How Black Panther's Lupita Nyong'o Translates Her Intense Underwater Training To Real Life

Marvel fans have just a week of waiting before "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" hits theaters, and every interview adds to the hype for the already highly-anticipated Marvel movie.

Following the events of "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Endgame," "Wakanda Forever" focuses on the nation of Wakanda as it adjusts to living with its now-open borders. After the passing of King T'Challa, who protected the country as the Black Panther, Wakanda's leaders must band together to fight off an outside invasion from Talocan, led by Namor. Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett all return, reprising their roles from "Black Panther" in what will undoubtedly be an emotional tribute to the great Chadwick Boseman.

"Wakanda Forever" marks a significant milestone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only does it continue the ever-so-important focus on Black culture set up by the original film, but it puts Central American representation front and center, with Tenoch Huerta joining the MCU as one of Marvel's first characters, Namor.

With Namor and Talocan's addition to the MCU comes numerous underwater scenes. Much of "Wakanda Forever" takes place underwater, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, requiring many of the cast to undergo intense training. "Black Panther" star Lupita Nyong'o recently spoke about her underwater training and how it helped her navigate daily life.

Marvel champion Lupita Nyong'o, who stars in "Black Panther" as Nakia, is in full press mode leading up to the film's upcoming release. Recently, she was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where she elaborated on the intense underwater training for "Wakanda Forever" and how it gave her a new outlook on life.

The Academy Award-winning actress revealed that she wasn't a confident swimmer when director Ryan Coogler first reached out to her about "Wakanda Forever." However, things changed after some training, including Extreme Performance Training, aka XPT. As part of her training regimen, Nyong'o carried weights by her side while walking on the pool floor, completely submerged underwater. She says she found peace during her time underwater, training her lung capacity and mental fortitude.

An unforeseen result of her training left her calmer in real life, Nyong'o acknowledged on the late-night talk show. "It does transfer to real life because you have to just find the calm inside you. So, it's definitely helped me in situations of high stress to just zone in and almost go back into the womb. That's the feeling, right? Being surrounded by water."

Lupita Nyong'o's take on the strict training program is a fascinating outlook. While it's well-known the lengths Marvel stars go to get in shape for their roles, it's not every day that one speaks out on the positive mental aspects of it.

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" hits theaters on November 11.