Earlier this year, reports emerged that Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya would reprise his role as W’Kabi in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, Kaluuya has now confirmed that he will not be back for the Black Panther sequel.
Via The Wrap, this story was broken by Rotten Tomatoes’ Jacqueline Coley. The reason for Kaluuya’s absence was a scheduling conflict between Wakanda Forever and Nope, which reunited the actor with his Get Out director, Jordan Peele. It’s unclear how or if W’Kabi’s absence will be addressed in the film.
Within the original Black Panther, W’Kabi was the chief of the Border Tribe, the best friend of T’Challa, and the lover of Okoye. Regardless, W’Kabi sided with Eric Killmonger in the battle to control Wakanda itself because he believed in Killmonger’s militant philosophy. W’Kabi ultimately surrendered to Okoye rather than fight her, and he was briefly glimpsed with the rest of the tribal leaders near the end of the movie.
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Danai Gurira will reprise her role as Okoye in the sequel, alongside Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross. Dominique Thorne will also make her MCU debut in the film as Riri Williams before headlining Ironheart on Disney+. Tenoch Huerta is widely rumored to be playing Namor in the movie, but Marvel has yet to announce that casting. An official reveal may happen at San Diego Comic-Con later this month.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will hit theaters on November 11.
How do you feel about Daniel Kaluuya sitting out of the next Black Panther movie? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet Book 1
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