Lupita Nyong’o Says She Is Not Excited to Film ‘Black Panther 2’ Without Chadwick Boseman

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The Marvel highlight reel for future movies dropped on Monday. The three-minute video gave Marvel fans a peak into what is to come in the near future. One of the most highly-anticipated Marvel movies on the horizon is Black Panther 2. But fans know that installment is sure to be drastically different after the passing of Chadwick Boseman.

Ryan Coogler, the director of “Black Panther“, has already stated that Marvel has no intentions of recasting the role of T’Challa. However, Lupita Nyong’o–who played Nakia in the first installment–will be reprising her original role.

Recently, Afro-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o revealed in an interview that she is not excited to return to the world of Wakanda without Chadwick Boseman.

In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Nyong’o explained her complicated feelings about Black Panther‘s second installment, which will be called “World of Wakanda”.

“People will ask me, ‘Are you excited to go back?’ Excitement isn’t the word,” she explained. “I feel like I’m in a very pensive and meditative state when it comes to Black Panther 2. His passing is still extremely raw for me.” According to Yahoo Entertainment, Nyong’o’s voice became audibly emotional. “And I can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like to step on set and not have him there.”

Lupita Nyong’o went on to say that “World of Wakanda” will be a sort of tribute to the “light” of Chadwick Boseman.

“We have a leader in [director Ryan Coogler], who feels very much like we do, who feels the loss in a very, very real way as well. And his idea, the way which he has reshaped the second movie is so respectful of the loss we’ve all experienced as a cast and as a world. So it feels spiritually and emotionally correct to do this,” she said.

Nyong’o went on to say that she looks forward to “getting back together and honoring what he started with us and holding his light through it. Because he left us a lot of light that we’re still going to be bathing in. I know that for sure.”

When Chadwick Boseman passed away in August of last year, Nyong’o wrote a touching and heartfelt tribute to the late actor on her Instagram page.

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“When we came together to make Black Panther, I remember being struck by his quiet, powerful presence,” she wrote. “He had no airs about him, but there was a higher frequency that he seemed to operate from. You got the sense that he was fully present and also somehow fully aware of things in the distant future. As a result, I noticed that Chadwick never seemed rushed! He commanded his time with ease.”

She continued, saying that Boseman was “absorbent. Agile. He set the bar high by working with a generosity of spirit, creating an ego-free environment by sheer example, and he always had a warm gaze and a strong embrace to share.”

As of now, Black Panther 2, which will be called “Wakanda Forever”, is set to be released in July of 2022.