Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverhas become Marvel’s most popular release of 2022. It was breakingrecords at the box officethat it shouldn’t have been able to. It even smashed Marvel’sDisney+ debut recordonce it arrived to the streaming platform in February 2023. The sequel’s success is no surprise given what it was able to do with its first movie. The franchise has finally brought the diversity we needed to the MCU and its amazing cast has done excellently at capturing our hearts.
Although we’re all familiar with the talentedWakanda Forevercast, there’s still a lot we may not know about the stars. Here are a few facts about the cast members that may come as a surprise to you.
8Michael B. Jordan’s Production Company, Outlier Society
Back in 2016,Michael B. Jordanlaunched his own production company called Outlier Society. The company, perVariety, “maintains their commitment to supporting a wide range of stories and storytellers.” Two years back, they signed a deal with Amazon Studios, which has helped expand their reach. Even the recentCreed III, which Jordan stars in and directed, and has justpassed $100 millionat the domestic box office, is produced by Outlier Society. Movies such asJust Mercy, A Journal for JordanandFahrenheit 451— all starring the actor — are part of the production company’s repertoire. Jordan is determined to give a voice to people and stories that have been ignored for decades.
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7Letitia Wright and Her Rapping Skills
On top of being an amazingly talented actress, Guyanese-British actressLetitia Wrighthas also mastered freestyle rapping. If you’ve been closely followingBlack Panther’s promotions, you’ve definitely seen the actress rap at least on one occasion. She’s done a Wheel of Freestyle with Jimmy Fallon and has come up with multiple freestyle raps with her co-stars Angela Bassett and Lupita Nyong’o about theBlack Pantheruniverse. In general, it’s very well-known that she likes to spend her time between takes by rapping — and gosh, does she have immaculate flow.
6Angela Bassett’s Yale Degree
Yes, you’ve heard right!Angela Bassettis actually a Yale University graduate, and this should no surprise. The American actress graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree in African American Studies. But, that’s not all. She then studied acting at the Yale Shool of Drama and obtained a Master of Fine Arts as well. This was all done despite the opposition of some of her family members, who believed she was wasting her Yale education on theater. She was the only member of the family who went to both colleges and became a graduate and a postgraduate. As fate would have it, she also met her future husband at Yale, and they’ve been together ever since. In 2020,Yale University grantedBassett an honorary degree — Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award — for inspiration and achievements.
5Tenoch Huerta’s Lack of Swimming Skills
Playing the Sub-Mariner and basically the king of the Sea inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, it should also mean that you excel at swimming, right? Well, as it turns out,Tenoch Huertadidn’t know how to swim before getting cast as Namor. When Coogler asked him about his swimming skills, the actor replied: “I’ve never drowned before.” What mattered to the actor was that he didn’t lie; he didn’t say he knew how to swim, he just simply never drowned. Thankfully, all the actors underwent a rigorous swim training program, and they had to pass multiple swim tests in order to start filming.
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4Danai Gurira Is Multilingual
Playing the General of the Dora Milaje, Okoye, isn’tDanai Gurira’s only superpower. The Zimbabwean-American actress speaks not one, not two, but four different languages. On top of being fluent in English and French, the actress also speaks the Bantu language of the Sonta people and a Nguni language called Xhosa. Being multilingual is one of the most impressive traits one can possess, and Gurira surely has it all.
3Dominique Thorne Didn’t Have to Audition for Ironheart
It may come as a surprise, butDominique Thorneoriginally auditioned to play the role of Shuri inBlack Panther. She must have caught the attention of Marvel executives because, to get the role of Riri Willaims, a.k.a Ironheart, the American actress didn’t have to audition at all. She said (viaEmpire), “I was at home in Delaware and I got a call asking if I would like to play this role. It was the best phone call I could have ever received. It was just like, ‘Would you like to do this?’ It was probably the most unique experience I’ve ever had because there was no audition at all." The footage of heraudition with Chadwick Bosemanwhen trying for Shuri has been released only recently.
2Lupita Nyong’o Wrote a Book Called Sulwe
1Black Panther Was Winston Duke’s First Film Role
Before graduting from the Yale School of Drama as well,Winston Dukewas born in the village of Argyle, Tobago. He then moved to Brooklyn with his family at the age of nine, and only after graduating did he start to have small roles in TV productions such asPerson of InterestandModern Family. Surprisingly, his role as M’Baku in the firstBlack Panthermovie was his feature film debut.
