At the European premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London’s Leicester Square, the cast has arrived.
The highly anticipated superhero film sequel’s red carpet was attended by celebrities like Michaela Coel, Danai Gurira, and Lupita Nyong’o.
Black Panther, which debuted in 2018, is one of the most financially successful movies ever.
At the box office, the Marvel Studios film brought in more than £1 billion ($1.1 billion).
It was the first superhero movie to be nominated for best picture at the Oscars. It received seven nominations in total, winning three awards for production design, costume design, and original score.
The series has received accolades for its powerful representation of black characters.
Speaking to the BBC’s Steffan Powell at the film’s premiere, Coel said: “The feeling it gives me, as a woman of colour, to see my story reflected back still gives me a rush of exhilaration to be seen.
“This cast give me a lot of confidence, I feel proud to be among them.”
Returning actress Danai Gurira, who plays Okoye, said she hoped Black Panther “paves the way” for other franchisees to cast strong black female leads.
She described filming as an “intense process” following the death of actor Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020 from colon cancer.
Director Ryan Coogler came up with a plot that could reflect the 43-year-old’s death which Lupita Nyong’o said would “really resonate with people”.
Respecting Chadwick and what he started us off is the way forward,” Nyong’o told BBC News. “Ryan was so smart to embrace the loss and make this film about what we do when we lose somebody because we all experience it at one point.
“The honesty with it will surprise people and the fact you can do that without compromising on the fun, and the spectacle, is a feat and I’m really proud.”
The first film starred Boseman as the crime-fighting ruler of Wakanda, a fictional African nation with the most advanced technology on earth.
More than 170 million viewers watched the trailer for its follow-up, Wakanda Forever, in the first 24 hours after its release.
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