BAFTA-Winning ‘Small Axe’ Star Malachi Kirby to Lead Amazon’s Neil Gaiman Adaptation ‘Anansi Boys’

Malachi Kirby, the British actor who recently won a BAFTA TV award for his portrayal of Darcus Howe in Mangrove, part of Steve McQueen’s BBC/Amazon anthology series Small Axe, is set to reunite with Amazon, taking the lead in its recently-ordered upcoming drama Anansi Boys, based on Neil Gaiman’s best-selling novel.

Kirby, also known for Roots and Black Mirror, joins the already announced Delroy Lindo and will play the dual lead roles of brothers Charles Nancy and Spider. The six-part limited series will begin filming in Scotland later this year.

The Anansi Boys casting was announced during a major Amazon event held in London on Tuesday evening as part of a Q&A with Amazon Studios head of European originals Georgia Brown and head of U.K. originals Dan Grabiner, hosted by Katherine Ryan (due to star in Amazon Original series Backstage with Katherine Ryan).

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Brown and Grabiner also used the talk to unveil two new projects that have been greenlit.

Psychological thriller Wilderness, set to launch in 2023, is based on B.E. Jones’ novel of the same name, and is being produced by Firebird Pictures, written by Marnie Dickens and executive produced by Elizabeth Kilgarriff. The series, due to start filming next year, is billed as a twisted love story, where a dream holiday and a supposedly “happy-ever-after” quickly turns into a living nightmare.

“It’s a deliciously twisted thriller, and Marnie Dickens and the talented team at Firebird Pictures are the perfect combination to deliver it,” said Grabiner.

Meanwhile, much-loved British documentary maker Louis Theroux is producing a new doc feature about influential YouTube star and rapper KSI (aka Olajide Olatunji, or JJ for short) as he prepares for the biggest year of his career so far. Theroux will also exec produce the 90-minute film, being directed by Wes Pollitt (The Last Miners, Murder 24/7) and produced by Sophie Gran, for his own banner Mindhouse Productions.

“It is a huge thrill to be working with JJ on this definitive documentary,” said Theroux. “He is a huge talent, a totally self-created phenomenon who has gone from bedroom-bound nerd with a handful of subscribers to an online colossus with fans in the millions, purely through the power of his work ethic and his will to win. The documentary will be an opportunity to see another side of JJ, understanding how he got where he is, the world of a premium online content creator today, and a man who has made it his brand never to lose, as he takes on the music business.”

Added KSI: “I’m super excited for people to finally see what I mean by ‘hard work.’ People will get to see the behind the scenes of the key events in my life and show them how I do everything I do.”