Idris Elba’s 22Summers, Moses Babatope’s Nile Media Entertainment Group and Chee Keong Cheung’s Action Xtreme have formed a strategic production partnership focused on developing and producing a slate of high-energy action films originating from across West Africa. The initiative aims to build a long-term production ecosystem designed to nurture local creatives and create globally competitive genre filmmaking from the continent.
The first film will be announced shortly and is scheduled to go into production in Q4 2026, with the second slated for Q1 2027. Elba and 22Summers co-founder Gina Carter will executive produce the slate, with Elba set to direct one of the films. Cheung will direct the first film and produce for Action Xtreme, while Babatope will produce for Nile Motion Pictures. African distribution will be handled by Nile Entertainment.
“The journey continues,” Elba said. “Strengthening the African film industry is about collaboration and shared perspectives. I am fortunate to have these partners and aim to have global success with this slate. Success breeds data and data breeds investment.”
Elba, whose mother is from Ghana and father from Sierra Leone, has long been committed to building infrastructure for African filmmaking. He is behind projects to develop film studios in Zanzibar and in Accra, Ghana, and recently shot and starred in the Ghana-set Apple feature This Is How It Goes alongside Charlie Cox and Wunmi Mosaku.
For Babatope, the partnership represents a broader vision for what African cinema can become on the global stage. “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,” he said. “This is not simply about making films. It is about creating a sustainable ecosystem that combines production, talent development, and distribution to give African filmmakers the opportunity to create world class action content that can travel across borders while remaining authentically African.”
Cheung echoed that sentiment, drawing on his experience making the Nigerian action thriller Son of the Soil. “Making Son of the Soil in Nigeria was an extraordinary experience and it made me appreciate the incredible depth of talent, stories and creative energy within Africa that deserves a global stage,” he said. “What we are building is not just a slate of films, but a sustainable ecosystem where African action cinema can thrive.”
Nile Media Entertainment Group is one of West Africa’s leading production, distribution and exhibition companies, currently serving as the West African theatrical distributor for Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures through its partnership with UIP. Action Xtreme, founded by Cheung and Andreas Roald, is a UK-based action film studio focused on developing globally appealing genre content alongside grassroots talent development. 22Summers, founded by Elba and Carter, has credits including Elba’s directorial debut Yardie, the space thriller Above the Below and Apple TV+ psychological thriller Bola, with the feature Luther: The Day Will Come currently in post-production for Netflix.
