Chiwetel Ejiofor Shines In New Project, ‘Half Of A Yellow Sun’


Chiwetel Ejiofor might be coming off the biggest success of his acting career, but that doesn’t mean he’s resting on his laurels. Fresh off an Academy Award nomination and Bafta Award win for 12 Years a Slave, Ejiofor has turned his attention to a new project called Half of a Yellow Sun.

In this new project, Chiwetel Ejiofor stars alongside Thandie Newton in a story that takes place during the 1967-1970 Nigerian-Biafran war. The film is an adaptation of a prize winning novel and centers around the lives of four people as they navigate the danger all around them.

Alongside Ejiofor and Newton, Dominic Cooper and John Boyega will star as well. IndieWire reports there hasn’t been a whole lot of buzz surrounding the picture despite the rather star studded cast. It is possible Chiwetel’s newfound fame might help Half of a Yellow Sun get a little more recognition, but this is hardly his first project.

Ejiofor has appeared in a number of different projects, ranging from drama to science fiction. One of Chiwetel’s least known, but critically acclaimed roles was in a big screen adaptation of the short lived television series Firefly renamed Serenity. In that film, Chiwetel played a rather grim hunter called “The Operative” who was oddly driven by a sense of honor even while he killed nearly everyone who cross his path.

In Ejiofor’s latest project, Chiwetel will take on one of the stories that are actually told through three different points of view. The first story centers on Ugwu, a thirteen-year-old boy hailing from a small village who becomes a houseboy for a university professor (Ejiofor) who supports a revolution.

The second point of view focuses on Olanna, the beautiful daughter of uppercrust city-dwellers. The third story centers on Richard, a white ex-patriot originally from England, who falls in love with Olanna’s twin sister. Newton plays Olanna and Anika Noni Rose appears as her sister Kainene.

Despite an April 11 release for the UK, Chiwetel’s newest project isn’t getting much press in the United States. Right now, there isn’t even a release date for Ejiofor’s film. It seems likely that the United State’s will start to catch on to the flick now that an Oscar contender is headlining the indie title.

The oddity surrounding the buzz for Chiwetel’s new film is that the newest trailers aren’t even viewable in the United States just yet. Check out an older video for Half of a Yellow Sun above and get ready to enjoy yet another great performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor when it does hit North American shores.

Share this article: Chiwetel Ejiofor Shines In New Project, ‘Half Of A Yellow Sun’
More from Inquisitr