Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Winston Duke has told fans to drop any expectations they may have about the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
The actor, who plays Wakanda's mountain tribe leader M'Baku, explained to Entertainment Weekly how the Black Panther sequel would differ from its predecessor. "It's also important to let go of any expectation that this movie will be Black Panther 1," Duke explained. "This is going to be its own thing. This narrative has evolved, and it's changed, just like all the characters and the circumstances of Wakanda itself. For me in particular, I just had to let go of the expectation of this being anything like the first movie and allow this movie to be its own thing."
Duke made his MCU debut as M'Baku in 2018's Black Panther. His character played an initially antagonistic role before joining T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) in his fight against Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). Duke reprised his role in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War and 2019's Avengers: Endgame and will take on an expanded role in Wakanda Forever. "I think the events of Infinity War and Endgame really showed that the Jabari are now full-fledged members of Wakanda," Duke said in a recent interview. "M'Baku was a part of every single conflict; every event, and I don't think they could really exist in isolation anymore. They have open borders, and we saw that M'Baku was really Wakandan. His entire community has expanded."
Plot details of Wakanda Forever, which will be the final entry in Phase 4 of the MCU, have long been shrouded in mystery. Fan confusion has only grown following Marvel's decision to not recast T'Challa in the wake of Boseman's passing in 2020. Many MCU fans have voiced their disappointment over this decision and have called for Marvel to recast the character, a moment that has only grown since the release of Wakanda Forever's first trailer at San Diego Comic-Con this year.
The newly released trailer for the Marvel film also gave fans their first looks at Namor the Sub-Mariner (Tenoch Huerta) and Riri Williams/Ironheart (Dominique Thorne), who will both be making their MCU debuts in Wakanda Forever. Created by Bill Everett, Namor's appearance in the film will mark the character's live-action debut despite first appearing in 1939's Marvel Comics #1. Huerta recently described portraying the Sub-Mariner as an "amazing" and "overwhelming" experience.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on Nov. 11, 2022.
Source: EW