Roye Okupe is an award-winning Nigerian-American filmmaker and founder of YouNeek Studios. In 2021, he secured a 10-book publishing deal with Dark Horse Comics to expand his African-inspired fantasy universe. His flagship title, IYANU, is now an animated franchise streaming on HBO Max and Cartoon Network, where it ranked as the #1 series on Cartoon Network and a Top 10 Kids & Family series on Max, later debuting as the #1 kids’ series on Showmax across Africa. In 2026, the Iyanu franchise received three NAACP Image Award nominations, including Outstanding Animated Series and Outstanding Writing. Two Iyanu animated features were also greenlit, both written and directed by Roye.
His accolades include being ranked #5 on Ventures Africa’s 40 African Innovators to Watch and being named one of NewAfrican Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Africans (2016 & 2017), as well as a nomination for the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics.
