Black Panther: Forest Whitaker Joins the Cast
Marvel Entertainment confirmed today that another prestigious talent has joined the cast of the upcoming Black Panther movie. Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker has been cast in the film as Zuri, who is described as an “elder statesman” for the country of Wakanda, for which T’Challa aka Black Panther is king.
Additionally, other members of the supporting cast for the Marvel Studios film were confirmed today. Also joining the the cast are Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, and Florence Kasumba. They join the cast alongside Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia and Danai Gurira as Okoye, who are part of the Dora Milaje. Fans might remember Kasumba from Captain America: Civil War, who portrayed T’Challa’s bodyguard, Ayo, in the film. Ayo is also a member of the Dora Milaje.
According to Marvel, Kaluuya is set to play W’Kabi, a confidant of T’Challa. Duke will be depicted as M’Baku, a leader of a rival tribe in Wakanda. Fans of the Marvel Comics also know M’Baku as the sinister Man-Ape, a recurring member of Black Panther’s rogues gallery.
Overall, it’s some promising casting news. It’s great to see Florence Kosumba character will be making a return and possibly have more to do this time around. The characters of W’Kabi and Zuri both have history in the Black Panther comic stories, so it’s nice to see more characters from the comics being represented onscreen.
Black Panther is slated to hit theaters on February 16, 2018.