Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Lupita Nyong'o opened up about the emotional journey the Marvel film's cast made to Chadwick Boseman's grave site.
In an interview with Empire magazine, members of Black Panther 2's cast said they accompanied director Ryan Coogler to Boseman's resting place in South Carolina to pay their respects to the late star. Upon their arrival, the cast discovered that Boseman's brother was coincidentally also present at the grave site that day. Riri Williams actor Dominique Thorne described the encounter as feeling "like it was orchestrated by [Boseman] himself."
Nyong'o, who will reprise her Black Panther role as the River Tribe spy Nakia in Wakanda Forever, said the visit was "essential" to the experience of continuing the Black Panther legacy without Boseman. "To have that moment to physically go and pay our respects, and to be with members of his family gave me an emotional allowance to step back into that world in a way that I couldn't have known I needed until I was there," she said. The Academy Award-winning actor is open about the emotional impact Wakanda Forever has had on her, recently disclosing that Coogler's pitch for the sequel brought her to tears.
T'Challa Won't Be Recast in the MCU
Boseman, who first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as T'Challa/Black Panther in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, was expected to reprise his role in Wakanda Forever before he passed away from colon cancer in August 2020. Marvel Studios announced in December of that year that they would not recast his role. This decision proved controversial, as many Marvel fans rallied online in support of honoring Boseman's legacy by recasting T'Challa.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said recently that the decision to kill off the character instead of recasting him was motivated by the freshness of Boseman's death for those involved with the film. "It just felt like it was much too soon to recast," Feige said. "Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there's a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan [Coogler] poured that into the story."
While T'Challa's MCU journey comes to a tragic end in Wakanda Forever, the film will also serve as the beginning for some major players moving forward. Thorne will make her MCU debut in Black Panther 2 as Riri Williams/Ironheart, a character she will reprise in her upcoming self-titled Disney+ series. The sequel will also introduce Namor the Sub-Mariner (Tenoch Huerta), who was recently confirmed to be a mutant like his comic book counterpart.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will open in theaters on Nov. 11.
Source: Empire