Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o and Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo are in talks to star in Disney’s forthcoming film, Queen of Katwe, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The film is to be based on the story of Phiona Mutesi, a girl from the slums of Uganda who becomes a chess prodigy with the help of her coach. The project will be directed by Mira Nair.
The script for the film has been written by William Wheeler and is based on the Tim Crothers’ 2010 ESPN article and book, ‘The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess, and One Extraordinary Girl’s Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster’.
The Selma actor is being considered to play the coach, Robert Katende, while Nyong’o is being eyed to play the role of Harriet Mutesi, Phiona’s mother. The film is set to the begin shooting in spring. Interestingly, the pair has recently been cast to star alongside one another in ‘Americanah’, which is a film about two Nigerian immigrants.
Oxfordshire-born Yoruba Nigerian Oyelowo will next be seen in J.C. Chandor’s ‘A Most Violent Year’, due on January 23, while Nyong’o, who was born in Mexico to Luo Kenyan parents, is voicing Rakcha in Jon Favreau’s ‘The Jungle Book’ (out on October 16) and has a role in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, which is set for release on December 18.
