Daniel Kaluuya has said that he does not appear in the upcoming Marvel film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
With Thor: Love and Thunder now out in theaters, many fans of the MCU are turning to the next installment, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
A sequel to the massively successful 2018 film about King T’Challa, ruler of Wakanda and the titular hero Black Panther, Wakanda Forever has special meaning for most Marvel fans because of the recent passing of actor Chadwick Boseman.
After his passing, director Ryan Coogler and many of the cast discussed the pain of carrying on the franchise without Boseman. Unfortunately, not all of those members of the original cast are able to return to memorialize Chadwick Boseman.
According to a report by Rotten Tomatoes editor Jacqueline Coley, in an interview with actor Daniel Kaluuya ahead of his upcoming film NOPE, he confirmed that he would not be appearing in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
According to Coley, the reason for the actor’s absence is due to scheduling conflicts between Black Panther 2 and NOPE. The Jordan Peele-helmed horror movie is set to release on July 22.
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In the first Black Panther movie, Kaluuya plays W’Kabi, a friend of T’Challa who is the leader of the Border Tribe that helps to protect the isolated nation of Wakanda.
Not having W’Kabi return, especially given Chadwick Boseman’s passing, opens up many questions about how the movie will handle the passing of the torch from T’Challa to his successor. Coogler already confirmed that they would not be recasting the part, so it would seem that the film will see T’Challa die in some manner.
If so, it would be quite odd to not have W’Kabi there to react in some way.
But given that Daniel Kaluuya’s absence was due to scheduling issues, not creative differences, it’s not impossible that he could appear in a future Black Panther project.