The mystery of Daniel Kaluuya’s possible involvement in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is solved: the Londoner will not be returning to the franchise for a second outing.
It was expected that Kaluuya would reprise his role of W’Kabi, the best friend and confidant of King T’Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman), and head of security for the Border Tribe.
Variety, though, reports that Kaluuya was unable to star in the sequel due to filming clashes with Jordan Peele’s latest horror film Nope, his next big-screen role.
The sequel is expected to explore other characters within the Black Panther stories, while honouring the legacy of the late actor and his character, King T’Challa.
Marvel fans had speculated that Kaluuya’s character W’Kabi might have inherited the mantle of superhero Black Panther in the sequel.
While the plot of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sequel remains shrouded in mystery, the cast definitely comprises of Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett – all reprising their Black Panther roles.
We also know that Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta and Dominique Thorne will be joining the cast in so-far undisclosed roles.
Upon release in 2018, Black Panther became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, taking over $1.3 billion worldwide. It became the first Marvel movie to receive a nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Kaluuya kickstarted his career with roles on British TV with Skins, Doctor Who, and Black Mirror – his performance in the latter persuaded Peele to cast him in 2017’s genre-defining horror Get Out, propelling him to global fame.
Jordan Peele’s Nope will hit cinemas on July 22.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scheduled for release on November 11.
Here’s everything we know about Black Panther 2.
London’s Michaela Coel has joined Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.