Yetide Badaki has been cast as the lead in “Queen Nzinga,” an African-warrior-queen drama from 50 Cent and Steven S. DeKnight in the works at Starz.
Badaki will exec produce Queen Nzinga alongside Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson, Spartacus creator Steven S. DeKnight and Mo Abudu, who runs Nigerian media company EbonyLife.
Queen Nzinga takes place in 17th century Angola and follows her transformation from an innocent princess into a fearless warrior queen who rages a ferocious 40-year guerrilla war against the kingdom’s formidable enemies, and the cruel subjugation of her people by Portuguese slavers. Nzinga would come to sacrifice everything to defend her people’s dignity, liberty and freedom. On seizing the crown, Nzinga, the first-ever female ruler, decreed – “Call me king.”
