Episode 24: Adapting for Animation w/ Roye Okupe (Pt. 1/2)

Welcome to Lefty Speaks: The Vampire Hunter D Podcast! Brought to you by Brandon Easton, Neal Fischer, and Scott McLean of Unified Pictures. Welcome to the frontier, hunters! In the 24th episode, we sit down with Roye Okupe, creator of the Iyanu: Child of Wonder graphic novels and co-creator of the Iyanu animated series, to discuss the process of adapting a property for animation, the challenges and changes that take place, and what it's like seeing your work come to life on screen.

Iyanu has been renewed for a second season, alongside two announced feature films! Season one premiered on Cartoon Network on April 5, 2025 and can be streamed on HBO Max.

Learn more about the graphic novels: https://youneekstudios.com/iyanu/

About Lefty Speaks

Lefty Speaks: The Vampire Hunter D Podcast is hosted by Brandon Easton, Neal Fischer, and Scott McLean. Created by Unified Pictures and Nine Realms. Narration by Lauren Evallen-Muller. Recording and Editing by Nine Realms. Produced by Ian E. Muller and Scott McLean. Cover art by Christopher Shy. Based on the works created by Hideyuki Kikuchi.

New episodes air Fridays on Patreon, Mondays everywhere else!

Become a Patron for early access to episodes and other perks: https://www.patreon.com/c/VampireHunterD/home

Follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, BlueSky, or visit our official website https://unifiedpictures.com/vhd.html

Find more of Christopher’s art at https://artofronin.com

About The Hosts

Brandon Easton – Uber nerd. Walking Star Wars/Star Trek/Gundam lore encyclopedia and is currently exploring Warhammer 40K. Wrote the Vampire Hunter D: Message From Mars comic series, and is the head writer for Iyanu, launching on Cartoon Network on April 5th and MAX on April 6th, and the writer of the upcoming movie Takeover, starring Quavo and Billy Zane. Other shows include Transformers: War For Cybertron - Siege and Marvel's Agent Carter. Brandon has also written a ton of comics, including Robotech: Rick Hunter, Superman, Batman, Judge Dredd, Star Trek, Kamen Rider.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandoneastonwriter

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/brandoneaston.bsky.social

Neal Fischer – Los Angeles-based film, TV, podcast and streaming producer. Tabletop & TTRPG gaming enthusiast and GM. Sushi Snob, Martial Arts Grasshopper & Uber nerd.

Sushi Girl: https://www.sushigirlmovie.com

Scott McLean – Los Angeles-based producer. Tabletop & TTRPG hobbyist, tea & chocolate snob, avid reader of sci-fi/fantasy, and lover of esoteric facts & medical knowledge. Former world rank 1 paladin tank in WoW, long-time Final Fantasy XIV player (WAR/PLD).

https://unifiedpictures.com

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