It seems Danai Gurira will have a much stronger presence within the MCU.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 43-year-old actress has signed on to reprise her role as Okoye in a Black Panther spinoff series for Disney+. Details surrounding the deal, which was reportedly brokered by Hollywood attorney Jamie Mandelbaum, have not been revealed; however, THR reports the untitled “origins” series will be produced by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler.
The news comes just months after Coogler confirmed he had signed an exclusive five-year TV deal with the Walt Disney Company, where he will develop various projects, including a Black Panther drama series centered on the fictional nation off Wakanda.
“It’s an honor to be partnering with The Walt Disney Company. Working with them on Black Panther was a dream come true,” Coogler said at the time. “As avid consumers of television, we couldn’t be happier to be launching our television business with Bob Iger, Dana Walden and all the amazing studios under the Disney umbrella.”
Coogler is expected to begin filming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in Atlanta sometime this summer. Although Gurira’s Okoye will appear in the film, there’s very little information on what the sequel will have in store. Questions surrounding plot lines and casting have continued to swirl in the wake of Chadwick Boseman’s death. The actor died in August 2020 after battling cancer. Marvel said it will not recast Boseman’s King T’Challa character, but has not indicated who will step in as the new Black Panther.
“I want to acknowledge the devastating loss of a dear friend and a member of our Marvel Studios family. Chadwick Boseman was an immensely talented actor and inspirational individual who affected all of our lives both personally and professionally,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said back in December. “His portrayal of T’Challa, the Black Panther, is iconic, and transcends any iteration of the character from any other medium in Marvel’s past. It is for that reason that we will not recast the character.”
Stay tuned as more information about the Black Panther sequel and its Disney+ spinoff series become available.
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