Zoe Kent are overseeing the project for the studio.
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This pic will mark a first-time that an original Disney princess fairytale is led by a female African character. In 2009, Disney released the animated film, The Princess and the Frog, which featured its first Black princess.
A director has yet to be named.
Famuyiwa is repped by WME, Oasis Media Group, and Del Shaw, WME also reps Verse, and Shokunbi is repped by WME and Bloom Hergott.
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