At the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiere Wednesday night in Los Angeles, stars Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright told Good Morning America that it’s a surreal feeling to be back with the sequel. Wright, who plays Shuri, called it, “incredible.”
“To be back is surreal — to bring the world of Wakanda back for everyone and hoping that when people see it, they really love it and really enjoy it,” said Wright. “Seeing everybody just dedicate so much love into the script…It’s truly a family.”
Wakanda Forever, directed by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, is a follow-up to the 2018 Oscar-winning global phenomenon. The role of King T’Challa/Black Panther, which was played by the late Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer in 2020, was not recast, in deference to Boseman and his fans.
On Wednesday night, Bassett, who plays T’Challa’s mother, Queen Ramonda, shared how they honored Boseman’s legacy in the sequel.
“You’ll see his face, you’ll see his visage, you’ll feel our hearts, and our love for him,” Bassett said. “It’s there, it’s evident in our faces, in our stance, in the detail, in the renderings — we don’t forget him at all.”
Oscar-winner Nyong’o reprises her role as Nakia, said the cast bonded in Boseman’s absence. “Luckily, the story leans into the loss that we experienced, so we could bring our grief to work and put it to good work,” she shared. “And we leaned on each other, you know, because we all lost someone dear to us. And so we had each other for support…”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens November 11 from Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
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