Emmy nominee and BAFTA winner Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) is joining Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (via Variety). No details on Coel’s character have been released, though the outlet shares that Coel joined the director at Atlanta’s Pinewood Studios where production on the film began in June.
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The news comes after the recent announcement that Winston Duke and Angela Bassett will be returning for the sequel, along with the reveal that the script has already undergone five different versions.
Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will continue to explore the incomparable world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.
The sequel will once again be directed and written by Ryan Coogler. It will see the return of most of its original main cast including Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, and Letitia Wright as Shuri. In addition, Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) has also reportedly been cast as the film’s antagonist, with some fans and outlets speculating that he might be playing the role of Namor.
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently slated to hit theaters on July 8, 2022, nearly two years following the untimely passing of titular star and acclaimed actor Chadwick Boseman, who died at the age of 43 after his four-year-long private battle with colon cancer.
In addition to the MCU sequel, Coogler is also currently developing an untitled Black Panther spin-off series for Disney+, which is being described as an origin series.
