Hot Ticket Productions has announced the voice cast for Secrets of the Multiverse, a 13-episode animated sci-fi series and spinoff of Lady Bucket and the Motley Mopsters, Nigeria's first feature-length animated film. The series is scheduled for release in 2026 on major streaming platforms.
The story follows two children who fall into a multiverse and must navigate a parallel realm to prevent an extinction-level event. Executive producer Blessing Amidu, who developed the project with his daughter and screenwriter Emmanuella Amidu, described the stakes simply: “It's a world of danger that challenges not only their survival, but their sense of morality.”
The cast is led by Nollywood actress Adesua Etomi, who voices Iyabo, a maternal figure at the center of the series. For Atomi, the role required some distance from herself. “Iyabo is basically me,” he said. “She's a mother, a nurturer. I just had to draw from my personal experiences.” Etomi, a mother of two, said that the character's Nigerian specificity was part of the appeal, including the vocal tone of a Nigerian mother, the shift in tone between affection and discipline, and the way a child's full name when called gives a completely different signal than a surname.
His reasons for joining the project went beyond character. Etomi talked about growing up watching Super Ted and Danger Mouse and his long-standing concern that Nigerian children have too little animation of their own. “It's African, it's Nigerian, made by us, for us,” she said, “but we're going to share it with the whole world.” He said the values the series teaches were central to his decision. “It's not just about how much I'm being paid. I want to know the message you're trying to convey.”
Jessica Edwards returns to voice Bucchi, the character she originated in the 2020 film. Now Buki has grown up and been pulled into the multiverse and must face a group of villains threatening her world. Edwards also plays a second role as the voice of a villain. She was 11 years old when she recorded the original film. She is now 16 years old.
Asked what the recall meant, Edwards said it reinforced something she was still learning to trust. “There are people in this world who trust my abilities more than I trust myself.” He approached the role of the villain through careful reading of the script and found that understanding the background of the character made it easier to perform. Here's what he had to say about preparation more broadly: “You can never fully express your talent because you're always growing.”
Korede Lawal joins the cast as a new member, voicing William Tam, a character he describes as morally complex rather than outright evil. “He's not being evil just because he wants to be evil,” Lawal said. “He's trying to protect his multiverse.” Lawal auditioned for the role and went through the process of finding the right vocal tone for his younger self. Playing this role taught him not to judge people without understanding what shaped them, he said.
The series is directed by Adebisi Adetayo, technical director of 32ad Animation Studio and director of the original film, along with Hollywood director Robert Sledge. It has been produced in 4K. The cast also includes Akorede Bobo, Fiyin Asenuga, Mariam Ibrahim Yarakasa and Emmanuella Amidu.
Secrets of the Multiverse is already in production. On the broader ambitions of the project, Etomi bluntly stated: “I want to see our culture, our ideologies, our accents, our stories, raw and authentic, reaching a global audience.”