Lupita Nyong’o is grateful that the world will soon have experience Black Panther: Wakanda Forever after a few difficult years for the film’s team.
The star, who appeared on Saturday as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con, spoke with The Hollywood Reporter after the event and proudly expressed that they managed to make the film. The film hits theaters on November 11 and pays tribute to Chadwick Boseman, the lead actor of the 2018 hit Black Panther who died in August 2020 after an undisclosed battle with colon cancer.
“It’s been a doozy of a few years for everyone,” Nyong’o, who plays Nakia in the movies, told me. THR. “For us as a cast, after the loss of our king, Chadwick Boseman, that was a lot to process, and in many ways we are still processing it. When you lose someone, I don’t know when you’ll stop missing them. And of course we felt so bad making this movie without him.”
The 39-year-old Oscar winner pointed out that filming the Ryan Coogler-directed sequel amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic also came with its own challenges.
“Making this film against all odds is a powerful statement in itself, and I’m very proud that we did it,” she said. “It was very therapeutic. It gave me a sense of hope in making it again, and I think we’ve expanded the world of Wakanda in ways that will blow people’s minds – not just Wakanda but the Black Panther world. It will blow people away, and I can’t wait until it’s not a secret anymore.”
When asked about the pivotal moment in the trailer teasing someone else donning the Black Panther suit, Nyong’o played it coy. “Don’t you just love a good secret?” she complained.
Florence Kasumba, who will reprise her role as Ayo in the sequel, said: THR that she first saw the Wakanda forever trailer when it was shown at Comic-Con and is still processing the different emotions it evoked in her. About what viewers can expect in the sequel, she explained: “In this movie we get to see more of the culture, of the people. Some backstories that needed to be told. But again, there’s also this whole problem that needs to be solved. .”
Disney’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in theaters on November 11.
Losing Chadwick Boseman was a lot for the #Black Panther team to process, @Lupita_Nyongo says “If you lose someone I don’t know when you’ll stop missing them” pic.twitter.com/KsWPuwDOum
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 24, 2022
