In 2021, when Coming 2 America came out, Nomzamo Mbatha became known around the world. Many people were surprised when she went back to South Africa to executive produce and lead the star-studded cast of the remake of the classic South African Hit show Shaka.
During all the excitement about the cast announcements and the top isiZulu-speaking actors taking time off from their other projects to see this dream of the remake material, there was a lot of work done on the script. Even though the official release of the series isn’t until 2023, fans now have their first look at the official teaser, which will be used to promote the series in 2023.
A first look at Nomzamo Mbatha’s Shaka Ilembe
Nomzamo Mbatha made a lot of money from the sequel to the classic movie Coming to America. She decided to use that money to make one of her biggest dreams come true. It looks like it was to make a new version of Shaka, a famous TV show in South Africa.
She is not only the main character in the remake, but she is also one of the people in charge of making the show. This is the same production as Isibaya’s Thandeka, Bomb, which gave her her first big acting role.
Mbatha first confirmed that production on the project has began in May 2022, revealing the main cast of the project to include Isithembiso’s Lemogang Tsipa as the adult Shaka, The River’s Thembinkosi Mthembu as King Dingiswayo, Uzalo’s Wiseman Ncube as Ukhakhayi, and JIVA’s Senzo Radebe as Senzangakhona KaJama.
For a while after the production was announced, many wondered how this remake will be different or the same to the original, which was filled with mysticism and folklore, which to date is hard for anyone to forget. However, with the first official teaser revealed, we got to know a little bit more.
It seems that this version of the series will be centred on the story of Nandi, her rebellious spirit to want to find love rather than marry out of royal familial responsibility and the journey she took to eventually mother the most iconic rule ruler there has ever been.
Not to mention, Mbatha bears all for the role as she plays uNandi from a virgin to the stoic matriarch she is mostly known to have been. In sharing the official teaser, Mbatha made it clear that the series is a celebration of black history. A black history actually told as accurately as possible by actually using a predominantly isiZulu cast, avoiding perceptions of appropriation in the creation of the remake.
