Lupita Nyong’o shares her thoughts on recasting T’Challa for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The actor says that the Marvel sequel's rewritten script "honored the truth" of grieving Chadwick Boseman
Aux News Lupita Nyong'o
Any new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe automatically becomes a hotly-anticipated release, but the pressure is particularly on for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which hits theaters next month. Back in 2018, the first installment immediately became a cultural juggernaut, grossing over $1 billion at the box office. The road to the sequel hasn’t been an easy one, due to pandemic-related delays and, of course, the 2020 death of star Chadwick Boseman.
In a new profile from The Hollywood Reporter, Lupita Nyong’o, who plays a Wakandan spy and T’Challa’s on-and-off girlfriend, opens up about returning to the role amidst grieving Boseman, something incorporated into the film. Writer/director Ryan Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole retooled their script to depict a mourning nation and a new character taking up the title of Black Panther.
“Ryan wrote something that so honored the truth of what every one of us was feeling, those of us who knew Chadwick,” Nyong’o tells THR. “He created something that could honor that and carry the story forward. By the end, I was weeping.”
In the wake of Boseman’s death, Coogler and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige decided against recasting the role, which has been controversial amongst viewers who were hoping to see T’Challa’s story continue. Nyong’o, for one, supports the choice.
“That is not the death of the Black Panther, that’s the whole point,” she says. “It’s laying to rest [T’Challa] and allowing for real life to inform the story of the movies. I know that there are all sorts of reasons why people want him to be recast, but I don’t have the patience. I don’t have the presence of mind, or I don’t have the objectivity to argue with that. I don’t. I’m very biased.”
Though Nakia is not a part of the royal family, many fans hope that she’ll be the next Black Panther, given Nyong’o’s Oscar-winning star power and how the character’s values have guided the future of Wakanda. Of course, she’s not about to share whether or not she’ll get to suit up in Wakanda Forever.
“If I told you that, I might as well just… swim into the ocean and never be seen again,” Nyongo quips.
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“I know that there are all sorts of reasons why people want him to be
recast, but I don’t have the patience. I don’t have the presence of
mind, or I don’t have the objectivity to argue with that. I don’t. I’m
very biased.”
This is a really great articulation of what bias even is. And it’s utterly fair that the people involved behind-the-scenes made the only decision that seemed right to them.
I’m one of the people who very lightly questioned why we were gonna kill off that character for real. It seemed particularly unfair given the number of actors that have worn capes over the years.
Thankfully, the true answer was that the people who have custody of the character saw no other choice.
That’s how art gets made.
She’s now been criminally underused in two Disney franchises, both the MCU and Star Wars.
Right? She should be starring in everything.
This movie seems like it has everything except a star.
The recast crowd never seem to be able to answer this:
1) What do you do with Coogler, who doesn’t want to do it? You think Feige is going to fire him? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
2) What idiot actor is going to take on that role? Why would you want to do that to a guy?
Feige can fire anyone directors aren’t particularly important to the mcu system
Yeah, OK, a white executive is going to fire one of the most respected black directors going today because said black director wouldn’t recast his lead?
On what fucking planet do you live?
Perfectly said.
It’s not a question of “Can Kevin fire Ryan?” Because that is a giant “duhhh”, of course he CAN. But he won’t, because 1. Coogler is pretty good at what he does and 2. What BobW said previous.Use your head. It’s that lump 3 ft above your ass.
I’m sure some no name guy would probably do T’Challa for the exposure. He could be a George Lazenby, but he could also be a Roger Moore.
1. Maybe Coogler, if he’s adamant, simply steps away over creative differences.as has happened numerous times in the MCU, and twice in the last couple of months with Fantastic Four and Blade. 2. I don’t know who would want to do it; you’d have to be a mind-reader for that. But that’s plenty of actor who can do it. As great as Boseman was, he’s not the only Black actor in the world. It would be a difficult position to be in for sure, but it’s not impossible to give a new, unique interpretation. I just want more T’Challa; not more Black Panther.
I am more likely to have a threesome with Charlize Theron and Oscar the Grouch than Feige is to overrule the wishes of a black director and, based on interviews, most of the largely black cast, on the matter of replacing one of the most culturally important African characters in decades.So stop. You aren’t getting your fucking Oompa Loompa, Veruca.
Though Nakia is not a part of the royal family, many fans hope that she’ll be the next Black PantherYes, but anyone other than the publicly anti-vaxxer would be a better choice.
I really wish that Target’s Christmas toy catalogue hadn’t spoiled who the new Black Panther is by putting that character’s action figure, in what appears to be the new BP suit, on its freaking cover.
Well, the posters have Shuri front and center, and Nakia off to the side somewhere, so unless the marketing campaign is seriously trolling the audience, this choice was made a long time ago. Probably before the vaccines were approved.
I’d be more sympathetic to that reasoning if Marvel Studios wasn’t infamous for making changes throughout production up to and including during post (hence those stories about pixel fucking VFX artists that were written a few months ago).
The pixel fucking stuff is about making VFX houses redo near-complete effects shots for their original bid. Marvel’s notorious tweaking in post doesn’t actually lead to a lot of cost overruns, which is why they do it. Marvel wasn’t going to rewrite the script in the middle of production, reshoot large portions of the movie, possibly fire Wright, and push back the release date for a second time… all because she tweeted some video and said some silly things on set. Marvel is running a business. They’re not going to spend millions of dollars to placate you. They don’t care about it as much as you do. Stay home. It’s going to make a billion dollars anyway.
The pixel fucking stuff explicitly revealed how last-minute rewrites and reshoots are involved. A few of the actors – Elizabeth Olsen in particular – have admitted they show up to set and aren’t really sure what they are shooting because Marvel’s plans are constantly changing. I haven’t seen the movie, so I don’t know how integral Letitia Wright’s character becoming Black Panther is to the story of Wakanda Forever. But at the point when Letitia Wright tweeted and retweeted that nonsense (don’t forget the video she linked to contained transphobic material as well; whether that’s a reflection of her personal values or beliefs doesn’t matter as much as the fact that she amplified that voice), Marvel still had ample time to rewrite and reshoot.Even taking Letitia Wright’s garbage views out of it, her character isn’t really near the top of my list of “Characters I Would Guess Will Take Over The Mantle of Black Panther.” So this is a hill either Marvel or Coogler really wants to die on. You’re right though. It’s going to make a billion dollars anyway. Marvel is running a business. They’re not going to spend millions of dollars to placate you. They don’t care about it as much as you do. No fucking shit. Ask James Gunn and Gina Carano how much they don’t care.
In truth, nobody will give a shit about anti-vaxx sentiment in 10 years when the fourth black panther sequel comes out and she’s still the star
Are we still pretending it’s not Shuri?