It’s always nice to have good rumours confirmed, but even better to have some unexpected revelations thrown our way too. This is exactly what happened at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con panel for Marvel’s Black Panther, which not only confirmed the presence of cast members Michael B Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o, but also that of The Walking Dead star Danai Gurira.
Going through them one by one, Jordan’s Killmonger (could you get a more evil-sounding name?) is a long-time enemy of the Panther’s in the comics, set on returning Wakanda back to its ancient ways – which naturally puts him on a collision course with T’Challa. We haven’t seen Jordan in a villainous role before, so this could be interesting. Maybe he’ll be teaming up with Andy Serkis’s Ulysses Klaue? (who hasn’t been confirmed to return yet, by the way)
New addition Gurira will be swapping Michonne’s samurai swords for various types of weaponry as Okoye, the leader of the Dora Milaje, the Black Panther’s elite all-female band of bodyguards. Renowned for their formidability and utterly ruthless efficiency, we can see exactly why Gurira was picked for this role, and we look forward to seeing her on the big screen. We just hope this doesn’t spell the end for her on The Walking Dead.
Finally, Oscar-winner Nyong’o is also on board as Nakia, another Dora Milaje member – although there may also be an evil twist here, as she shares a name with Malice, another enemy of the Panther from the comics, who allies herself with Killmonger. More just seeing an actress of Nyong’o’s obvious quality, it’ll be great to see her not smothered in CGI.
Ryan Coogler is on directing duties, as well as co-writing the script alongside Joe Robert Cole.
Black Panther will be released in cinemas on 9 February 2018. You can download The 25 Greatest Marvel Comics Ever digital edition from GreatDigitalMags.com now. For more news about the latest movies, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
