Winston Duke Talks 'Very Emotional' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Production for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" began in Atlanta late last month, and a handful of stars from the original film are set to return. We weren't sure we'd see M'Baku again, as mum was the word on the warrior's role in the second film. Winston Duke finally confirmed the news today to Collider that he will be back as M'Baku, marking the fourth time he'll play the character in the MCU.
Duke will star alongside Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong'o, and Martin Freeman, who are all currently confirmed for the project. It's also expected that Letitia Wright, Daniel Kaluuya, and Florence Kasumba will be back as well. It's going to be a tough shoot for the cast and crew, who are still grieving the loss of Chadwick Boseman, who tragically passed away in August 2020. Duke admitted to Collider how tough it's been to get back to this project after the loss of his friend.
Winston Duke says production on the film is 'very emotional'
We can only imagine just how difficult it is for the returning cast and crew of the "Black Panther" sequel to work on this next movie. Winston Duke opened up about getting ready to come back and what it felt like getting in the rhythm again. "It was very emotional to read the script. It was emotional to pack to go back to set. But we're all a bit of a family now, and we grieve together, and we're making something really special," he told Collider.
There is still no word on what the script entails, but we know that it will be something special. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recently spoke with Rotten Tomatoes and hinted that the "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" script will indeed be remarkable. "And I will say that Ryan [Coogler] and our producer, Nate Moore, and the entire cast, and our co-writer Joe Robert Cole, have done some remarkable things in the story and the draft," Feige said. "The team is assembling once again and cameras roll in the not-too-distant future on that. And it will be extremely emotional across the board, but I think they have something very special in mind."
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is just under a year away, with a premiere date of July 8, 2022. It will be the third MCU film in 2022, following "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and "Thor: Love and Thunder."