Walt Disney Animation and Kugali have released the first trailer of their upcoming sci-fi series Iwaju, which is set to debut exclusively on Disney+, the American streaming platform Nigerians cannot access.
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The animated series, which will debut on February 28, 2024, is based on a futuristic Lagos, but the platform that will exclusively stream it is not available in Nigeria. While the animation was made by Kugali, which was co-founded by two Nigerians and a Ugandan, the intended audience is the international market, one of the co-founders noted.
During an AFRIFF 2023 panel, Tolu Olowofoyeku, co-founder of Kugali, disclosed that Jennifer Lee, chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, was instrumental in making the movie global.
In 2022, Disney+ was launched in 60 different countries, which had only two African countries, South Africa, and Algeria. It is one of the many streaming platforms around the world that has cut off many African countries.
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Only Netflix and Amazon Prime Videos have taken steps to include African countries in its content plan. In 2022, Paramount Plus, during the AFRIFF 2022 event, announced it would launch its platform in Africa but did not give an exact date.
