‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’: Danai Gurira Says Filming Was Often Emotional After Losing Chadwick Boseman
The world was dealt with a hard blow after the death of Chadwick Boseman, who played Black Panther amongst so many other iconic roles. His death came as a shock to many, especially the cast of Black Panther. Danai Gurira, who plays Okoye, says it was often emotional to film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever after the loss of Boseman.
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ deals with the death of Chadwick Boseman
In 2020, the world was stunned by the death of Boseman. The actor, who starred in movies like Get on Up and 42, had been battling colon cancer privately for years, unbeknownst to most of the public. Chadwick Boseman became best-known for his role as T’Challa in Black Panther, which he also played in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
Many Marvel fans were curious to see what the studio would do after this tragic loss. Kevin Feige announced that they would not be recasting T’Challa but they would still be moving forward with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The Black Panther sequel sees the return of other cast members like Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Letitia Wright, and Angela Bassett.
Danai Gurira recalls the emotional experience of shooting the ‘Black Panther’ sequel
Danai Guriri and the cast of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever recently attended the Marvel Studios panel at the 2022 San Diego Comic Con. Gurira spoke to Variety about the emotions she and the rest of the cast went through while shooting and she says that this panel brought back many of those feelings.
“It was everything, really,” Gurira said. “We didn’t know when and how it was gonna hit us. It hit us in various ways and at various moments. Just walking onto the stage and hearing Ryan [Coogler] before that. We were getting hit like watching it and there are various moments when you are just being hit by that. It was beautifully said by Dominique [Thorne] and by Michaela [Coel] that they really were support for us.”
“There was a very hard day I had on set and [Thorne] was there for me,” Gurira added. “You just never knew when it was just going to be a really hard day and they were really amazing, our new family. They understood they were in a place where grief was happening and they held us up. We got great new family.”
The first trailer previews the direction for the sequel
The first teaser trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuted at Comic Con. The trailer begins with Danai Gurira and the others most likely mourning the death of T’Challa. After that, the teaser highlights many action and emotional moments that are in the movie, along with glimpses of Namor the Sub-mariner (Tenoch Huerta), the antagonist of the film.
There is also the first look at Ironheart (Thorne), who is making her debut here before getting her own series on Disney+. The teaser ends with a new person in the Black Panther suit, but it is being kept hidden so fans can theorize who will be taking up the mantle next.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuts in theaters on Nov. 11, 2022.
