Michaela Coel, the Emmy Award-nominated actor, writer, and director of the show I May Destroy You, has joined the cast of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, reported Variety.
While her character in the Black Panther sequel has not been disclosed yet, the report states that Coel has joined director Ryan Coogler at Atlanta’s Pinewood Studios, where production began in June. It was earlier reported that the shooting would be completed in six months.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is slated for release on July 8, 2022.
As the title suggests, the sequel will expand on the fictional Afro-futuristic world of Wakanda that develops advanced technology thanks to its abundance in vibranium, the strongest metal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The 2018 superhero film, Black Panther, set in Wakanda, is one of the biggest Marvel films with a box-office collection of $1.34 billion worldwide. It featured late actor Chadwick Boseman alongside Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and others.
Notably, it is the first superhero film to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and the only MCU film to win an Academy Award so far. It won three Oscars from seven nominations at the 91st Academy Awards in 2019 — Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design.
MCU and director Ryan Coogler had planned to begin production on the sequel in March 2021. The plan was put aside after Boseman’s demise of colon cancer on August 28, 2020.
In an earlier statement, Marvel said the sequel would continue to honour the legacy of Boseman and his portrayal of King T’Challa, and the studio would not recast the character. Rather, the sequel “will continue to explore the incomparable world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.”
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Actors Letitia Wright, Nyong’o, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett will reprise their roles as Shuri, Nakia, M’Baku, and Queen Ramada, respectively. Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta, known for Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico, will reportedly play one of the antagonists.
Apart from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, director Coogler also struck a five-year exclusive television deal with the Walt Disney Company, which owns Marvel Studios, in February. The deal will see Coogler develop new television series, including one based on the Kingdom of Wakanda for the streaming platform Disney+.