Authentic and Inclusive: ‘Iyanu’ Creators Interview

The Blerdosphere has been abuzz with anticipation for the animated adaptation of Iyanu. YouNeek Studios and Dark Horse Comics’ Yoruba-inspired graphic novel is about to hit the small screen in a big way. Black Nerd Problems had a chance to sit down with the show’s creators and chat about teaming up with Lion Forge Animation and the road to bringing an all-African voice cast to Cartoon Network and Max. Iyanu is slated to premiere in the United States on April 5th, 2025. BNP sat with Roye Okupe, the writer and creator of the original Iyanu graphic novel series, and the show’s lead scriptwriters, Kerri Grant and Brandon Easton.

BNP: From across the globe, across the different mediums of comics, television, and film – what brought this particular group together on this project? Roye Okuye: Man, this, it’s been a long journey. It’s funny, because outside of myself, Kerri, and Brandon have been some of the few people that have been there for almost the entirety, in one way or the other. I’ve known Brandon for, my goodness, it’s over 10 years now. Brandon was one of my first supporters when I first started in the book industry. He didn’t know me from anybody. He just saw one of my projects, and he fell in love. One of the things that I’ll always be grateful for is that a lot of people talk about, “Oh, we need to see more Black content.” But it’s the people who take the next step to either share or use their hard-earned money to support it that get t…