Black Panthercontinues to become even more exciting. After the character wowed audiences inCaptain America: Civil Warand with the extremely talentedRyan Cooglerdirecting,THRis now reporting that Oscar-winnerLupita Nyong’ois in talks to join the cast.
There are currently no details on the role Nyong’o would play other than she’s the love interest. While that seems like a bit of a step down on the surface, it depends on the quality of the writing.Tessa Thompson’s character inCreedis technically the love interest, but she’s fully fleshed out and has her own internal life. The same goes for Peggy Carter inCaptain America: The First Avenger. “Love interest” is a dirty word because it usually means an underdeveloped character, but I trust not only Coogler, but also Nyong’o to make it into someone worth caring about, whomever she may be.
Nyong’o recently has been doing voice work in the hugely successfulStar Wars: The Force AwakensandThe Jungle Book, but she’ll be back out in front of the camera later this year in the chess dramaQueen of Katwe. She’s also signed onto star in DreamWorks’ sci-fi filmIntelligent Life, which iscurrently looking for a director.
Black Pantheropens on June 29, 2025 with filming set to begin in early 2017. It will be interesting see what other big name talent the film is able to get as the casting process continues. I’m also curious if any other previous Marvel stars such asAndy SerkisorMartin Freeman, who play Ulysses Klaw and Everett Ross, respectively, will be crossing intoBlack Panthersince their characters appear in theBlack Panthercomics.
