“Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre” Season 2 and Kunle Afolayan’s Moment of Reckoning 

Once again, a date is set. The air is thick with anticipation as Nollywood filmmaker Kunle Afolayan announces the return of Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre, a Netflix Yoruba epic fantasy series, on January 30th, 2026. The franchise, which began with a 2022 pilot titled Aníkúlápó, established the presence of Saro, a young man on the quest for a better life, who later becomes power drunk and is undone by greed and pride.

In the film, Saro meets an older woman, Awarun, who takes interest in him and offers him assistance. But his heart becomes divided when he crosses paths with Arolake, an unhappy queen, with whom he has romantic relations. As the secret affair spills, the young man encounters death in the hands of the aggrieved king and his supporters. It becomes more intriguing when the deceased young man gets a second chance at life with the help of a mysterious bird that leaves behind a resurrection charm. With access to these powers, Arolake and Saro abscond to another village where the young man gains a reputation as a resurrector that does not also last long due to his tragic flaws.

While the original film tests the waters, with its thematic focus on spirituality, reincarnation and second chance, and the development of major characters like Saro (Kunle Remi), Awarun (Sola Sobowale), Arolake (Bimbo Ademoye) and Alaafin Ademuyiwa (Taiwo Hassan), it ends on an ambiguous note that sets the tone for the broader narrative vision that Afolayan pursues in the series. The series appeared on Netflix in 2024, expanding the fictional universe and introducing new characters such as Basorun (Owobo Ogunde), Awolaran (Lateef Adedimeji) and Prince Kuranga (Uzee Usman), among others.

The series equips Saro with a new mission. His spirit has been refused entry into heaven for his abominable act of bringing back to life a number of people destined to end at their time. With his fate unclear, he is forced to return to earth where he then finds himself at the mercy of the dead. Again, as the film proved, Saro goes rogue, willing to enjoy his earthly existence a little more. But the motive this time around is not strong enough to keep viewers attached to and in anticipation of what will become of this character. Perhaps this is why Afolayan tones down the attention on the show’s main man this time around, empowering other major faces and bringing sub-plots into the picture.

So far, the franchise has generated mixed reactions, with critics and cinephiles applauding the film’s audacious exploration of Yoruba mythology and traditions, but also faulting the story creators Sola Dada and Kunle Afolayan for often swerving off the road. One criticism leveled against the first season is the curse of “meandering subplots” and bland characters that detract from its overall plausibility. A Culture Custodian review acknowledges the introduction of Owobo Ogunde who marks his screen debut in the show, praising him for “a beguiling soft-spokenness” with which he handled his character as a dreaded warlord, but scorns the drift from the protagonist’s journey.

Even though subplots such as Basorun’s inordinate ambition and the deadly tensions between Kuranga and Awolarin for the King’s daughter, Omowunmi (Eyiyemi Afolayan) are introduced to create a complex narrative, similar to, as the director himself once admitted, the all-time famous HBO show Game Of Thrones, what is supposed to be a fabric of intricately woven stories appear to end up in disappointing, barely coordinated threads. Culture writer Michael Aromolaran rightly observes the show for its “roving gaze”, with the subplots yielding an aura of incoherence.

All hope is, however, not lost. Afolayan’s reputation as a fearless filmmaker committed to pushing the boundaries of African storytelling is undebatable . From The Figurine to October 1 and Phone Swap, the filmmaker has built an enviable cinema oeuvre, challenging conventional filmmaking and positioning the country on the international map. It is for his contributions that he is considered the progenitor of New Nollywood. While the Anikulapo franchise, considering its flaws, might feel a bit like self-sabotage, it indicates hope and undeniable passion for cultural stories on a grand scale in a system where vision is often hampered by financial and infrastructural setbacks.

As the show returns for the second time, the onus is on the filmmaker to right the wrongs of the first season, or, to put in another way, lend credence to any subplots without scaling down on the adventures of the protagonist Saro in his quest for spiritual redemption and restitution. Whatever drives Saro this time around must be stronger than in the previous installments. While the tensions built up in the past season might spiral into full-fledged armed conflicts between kingdoms, Afolayan will be trusted to keep things in motion, clearly committing to character development without neglecting the relevance of the protagonist in the grand scheme of unfolding events. Unlike the maiden six-episode season, where interest and suspense waned as the story progressed, the series stands to gain significantly if it sustains a taut, suspenseful atmosphere from beginning to end this time around. This season could be the make-or-break moment, deciding whether the show retains or loses its watch value.