Veteran actress Whoopi Goldberg is set to play Bird Woman in the upcoming Amazon series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s ‘Anansi Boys’. Also joining her are two Nigerian actors – or actors of Nigerian descent – namely Hakeem Kae-Kazim, who has been cast as Tiger, still angry with Anansi for stealing the stories, for making fun of him, and for coming out on top; Emmanuel Ighodaro will play Lion, described as proud and noble, and someone who has no time for Anansi.
The series follows Charlie Nancy (Malachi Kirby)—sometimes known as Fat Charlie —a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father (Delroy Lindo). But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that he was Anansi: Trickster God of stories. And he learns that he has a brother. Now that brother, Spider (also played by Kirby), is entering Charlie’s life, determined to make it more interesting—but making it a lot more dangerous instead.
“I have been a fan of this book for a very long time and when Neil Gaiman told me it was being brought to the screen, I did everything I could to be part of it to help make people aware of Anansi and all his magic,” Goldberg said.
Bird Woman is the God of Birds and a key antagonist in the series. She’s the embodiment of birds. Not just beautiful stately birds in flight. Anyone who’s had a close encounter with a seagull knows that some birds are more dangerous than others, and Bird Woman is the most dangerous of them all. Long ago Anansi did her wrong. Now may be her chance to turn the tables.
In addition, the following actors have been cast as other animal gods from the World Before Time: Cecilia Noble has been cast as Elephant. She’s old and wise, and hates Anansi; Ayanna Witter-Johnson will play Snake. She’s beautiful and deadly and hates Anansi; Don Gilet will play Monkey. He’s terrified of Anansi, keen on food—particularly fruit—and has the attention span of, well, a monkey.
“When I first conceived ‘Anansi Boys,’ decades ago, I imagined Whoopi Goldberg as Bird Woman,” Gaiman said. “I wasn’t able to meet her until 2018 when she interviewed me with some of the ‘Good Omens’ team at New York Comic-Con. At which point she mentioned that she had just finished listening to Sir Lenny Henry’s reading of ‘Anansi Boys,’ and that it was one of her favorite books. Sometimes things feel planned and inevitable, and we are incredibly lucky. She’s going to be scary.”
‘Anansi Boys’ has a six-episode order at Amazon. Gaiman serves as writer, executive producer, and co-showrunner on the series. Henry is also a writer on the show along with Arvind Ethan David, Kara Smith, and Racheal Ofori.
– By Justina Terhember
