Michaela Coel is finally getting the credit she deserves.
The British actor and screenwriter was famously snubbed at the 2021 Golden Globes for her brilliant series I May Destroy You (while shows such as Emily in Paris received noms) but has since earned eight Emmy nominations including Original Best Series.
Now, the talented performer has been added to the cast of Marvel’s upcoming Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever, although the details of her character are being kept tightly under wraps.
Prior to releasing I May Destroy You, which was an incisive exploration of the psychological aftermath of being sexually assaulted, Coel appeared in Netflix’s Black Mirror and was the star of Chewing Gum, also on the streamer. She also had roles in feature films such as Been So Long and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
The Black Panther sequel, which will once again be directed by Ryan Coogler, was revealed earlier in 2021 with a teaser trailer titled Marvel Celebrates the Movies. The trailer featured never-before-seen footage from the upcoming Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings which stars Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu, as well as glimpses into other Phase 4 titles such as The Marvels and The Eternals.
Toward the end of the epic trailer, the studio revealed the title for the hotly anticipated follow-up to the 2018 blockbuster which will drop in cinemas in July 2022. As previously confirmed, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, will not feature a recast version of T’Challa — the character brought to life by the late Chadwick Boseman who passed away in August 2020.
The first Black Panther grossed more than $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office and became the second-highest-grossing film of 2018.
Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o, Florence Kasumba and Angela Bassett will return for the second instalment of the film, with Nyong’o speaking to Yahoo! Entertainment in April about heading back to the set without Boseman.
“The way which he has reshaped the second movie is so respectful of the loss we’ve all experienced as a cast and as a world,” she said. “So it feels spiritually and emotionally correct to do this.”
In June, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige told Variety that it was “clearly very emotional without Chad”.
“But everyone is also very excited to bring the world of Wakanda back to the public and back to the fans,” he said. “We’re going to do it in a way that would make Chad proud.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be in cinemas on July 8, 2022.
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