Despite the loss of actor Chadwick Boseman to colon cancer last year, Marvel Studios seems to be looking to expand the world of Black Panther’s fictional country of Wakanda with the sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever set to begin filming this summer in Atlanta and a spinoff Wakanda series in the works at Disney+ from filmmaker Ryan Coogler.
This expansion will apparently have Danai Gurira’s Okoye as a key player, as the actress is reportedly locked-in for the sequel and the untitled Disney+ series. The news first appeared in an expansive piece about Hollywood attorneys from The Hollywood Reporter, but was later backed-up independently by outlets such as Collider and Deadline.
However, there seems to be some confusion if Danai will be in two different Black Panther spinoff shows for Disney+ or simply part of the Ryan Coogler project that was previously announced. We’ll have to wait for clarity from Marvel/Disney on that front.
Okoye is one of the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s group of female special forces warriors, and survived the snap. We learned thanks to Avengers: Endgame that Okoye was still active in the heroics department before Thanos was defeated and half of the universe was resurrected by Tony Stark.
It’s unclear how big Okyoe’s role will be in either project and will be some time until we get some more concrete information about this Wakanda show. However, it seems all but confirmed that it will follow the Dora Milaje as teased with their appearance in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. We have to assume at this point the show will have actress Florence Kasumba among the cast as well.
Marvel Studios has gone on the record about not employing a digital version of Chadwick Boseman or recasting the T’Challa role, making it a bit of a mystery how exactly they plan on moving forward with Black Panther: Wakanda and who will ultimately take up the mantle. The Challenge Day scene from the first film seems to indicate that multiple royals from the various Wakandan tribes could be in consideration and it not being a complete sure bet that Shuri is the next Black Panther just because it happened in the comic books.
We’re still in the dark who will be the sequel’s antagonist. Trade reports revealed that Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta (Narcos) was in talks to play a an unnamed villain. Fans have speculated for years that that Prince Namor of Atlantis or Fantastic Four’s Doctor Doom of Latveria could be potential baddies looking to pick a fight with the technologically advanced nation in the second film.
It’ll be interesting if they’d ever consider prequels taking place during the era of King T’Chaka.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will hit theaters on July 8, 2022.
THE RONIN 