Lupita Lands Another Exciting Role

After winning her Academy Award for 12 Years a Slave, Lupita Nyong'o made the world wait a while before revealing her next move. Now, in a matter of days, Nyong'o has confirmed two exciting new roles. Lupita Nyong'o will star in and produce an adaptation of the novel Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This news comes only three days after Nyong'o was also confirmed to be joining the cast of Star Wars: Episode 7.

It was recently reported that Nyong'o had optioned the rights to Americanah, but at that time she didn't announce that she would be starring in the film herself. Now that her role has been confirmed, Nyong'o explained in a statement released to The Wrap,

It is such an honor to have the opportunity to bring Ms. Adichie's brilliant book to the screen. Page after page I was struck by Ifemelu and Obinze's stories, whose experiences as African immigrants are so specific and also so imminently relatable. It is a thrilling challenge to tell a truly international story so full of love, humor and heart.

Adichie's book was awarded the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and was also selected as one of the Top Ten Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, BBC, and Newsday. According to it's official description, Americanah is "a story of love and race centered around a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficult choices and challenges in the countries they come to call home."

Obviously, the film is at a very early stage, so there is not yet a start date for production or any other casting confirmed. Just know for now that at some point in the near future, you'll have at least a couple new Lupita Nyong'o roles coming your way. Hey, one of them might even bring her another Oscar nom. (Hint: It's not Star Wars.)