Idris Elba is going all in on West African action cinema. His production company, 22Summers, is teaming up with two heavyweights in the space: Moses Babatope’s Nile Media Entertainment Group out of Nigeria, and Chee Keong Cheung’s UK genre outfit Action Xtreme.
Together, the three companies are building out a slate of “high-energy, commercially driven action films rooted in African stories and talent.” But this isn’t just about making a few movies — the partners say they’re aiming to build something that lasts: a production ecosystem meant to grow local talent and put African genre filmmaking on the global map.
The first film will be announced shortly, with production starting in Q4 2026; a second follows in Q1 2027. Elba and Gina Carter, his longtime collaborator, are executive-producing both. Elba will also direct one of the films; Cheung will direct the first and produce for Action Xtreme; and Babatope will produce for Nile Motion Picture, with Nile Entertainment handling distribution across Africa.
None of this is coming out of nowhere for Elba. With a Ghanaian mother and a Sierra Leonean father, his ties to the continent run deep; he’s already got film studios in the works in Zanzibar and Accra, and he recently shot and starred in This Is How It Goes, an Apple feature set in Ghana alongside Charlie Cox and Wunmi Mosaku.
22Summers, Elba and Carter’s production company, has a solid track record already: Elba’s directorial debut Yardie, the space thriller Above the Below, Apple TV’s Bola, and Luther, The Day Will Come, currently in post for Netflix.
On the Nigerian side, Nile Media Entertainment Group is one of West Africa’s biggest names in production, distribution, and exhibition, led by industry veteran Moses Babatope. The company handles West African theatrical distribution for both Universal and Paramount through its UIP partnership. Action Xtreme, meanwhile, just wrapped Nigerian action-thriller Son of the Soil.
“The journey continues; strengthening the African film industry is about collaboration and shared perspectives,” Elba said. “I am fortunate to have these partners, and aim to have global success with this slate. Success breeds data, and data breeds investment.”
Babatope framed the deal as part of a bigger mission: “Action is one of the world’s most commercially powerful genres, yet Africa remains largely underrepresented in that space despite the incredible stories, talent, and creative energy that exist across the continent.”
Cheung directed Son of the Soil, and he says that experience is shaping his approach to this new partnership. ‘What we are building with this collaboration is not just a slate of films, but a sustainable ecosystem where African action cinema can thrive,’ he said. ‘By combining local talent with international production expertise, we want to create commercially exciting films that travel worldwide while remaining authentically rooted in Africa.’
