When Willow Smith went platinum at the ripe old of age of 10 with “Whip My Hair,” she changed our entire perception of what a child star was. Arguably, she never was one. In 2017, the fluorescent adolescent is still one of the most interesting young minds in music — and, soon, in film. Deadline reports that Willow has launched her own production company, MSFTs Production, and is teaming up with Cartel Entertainment on two new female-led projects. The first is an adaptation of YA trilogy Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton. The second is an animated series based on an epic fantasy novel written by the Indigo Child herself.
The adaptation of Alwyn’s phenomenal debut novel might also be Willow’s first big film role. The youngest Smith kid made her acting debut in 2007 alongside her dad in I Am Legend, appeared in a Julia Roberts-produced American Girl movie in 2008, and voiced a young hippo in Madagascar that same year. But in recent years Willow has been more focused on advancing her intersectional feminist agenda through music. Her first book proposal, Menencholy, is said to focus on a young girl named Menen-Nin Khali who possesses the ability to see into her past life. “The non-physical, creative and, wild nature of a female heroine’s journey calls for a unique narrative structure that permeates the very foundation of the story,” Willow teased of the impending animated show. “Enjoy the ride!”
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Photography Tyrone Lebon